Recent Media Coverage:
· 10/11 News visits Concordia Football
· KLKNTV interviews Coach Daberkow
· Parker Cyza / Ross Wurdeman describe the key plays in the win at No. 2 Northwestern
· KCAU-TV highlights: #2 Northwestern loses to Concordia 29-17
· KITV News 4 highlights: #2 Northwestern falls to Concordia
Skill players such as DJ McGarvie, Austin Jablonski and Mark Arp have earned their share of the spotlight for the Concordia University, Nebraska Football program. It’s well-deserved considering the McGarvie-to-Jablonski connection has been as fruitful as any quarterback-to-receiver combination in the history of the program. Simultaneously, the big guys up front have worked in the shadows, progressing year-by-year while becoming physically and emotionally mature enough to not just handle the rigors of trench play in the GPAC – but to thrive.
The cohesion is obvious for an offensive line that includes a pair of sixth-year guys, Toby Hager and Christian Schlepp. On both sides of the line of scrimmage, the Bulldogs are teeming with experience, depth and strength. It’s no wonder Concordia has outnumbered its opponents in sacks, 18-2, through the season’s first six games.
If the Bulldogs were to realize their lofty goals of becoming NAIA playoff contenders in 2024, their success was going to start up front. Head Coach Patrick Daberkow told you so prior to the start of the season. As Daberkow said back in July, “Any time you have success on offense, you have to think about your offensive line. All those guys are coming back. To have them back is the biggest advantage in our program. We have work to do still, but we’re very confident in our ability to accomplish our goals because of our offensive line.”
Line-of-scrimmage superiority carried the day last week at No. 2 Northwestern as the Bulldogs earned the type of signature win they have worked desperately hard to secure. Up against an NAIA superpower, Concordia won the rushing battle nearly 3-to-1 (147 to 52 yards) and registered five sacks to the Red Raiders’ none. The constant pressure put on by nose guard Carson Fehlhafer (three sacks) and company played a role in Northwestern quarterbacks throwing four critical interceptions. In another ‘prove-it game,’ the Bulldogs finally did just that.
Such an exhilarating win (arguably the program’s most significant since the 2001 GPAC championship season) would not have been possible without the leaps that have been made up front. Three years ago, when many of the current veterans were just young pups, the Bulldogs averaged 314.6 yards and 23.6 points per game. Those numbers have spiked to 443.8 yards and 37.0 points in 2024 – and that’s with Concordia having played the league’s three teams currently ranked in the NAIA top 10.
Offensive line coach Grady Koch has seen the development up close. Says Koch, “The group of guys have grown a ton in their four, five and six years in the program. They are an extremely unselfish, tough, team-first group that works extremely hard as a whole. With all of the reps they have taken, they have become very football smart and are really good at talking and thinking things through. What has helped them be so successful is that they are a group that plays extremely hard and extremely physical regardless of situation.”
The veteran offensive line starts a senior (fourth year or otherwise) at all five spots: Cohen Carpenter and Blake Schlegel at the tackles, Tyler Walford and Christian Schlepp at the guard spots and Jackson Anderson at center. Those five players have opened each of the first six games while Hager has been a regular in the rotation. In certain short yardage situations, the Bulldogs will employ their “Rhino Package” that places nine offensive linemen on the field at once. Concordia has additional seniors in its two deep in Brevin Damrow, Nathan Miller and Seth Moore.
Daberkow described the intricacies of each of the individual parts of the offensive line. As discussed by Daberkow, the “scrappy” Schlepp was an accomplished high school wrestler in the state of Kansas who has used a redshirt and a ‘COVID exemption.’ Walford is a rock at left guard who “tries to be grumpy but you know he’s not.” Anderson is the “brains of the operation,” Carpenter (undersized but savvy) was a key transfer and a coach’s son while the 6-foot-6 Schlegel is the biggest of the bunch and someone who has developed that necessary mean streak. The staff’s confidence in the unit goes beyond the starting five.
Many of the key cogs were starters – or two-deep contributors – by 2022. At the time, the offense was just beginning to take strides towards becoming a strength of the team. The 2021 squad that went 7-3 was built on a defense that featured All-American linebacker Lane Napier. Three years later, Concordia is a well-balanced team with units that complement one another.
