CRETE, Neb. – A potentially dramatic game-winning drive on its final possession came up 36 yards short. Despite not allowing a single point in the second half, the Concordia University football team got clipped, 21-16, at Doane in the season finale for both teams at Al Papik Field on a bitter cold Saturday afternoon (Nov. 10). The Bulldogs had hoped to defeat the Tigers for the second year in a row.
The second year of Patrick Daberkow’s head coaching tenure resulted in a 3-7 overall record and a 2-7 conference mark. Two of the losses were decided by tight margins against in-state rivals.
“We had some things going and felt really good,” Daberkow said. “We jumped up 10-0. We had a bad second quarter and that cost us. I’m proud of how they fought. It felt like it was a fitting ending. We were really close, just not quite there this year. That’s a really hard pill to swallow when you’re close but just can’t quite get there. The message is that you get there by what you do in the weight room, starting now.”
In relief of the injured Andrew Perea, sophomore quarterback Jake Kemp had the opportunity to play the role of hero in the second half. Kemp helped engineer a third-quarter touchdown drive that covered 70 yards on 13 plays and chewed up 6:25 off the clock. Fullback Dan Langewisch finished it off with a one-yard plunge for his first career touchdown in his final collegiate game.
Down by five points, Concordia needed to put together one more touchdown drive in the final quarter. On that final Bulldog possession, Kemp moved the offense from its own 15 to the Doane 36 with the aid of a 15-yard pass play to Ryan Durdon and gains of 18 and 21 yards through the air to Art Anderson. But a holding penalty and a sack doomed Concordia. On its final play, senior Vince Beasley caught a pass for 20 yards, but it was eight yards shy of the marker on fourth down.
The Tigers (6-4, 5-4 GPAC) managed a grand total of 65 second half total yards after piling up 261 in the first half. A Bulldog defense again led by sophomore linebacker Lane Napier (12 tackles, one TFL, one pass breakup) buckled down and even held Doane off the scoreboard on a possession that began at Concordia’s 23. On the flip side, the Bulldogs failed to capitalize after senior safety Kordell Glause forced and recovered a fumble at the Tiger 47 early in the second quarter.
For Glause and other key defensive seniors such as safety Caden Jameson and defensive end Parker Johnson, this was a gritty way to go out.
Said Daberkow, “It doesn’t matter where the ball is placed, the situation and circumstances are irrelevant. They don’t matter. We have to make a stop. When the ball is snapped we’re lights out. That’s the mentality we have on defense. We have to have that permeate throughout the team and then we really have something.”
Though running room was again tight for Durdon (62 rushing yards on 28 carries), he again made a significant impact. He rushed for a six-yard touchdown that gave Concordia an early lead in the process of amassing 234 all-purpose yards. He caught five passes for 86 yards and nearly broke a kick return for a touchdown on a 72-yarder just before halftime.
Kemp, who had not played since the game at Dordt on Sept. 29, gave the offense some juice when he entered in the third quarter. He completed 10-of-13 attempts for 126 yards. Before leaving, Perea was 9-for-19 for 103 yards. Anderson led Bulldog pass catchers with eight receptions for 99 yards.
The Doane offense did almost all of its damage in the first half. Quarterback Jack Kalina went 12-of-27 for 175 yards and two touchdowns with one of the scoring strikes a beauty of a 44-yard toss to Jacob Beller. The Tigers netted 151 rushing yards on 34 tries.
Concordia ended its season by dropping the final five games. It still has not claimed a victory in Crete since 2005.
“God’s got lessons for us in this season, and they are really tough ones,” Daberkow said. “We’ll learn from this and we’ll get better. I’m already excited for our Monday meeting. We’ll get in the weight room and we’ll get after it.”