(Indianapolis, IN) Concordia football had their hands full Saturday afternoon traveling to Indianapolis, IN for a matchup with the defending NAIA National champions and undefeated Marian University. The game was knotted at 13 midway through the second quarter, but the top-ranked Knights scored 42 unanswered points to win the Mideast League contest.
The game started with a CUAA fumble to give Marian the ball and a first-and-goal, but the defense picked the Cardinals up. Three runs were stopped by Ashton Hundley (SR/Ypsilanti, MI), Nigel Madison (SR/Detroit, MI), and Keith Rubin (SO/Whitmore Lake, MI) to force the Knights to kick a field goal.
Concordia's next drive was much more successful with Tyler Fehler (JR/Fruitport, MI) and the offense marching 75 yards on 15 plays to end zone for a touchdown. Fehler's 8-yard throw to Roderick Dailey (SO/Detroit, MI) provided the score.
In the second quarter and now trailing 7-13, the Cardinals made their way down the field again. Mike Blosser (SR/Flat Rock, MI) caught a 10-yard pass for a first down in Marian territory and then Fehler went deep on the next play to hit Bryant Hudson (JR/Flint, MI) for 38 yards. An untouched Joe Conner (SO/Flat Rock, MI) rushed for 1 yard and a touchdown to cap the drive.
The Knights blocked the PAT to keep Concordia at 13 and took over from there. They scored twice more before halftime and made their way to the end zone another four times in the second half to prove their #1 NAIA ranking.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-Concordia had 284 yards of total offense to Marian's 426 although they out-rushed the Knights running for 172 yards compared to their 148.
-Joe Conner led all players with 126 gained on the ground running the ball 21 times (5.8 avg).
-Concordia turned the ball over 6 times (3 interceptions, 3 fumbles), but could not turn the Knights over.
-Nick Holshoe (SR/Hopkins, MI) led the Cardinals with 9 tackles (7 solo) and also broke up 2 passes.
UP NEXT
Concordia (5-4, 2-2) comes back home next weekend to face Missouri Baptist University (2-7, 2-3). The last home game of the season, the Cardinals will be honoring their graduating players with Senior Day. The November 5th game will start at 1:00 p.m. in Cardinal Stadium.
