SEWARD, Neb. – It will be senior day on Saturday when the Concordia University, Nebraska Football team meets up with Hastings for the 57th time in the rivalry’s history. There are 29 Bulldog seniors that will be honored prior to the scheduled 1 p.m. CT kickoff. The contest will be the 2024 regular season home finale for a squad with hopes of potentially returning to Bulldog Stadium in late November. Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad stands at 6-2 following last week’s 31-27 home win over Mount Marty.
Concordia has jumped out to a 6-2 record for the first time since the 2013 season. The Bulldogs entered this week knocking on the door of the NAIA top 25 thanks to a three-game winning streak that includes an upset of then second-ranked Northwestern in Orange City, Iowa. In addition to the wins over Northwestern and Mount Marty, Concordia also blew out Doane, 45-10, during the string.
Conversely, Head Coach Matt Franzen’s squad is 0-4 in the month of October and is coming off a 40-3 homecoming defeat at the hands of Doane, a program Franzen formerly coached. Prior to being pummeled by the Tigers, the Broncos were handed defeats by scores of 31-10 to Dakota Wesleyan, 52-7 at Morningside and 26-7 at Midland. Hastings has struggled mightily with turnovers this season having fumbled 24 times in nine games. The Bulldogs will attempt to defeat the Broncos for the fifth time in the past six series meetings.
GAME INFO – Senior Day
Concordia (6-2, 6-2 GPAC) vs. Hastings (2-7, 2-6 GPAC)
Saturday, Nov. 2 | 1 p.m.
Bulldog Stadium | Seward, Neb.
Webcast: Concordia Sports Network
Live Stats: PrestoStats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Commentators: Parker Cyza and Ross Wurdeman
Tickets: HomeTown Ticketing (also sold on site)
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Team Statistics
*2024 national rankings out of 97 NAIA football programs in parentheses
Concordia
Offensive PPG: 37.3 (24th)
Defensive PPG: 20.6 (30th)
Total Offense: 472.3 (13th)
Pass Offense: 256.9 (23rd)
Rush Offense: 215.4 (11th)
Total Defense: 355.3 (52nd)
Pass Defense: 242.4 (75th)
Rush Defense: 112.9 (27th)
Turnover +/-: +4
Hastings
Offensive PPG: 15.8 (81st)
Defensive PPG: 35.6 (77th)
Total Offense: 263.9 (78th)
Pass Offense: 164.9 (66th)
Rush Offense: 99.0 (80th)
Total Defense: 484.1 (93rd)
Pass Defense: 332.0 (97th)
Rush Defense: 152.1 (54th)
Turnover +/-: -10
2024 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Concordia
Head Coach: Patrick Daberkow (38-38, 8th season)
Passing: DJ McGarvie – 163/268 (.608), 1,873 yards, 22 td, 8 int, 140.6 effic.
Rushing: Mark Arp – 198 rushes, 1,040 yards, 5.3 avg, 11 td; 19 receptions for 141 yards
Receiving: Austin Jablonski – 62 receptions, 826 yards, 13.3 avg, 7 td
Defense: Grant Huss – 65 tackles, 4 tfl’s, 3 int, 2 pbu, 1.5 sacks
Hastings
Head Coach: Matt Franzen (at Hastings: 16-25, 4th season; overall: 81-74, 15th season)
Passing: Carson Kudlacek – 116/221 (.525), 1,217 yards, 9 td, 6 int, 106.8 effic.
