The Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League announced their weekly awards for the first time this season and Concordia swept every category. After a convincing 25-6 (Game Recap) win over NCAA DII Davenport on Thursday, August 31st, Concordia received recognition in every facet of the game. Andrew O'Hara (JR/Cleveland, OH) was named Special Teams Player of the Week, Nick Edney (FR/Garden City, MI) was honored as Defensive Player of the Week and Joe Conner (SO/Flat Rock, MI) with Offensive Player of the Week.
As the Cardinals starting middle linebacker, O'Hara is also the team's primary punter and helped support his defensive unit with well placed punts. O'Hara forced the Panthers to start their drives deep in the Cardinals territory by placing three punts inside the 20 yard line. O'Hara launched 8 punts for a total of 284 yards with his longest landing at 48 yards. The MSFA also honored O'Hara last season as the Special Team Player of the Week for his efforts on Saturday, September 5th (Release) .
Starting in his first game as a Cardinal, defensive lineman, Nick Edney anchored the unit's front line. Edney gave the Panther's offensive line fits all night recording 5 solo tackles and assisted on 3 more. Edney had 1.5 sacks that resulted in 17 yards lost for the Panthers. The freshman lineman also had 3.5 tackles for a lost which totaled another 21 yards. Edney was instrumental in helping the Cardinals defense limit the Panthers to only 22 yards rushing and 142 total yards of rushing.
Sophomore running back, Joe Conner paced the Cardinals offensively by scoring on the team's first three possessions. Conner led the Cardinals with 3 touchdowns and 170 total rushing yards. Conner's third touchdown came on a 60 yard run up the middle on 4th and 1 to extend the Cardinals lead 22-0. The 170 rushing yards are the 2nd most in a game by Conner only runner up to his 248 rushing yards last year against Taylor University. Conner received the same honors from the MSFA last year on October 24th and November 7th .
The three honors are the most in a week by the Cardinals as the team earned weekly recognition six times last year.
The Cardinals will travel to Trinity International University on Saturday, September 9th 2pm EST for their first MSFA Crossover matchup.
