SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The high-powered Mustangs produced 41 first-half points and handed the Concordia University, Nebraska Football team a 61-21 defeat in Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday (Oct. 24) afternoon. Sixth-ranked Morningside mounted a 20-0 first-quarter advantage and finished with 599 total yards. For the Bulldogs, Jonny Puelz racked up 169 receiving yards and a touchdown and safety Kaden Thompson collected 14 tackles while forcing a fumble.
The contest marked the end of a stretch of three consecutive road games for Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad (3-4, 3-4 GPAC). Three of Concordia’s four losses have been dealt by NAIA top 25 opponents.
“It's hard to process when the outcome goes south,” Daberkow said. “Especially when you feel like you've prepared well for a game. We have to go back to the drawing board on some things, but there are other things we can build on. At the end of the day, we have to do the next right thing, which is something I talk about with our guys. We have a long bus ride home, and that gives us time to process everything, but we have work to do. We're committed to doing it at a better level than we did today.”
Morningside looked every bit like the team that entered the weekend ranked second nationally in total offense (561.4). The Mustangs did the bulk of their damage in the first half. Quarterback Tyler Smith led his side on touchdown drives that covered 61, 58, 40, 75, 80 and 85 yards, respectively, over the first two quarters. The last score in the sequence was a back breaker at the end of the half, ending with a strike of 25 yards from Smith to reigning GPAC Offensive Player of the Year Drew Sellon.
The Concordia offense went three-and-out on each of its first three possessions before putting together touchdown drives on its fourth and sixth turns with the football. In making his return to the field, Carlos Collazo polished off an 82-yard scoring drive with a three-yard plunge just before the first quarter’s conclusion. Then in the middle of the second quarter, Gideon Stark found Puelz for a 61-yard scoring strike.
Stark retook his place at quarterback after sitting out the road trips to Northwestern and Dakota Wesleyan. The Stark-to-Puelz connection was a fruitful one on Saturday. Stark fired his 37th career touchdown pass and finished 18-of-42 for 278 yards on Saturday. Meanwhile, Puelz reeled in his sixth touchdown reception of the season and 15th of his collegiate career. It was one of his eight catches at Morningside.
Said Daberkow, “Johnny did a great job with some things he's been working to improve all year. I thought this was the most physical we've seen him play and the most aggressive we've seen him when going up to get the football. I was really proud of him. Gideon also came back. We have a lot of guys who are banged up but still playing, and I love them to death. I love their effort and team-first mentality, and I love that we have guys who are eager and ready to go when their number is called.”
Thompson and his defensive teammates were on the field for 86 plays on Saturday. The North Platte, Neb., native forced an early third quarter fumble that was recovered by linebacker Drake Trent. Thompson also made one of Concordia’s six stops in the backfield. Other defensive leaders were Trent with nine tackles and Jett Farwell with seven stops.
Unfortunately, Collazo’s day ended in the first half. He ran eight times for 45 yards and a score. Freshman Dylan Mika came off the bench for 35 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts. The Bulldogs offense mustered 363 yards and 22 first downs. While Puelz headlined the receiver core, Adam Van Cleave made five grabs for 42 yards and pushed his career reception total to 181.
On special teams, Admir Mujkic again stepped in as place kicker and made all three of his PATs. Braxtyn Koch was called upon to punt six times (one downed inside the 20).
Morningside (7-1, 6-1 GPAC) kept pace near the top of the GPAC standings. Smith finished with 322 passing yards and five touchdown tosses. In the run game, both Smith and tailback Max Hough eclipsed 100 rushing yards. Sellon nabbed 13 receptions for 167 yards and three scores. The Mustangs added an exclamation point with Victor Atupra’s pick-six on the final play of the game.
At long last, the Bulldogs make a return to their home turf next Saturday for a 1 p.m. CT kickoff. Rival Doane (3-5, 2-5 GPAC) will visit Bulldog Stadium for the Halloween matchup. Concordia has won each of the past three meetings and five of the past six in the series with the Tigers. In Saturday’s action, Doane defeated Briar Cliff, 24-18, in Crete.