Rushing: Josh Ray – 130 rushes, 486 yards, 3.7 avg, 5 td
Receiving: Ethan Wilborn – 23 receptions, 407 yards, 17.7 avg, 5 td
Defense: Jayden Roberts – 90 tackles, 7.5 tfl’s, 2 ff, 1 sack
2024 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Concordia (6-2, 6-2 GPAC)
8/31 vs. Waldorf, W, 45-7
9/7 vs. (10) Morningside, L, 21-51
9/14 at Dakota Wesleyan, W, 42-7
9/21 at Briar Cliff, W, 63-13
9/28 vs. (9) Dordt, L, 22-33 (homecoming)
10/5 at (2) Northwestern, W, 29-17
10/19 at Doane, W, 45-10
10/26 vs. Mount Marty, W, 31-27
11/2 vs. Hastings, 1 p.m. (senior day)
11/16 at Midland, 1 p.m.
Hastings (2-7, 2-6 GPAC)
8/31 vs. Peru State, L, 21-27 (OT)
9/7 vs. (2) Northwestern, L, 7-41
9/14 vs. Briar Cliff, W, 44-35
9/21 at (10) Dordt, L, 0-58
9/28 at Waldorf, W, 43-10
10/5 vs. Dakota Wesleyan, L, 10-31
10/12 at (9) Morningside, L, 7-52
10/19 at Midland, L, 7-26
10/26 vs. Doane, L, 3-40
11/2 at Concordia, 1 p.m.
11/9 vs. Mount Marty, 2:30 p.m.
In the rankings
Concordia landed at No. 5 in the 2024 GPAC preseason coaches’ poll. The Bulldogs did not generate any votes in the NAIA’s national poll this preseason. The program’s most recent NAIA top 25 appearance came in November 2017 when they checked in at No. 25. In last week’s official coaches’ poll (released on Oct. 21), the Bulldogs were situated as the first team in the “receiving votes” category. Another poll is scheduled to be released on Oct. 28. Hastings’ most recent top 25 ranking came in October 2017 when it was placed at 19th.
Concordia
GPAC preseason: 5th
Current Massey Ratings: 25th
Hastings
GPAC preseason: 6th
Current Massey Ratings: 67th
Last time out
It was a hair-raiser, but the Bulldogs pulled it out of the fire on Coach Courtney Meyer Day at Bulldog Stadium. The outcome came down to a fourth down stop with Mount Marty in the red zone in the final minute of the game. Concordia held on, 31-27, and improved to 6-2 for the first time since 2013 (only three Bulldog teams in the GPAC era have won at least six of their first eight games). In defeating the Lancers, Concordia managed to overcome two lost fumbles and a significant disadvantage in time of possession (37:24 to 22:36). On the plus side, the Bulldog offense enjoyed another productive day. Quarterback DJ McGarvie threw for 244 yards and three touchdowns – one apiece going to John Goodwin, Adam Van Cleave and Max Bartels. By day’s end, McGarvie had broken the program record for touchdown passes in a single season (22). In addition, Mark Arp ran for 183 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Arp surpassed 1,000 yards rushing (1,040 and counting) for the season, making him the seventh player in program history to accomplish that feat. Van Cleave led Concordia pass catchers with nine grabs for 82 yards. Defensively, Kyle Sterup made 10 tackles (four loss), Devon Polley registered eight tackles (two for loss) and both Daylon Henson and Grant Huss came away with an interception apiece. Both teams eclipsed 400 total yards on the day.
Best eight-game starts, GPAC era
There have been five Concordia teams to start a season at 5-2 or better though seven games. Three of those teams reached 6-2 or better, including the 2024 squad. The Bulldogs are 6-2 as a program for the first time since the 2013 campaign. The ’13 team, coached by Vance Winter, sat at 6-2 after eight games and finished at 7-4 overall (5-4 GPAC). If the current team can get to 7-2, it will mark the first time the program has won at least seven of its first nine games of a season since the 2001 GPAC championship campaign. The ’01 team started 8-0 before finally enduring a defeat in game No. 9. The ’01 squad is also the most recent edition to win at least eight games in a single season. Since then, three Concordia teams have won exactly seven games: the 2013, 2016 and 2021 squads.
