Concordia knocks off Dordt College, 24-7

Concordia University jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead and went on to defeat Dordt College by the score of 24-7 on Saturday afternoon in Seward.  The Bulldogs improved to 4-5 overall with a 3-5 mark in conference play with the win.  Dordt remained winless on the season at 0-9. 

All of the scoring took place in the first half.  The Bulldogs started the scoring early in the first quarter.  Concordia marched 89 yards in 11 plays, and Austin Freudenberg’s (Madison, Neb.) 2-yard touchdown run gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.  Following a quick three and out by Dordt, Concordia used six plays to move 38 yards and into field goal range.  Kenny Zoeller (Spring, Texas) connected on a 42-yard field goal to push the lead to 10-0. 

The Bulldog special teams unit got involved early in the second quarter.  Zack Warner (Palmyra, Neb.) returned a punt 67 yards to give Concordia a 17-0 advantage.  On Concordia’s next drive, Kyle Hoffman (Phoenix, Ariz.) hauled in a 73-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Cohl Tufford (Richardson, Texas) to push the lead to 24-0.  It was the longest completion and first touchdown pass of the year for Concordia. 

Dordt College was again unable to get anything going offensively and quickly gave the ball back to Concordia.  On the first play from scrimmage, Tufford’s pass in the flat was picked off by Dordt’s Todd Green, who returned the pick 16 yards for a touchdown.  Concordia took a 24-7 lead heading into halftime. 

Penalties cost Concordia two touchdowns in the opening half.  Jordan Brockman (Lincoln, Neb.) scooped up a muffed punt and returned it for a score early in the game.  However, a running into the kicker penalty negated the play.  Late in the first half, Preston Harris (Lincoln, Neb.) returned an interception all the way for a score.  A block in the back penalty, however, kept the touchdown off the board.   

The second half was filled with penalties and turnovers by both teams.  The teams found very little offensive rhythm in the final half of play, and the Bulldogs settled for the 24-7 victory.

Concordia finished with 19 first downs in the game compared to just five for Dordt College.  The Bulldogs finished with 384 yards of total offense (199 passing, 185 rushing) and limited the Defenders to just 102 yards of total offense (80 rushing, 22 passing).  The Bulldogs finished with three turnovers and 10 penalties on the day.  Concordia held a huge advantage in time of possession, and the Bulldog defense forced three turnovers in the win. 

Cohl Tufford completed 12-of-16 passes on the day for 199 yards with one touchdown and one interception.  Tufford also added 76 rushing yards on the day.  Kyle Hoffman had a huge day for the Bulldogs.  Hoffman had a game-high six receptions for a career-high 153 yards with the touchdown. 

Ben Klein (Dallas, Texas) and Preston Harris each picked off passes for the Concordia defense.  Heath Broekemeier (Prairie Grove, Ark.) recovered a fumble for the Bulldogs.

Concordia travels to Northwestern College next Saturday for a 1 pm matchup against the Red Raiders.