6-2 or better after eight games, GPAC era
2024 – 6-2 (6-2 GPAC)
2013 – 6-2 (4-2 GPAC)
2001 – 8-0 (7-0 GPAC)
Senior Day at Bulldog Stadium
The list of 29 seniors that will be honored prior to kickoff is included below. That list does not include select fifth- and/or sixth-year players who took part in previous years’ senior day festivities. For those who have been in the program for four seasons (2021-present), they have contributed to a combined record of 22-16. The senior class includes NAIA First Team All-American Austin Jablonski, record setting quarterback DJ McGarvie, 1,000-yard rusher Mark Arp and defensive line stalwarts Devon Polley and Kyle Sterup. Many key offensive linemen are also members of a senior class that has been routinely praised by Daberkow for its leadership qualities.
2024 seniors being honored on Saturday
Jackson Anderson
Mark Arp
Cohen Carpenter
Zach Downs
John Goodwin
Michael Grindey
Braden Hackmer
Toby Hager
Sterling Harp
Stephen Hughes III
Austin Jablonski
Joseph Kahrs
Nick Leader
Myles Lyons
Reed McFadden
DJ McGarvie
Joseph McQueen
Thomas Meadough
Nathan Miller
Bryce Needham
Justin Ningen
Josh Palacios
Travis Parsons
Devon Polley
Daylan Russell
Blake Schlegel
Dylan Smith
Talatau Solo
Kyle Sterup
Coach Daberkow + staff
Patrick Daberkow’s history at Concordia dates back to his first season as a Bulldog football player in 2003. This is Daberkow’s 17th season as part of the program’s staff – eighth as head coach. He served as defensive coordinator for seven years before being named as head coach in December 2016. Daberkow assumed offensive play calling duties in 2022 before turning that role over to Greg Nelson, former Lincoln Lutheran head coach, in 2023. Meanwhile, his full-time staff includes Defensive Coordinator Corby Osten, Special Teams Coordinator Trent Laune and Assistant Coach Grady Koch (who specializes in coaching the offensive line, among other duties). Former Nebraska Wesleyan assistant Kevin Crume is in his second season at Concordia. Former Head Coach Courtney Meyer again works with the specialists and has spent more than 50 years coaching football.
McGarvie breaks another program record
DJ McGarvie made his 34th career start in the win over Mount Marty. His latest school record is the standard for touchdown passes in a single season (22 in 2024). The Lincoln North Star High School alum rose to the top of the program’s all-time passing charts in 2023 and continues to pad his records. As part of the win at Doane, McGarvie eclipsed 8,000 career passing yards (currently at 8,530) and surpassed 70 career touchdown passes. He owns a career completion percentage of 57.7 (729-for-1,264) in 37 games. In addition to his 76 career touchdown passes, McGarvie has run for nine scores. While leading the GPAC in passing yards per game (264.2) in 2023, McGarvie became the first Bulldog quarterback in the GPAC era (2000-present) to be named either first or second team all-conference. By season, McGarvie has turned in touchdown-to-interception ratios of 19-7 in 2021, 18-6 in 2022, 17-10 in 2023 and 22-8 in 2024. Among GPAC quarterbacks in 2024, McGarvie ranks second in touchdown passes (22), second in passing yards (1,851), third in passer efficiency (140.4) and fourth in completion percentage (.604). With three touchdown passes last week, McGarvie broke the program’s single season record of 21 by Von Thomas in 2014.
Concordia all-time passing yards leaders
1. DJ McGarvie – 8,530
2. Jarrod Pimentel – 6,435
3. Von Thomas – 5,662
4. Rod Giesselmann – 5,519
5. Kurt Earl – 4,158
Concordia all-time passing touchdowns leaders
1. DJ McGarvie – 76
2. Von Thomas – 49
2. Jarrod Pimentel – 49
4. Rod Giesselmann – 47
5. Kurt Earl – 37
Primary targets: Jabo and Van Cleave
Receivers Austin Jablonski and Adam Van Cleave are targeted most frequently by McGarvie. On the season, Jablonski has hauled in 62 receptions for 826 yards and seven touchdowns. Meanwhile, Adam Van Cleave has racked up 50 catches for 573 yards and five touchdowns. Both Jablonski (walk-on) and Van Cleave (student only) began their college careers at the University of Nebraska. As the numbers show below, Jablonski continues to move up the program’s all-time receiving lists, currently ranking second in receptions (189), fourth in receiving yards (2,443) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (18). Jablonski broke the school record for receiving yards in a single game with 213 in the win at Doane. He is also the program record holder for receiving yards in a season with 1,134 in 2023. As for Van Cleave, he is enjoying a breakout season after an injury limited him to three games in 2023.
Concordia all-time reception leaders
1. Korrell Koehlmoos – 221
2. Austin Jablonski – 189
3. Ross Wurdeman – 168
3. Jared Garcia – 161
5. Eric Pralle – 147
Concordia all-time receiving yards leaders
1. Korrell Koehlmoos – 2,894
2. Jared Garcia – 2,495
3. Ross Wurdeman – 2,458
4. Austin Jablonski – 2,443
5. Clarence Woods – 2,011
Arp regains title of NAIA rushing leader
After rattling off 183 rushing yards in the win over Mount Marty, senior running back Mark Arp has regained his perch atop the NAIA rushing leaderboard with 1,040 yards on the season. Arp has become the seventh player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. The complete list is included below. Arp has also rushed for 11 touchdowns (two shy of a school record for a single season) while putting together one of the best campaigns ever for a Bulldog tailback. Arp has been quick to commend his offensive line. The same five players started up front for each of this season’s first six games: Cohen Carpenter and Blake Schlegel at the tackles, Tyler Walford and Christian Schlepp at the guard spots and Jackson Anderson at center. In the win at Doane, Brevin Damrow stepped in and made the start at center for Anderson (under the weather). The group has surrendered only three sacks all season and has held its opponents without a sack in 11 of the past 13 games dating back to last season. Concordia has outnumbered its foes in sacks, 20-3, for the season and has outrushed them, on average, 215.4 to 112.9.
Concordia 1,000-yard rushers, single season
1. JaMaine Lewis – 1,265 (2007)
2. Ryan Durdon – 1,247 (2017)
3. Cleve Wester – 1,114 (1984)
4. Randy Posphishil – 1,085 (1972)
5. Mark Arp – 1,040 (2024)
6. Bryce Collins – 1,016 (2014)
7. Jeff Towns – 1,002 (1979)
Offense achieving at record setting pace
McGarvie and the offense have put up more than 40 points in four of this season’s first eight games with a high of 63 coming at Briar Cliff (a GPAC conference game record for the program). The 2024 team’s current averages of 37.3 points and 472.3 yards per game would both break school records. The current standards for a single season are 35.9 points (1951) and 412.0 yards (2023). The 670 total yards at Doane also represented a new program GPAC era record, eclipsing the 641 yards Concordia totaled in this season’s win at Dakota Wesleyan.
Henson emerges as ballhawk in secondary
Safety Daylon Henson remains among the GPAC leaders in interceptions. He recorded his fifth pick of the season as part of the win over Mount Marty. Only Morningside’s Dijion Walls (six interceptions) has more picks among GPAC players. On the season, the Pearland, Texas, native Henson has notched 46 tackles, 10.5 stops for loss, two pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble to go along with the five interceptions. He returned a pick 35 yards for a touchdown in the Sept. 21 win at Briar Cliff.
Grindey moves up tackle charts
Now in his fourth and final season as a Bulldog, Michael Grindey keeps racking up tackles. With 51 stops in 2024, Grindey has run his career total to 249 tackles. During the GPAC era (2000-present), that number ranks tied for the fourth highest for the program (see list below). Grindey’s career high for tackles in a season is 92 (in 2022). He has twice been named a GPAC All-Conference award winner. The Chandler, Ariz., native began his college career at Creighton University, where he was a member of the club rugby team.
Most tackles by a Bulldog, GPAC era
1. Lane Napier – 535
2. Sean Stewart – 290
3. Michael Hedlund – 261
4. Michael Grindey – 249
5. Ben Klein – 246
ARC Ratings
The first ARC Ratings of the 2024 were released by the NAIA on Oct. 24. They can be found HERE. In ARC 3, the GPAC is grouped with the Mid-States Football Association. In ARC 3, Concordia is ranked seventh behind Indiana Wesleyan, Dordt, Morningside, Northwestern, St. Francis (Ill.) and Marian. The rankings provide a picture of where teams currently stand in the eyes of the NAIA Football National Selection Committee, which is tasked with determining at-large bids for the NAIA Football Championship Series.
Around the league
National observers had their eyes on the matchup between No. 4 Dordt and No. 8 Morningside. In Sioux Center, Iowa, the Mustangs emerged with a 31-21 win. In other action around the league, No. 9 Northwestern defeated Dakota Wesleyan, 34-7, Doane won at Hastings, 40-3, Briar Cliff topped Waldorf, 35-28, and Concordia held off Mount Marty, 31-27. With those results tabulated, Morningside now stands alone in first place with a 7-0 GPAC record. Next in line are Dordt (6-1), Northwestern (6-1) and Concordia (6-2).
Series vs. Hastings
The Broncos have owned the all-time series with a record of 37-18-1 versus the Bulldogs. However, the series has swung the other way recently with Concordia winning four of the past five and seven of the past 11 meetings (see history below). The 2019 matchup resulted in the largest point differential in series history with Concordia blowing out Hastings, 44-0. The 2023 get together was also a lopsided outcome as the Bulldogs won in Hastings, 44-23. In that win, Austin Jablonski caught two touchdown passes and rushed for a score. DJ McGarvie tore it up with 332 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Concordia also got a defensive touchdown on Will Potratz’s scoop and score via a fumble caused by Devon Polley. The Bulldogs punctuated the win in the fourth quarter when McGarvie fired an 89-yard touchdown strike to Carsen Arline.
Last 10 meetings
2023 – Concordia 44, Hastings 23 (Hastings)
2022 – Hastings 21, Concordia 17 (Seward)
2021 – Concordia 17, Hastings 7 (Hastings)
2020 – Concordia 34, Hastings 28 | OT (Seward)
2019 – Concordia 44, Hastings 0 (Hastings)
2018 – Hastings 21, Concordia 13 (Seward)
2017 – Hastings 38, Concordia 18 (Hastings)
2016 – Concordia 31, Hastings 28 (Seward)
2015 – Concordia 28, Hastings 3 (Seward)
2014 – Hastings 48, Concordia 43 (Hastings)
Scouting Hastings
Since its 43-10 win at Waldorf on Sept. 28, Hastings has struggled to compete. It is 0-4 in the month of October with each defeat coming by a margin of 19 points or more. The struggles have come two seasons after Head Coach Matt Franzen led the program to a 7-4 record in 2022. The Bronco defense ranks dead last in the NAIA in pass defense with an average of 332.0 yards per game allowed. Hastings graduated three Second Team All-GPAC players from its 2023 defense (linemen Laython Shaw and Harrison Udeh and linebacker Arjee Mack-Myers). The Broncos brought back Honorable Mention All-GPAC selections in receiver Eli Nappe and linebacker Jayden Roberts. The latter has piled up a team high 90 tackles. Offensively, Ethan Wilborn has shown big play ability while averaging 17.7 yards per catch. Hastings has struggled to hold onto the football having fumbled 24 times (13 lost) and thrown nine interceptions. After visiting Concordia, the Broncos will end their season by hosting Mount Marty on Nov. 9.