Says the Bruning, Neb., native and farm strong Schlegel of the progression, “There were some struggles (early) and then all of a sudden we all started to click. The last couple years we’ve had the same guys. It’s been nice to kind of develop as one. We all hang out and stuff in our off time. I think that helps out chemistry-wise. It’s just awesome what we’ve been able to accomplish. Without the D-line, Fehlhafer, Sterup and Polley, it wouldn’t happen – especially the scout guys too. They are the ones who help us get better every day.”
At right tackle, Schlegel has become “one of the most ferocious guys on the field,” according to Daberkow. The ferocity in the run game and the steadiness in pass protection has helped fuel the offense. Not only has the offense’s scoring skyrocketed, the line play has kept McGarvie clean in the pocket. Dating back to last season, Concordia has held its opponents without a sack in 10 of its last 11 games.
While McGarvie has pushed his all-time school passing records to 69 touchdowns and 7,923 yards, Arp ranks among the nation’s leading rushers with 696 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. The offensive line has shown the versatility to play smash mouth football and to operate in a spread attack that makes use of the talents on the outside of Jablonski, Adam Van Cleave and company.
The prospects of being part of something special in 2024 are why Schlepp made use of yet another year. Wins like the one at Northwestern make the grind worth it. Says Schlepp, “I am very blessed and happy that I decided to come back for a sixth season. I love the culture, environment and my teammates here at Concordia. For us to be able to be as successful as we have been so far this year is a true testament to our hard work these past few years. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my collegiate football career anywhere else.”
As Koch has worked to build up one of the better Concordia offensive lines in the GPAC era, the defensive staff that includes coordinator Corby Osten, position coach Ron Jackson and others has done the same on the other side of the ball. Of the six players on the defensive line two deep, five are seniors, including Polley and Sterup, in addition to Stephen Hughes, Reed McFadden and Tal Solo. Sterup and Polley have continued to rack up tackles in the backfield as Fehlhafer eats up blockers on the interior.
Said Daberkow, “Sterup and Polley get a lot of the stats. Carson takes on all the double and triple teams. I don’t think people realize how hard you have to work to have three sacks as a nose guard. It’s incredible, honestly. Then you have guys like Stephen Hughes, Reed McFadden and Joe Kahrs who have just put their time in and have owned their roles. They’ve been ready when their names were called. It’s just been fun to coach them.”
This past summer, Sterup made mention of the many times he and Schlegel have gone head-to-head in practice. If you can run it on this defensive line, you are likely to be able to run it on most anybody. Sterup and company have limited three of their first six opponents to 55 or fewer rushing yards. Only high-powered Dordt has run for more than 135 yards on the stout Bulldog defensive front.
This past Saturday might have been the group’s best effort yet. Northwestern All-American running back Konner McQuillan managed only 43 yards on 13 carries.
Sterup gives a lot of credit to Coach Jackson and added, “We have so much depth here. I came in with Tal and Devon. Us three were freshmen who would play with the varsity our freshman year. We didn’t have to really do scout. I’m extremely close with those two. We’ve built such a great culture for the defensive line. We had nine guys here this summer working three days a week out on the field. It’s a culture thing throughout the entire locker room. We’ll have 40 guys out here for seven-on-seven. That wasn’t a thing four years ago. This team has a different feeling than when I got here.”
The feeling of reaching the bye week at 4-2, fresh off the Northwestern one is a pretty good one. As Schlegel commented, “It was super exciting. It was great to see everyone share in such a good team win. Everyone had a smile on their face. It was a great atmosphere. The bus ride home was a different experience than I’ve ever had. It was so much fun.”
That being said, there are four games remaining in the regular season and Concordia can’t afford to get caught looking past anyone. After responding to early adversity this season, the Bulldogs now are tasked with responding to success. The coaching staff seems to be confident in what that response will look like.
“This group has been an absolute joy to coach and be around as they are extremely tight-knit,” Koch said. “They genuinely enjoy being around each other and have a lot of fun with each other. They are super receptive to feedback and have a ton of productive questions. Older guys have done a very good job of setting a standard and helping the younger guys as they transition into our program.”
As Daberkow added of the offensive and defensive line groups, “It’s been fun to see how the football program has affected them personally over the years and how they’ve affected the football program. It’s been cool.”
Concordia Football Wins over NAIA Top 15 Opponents, GPAC era
10/5/24 – Won at No. 2 Northwestern, 29-17 (away).
9/23/17 – Won vs. No. 7 Doane, 29-18 (home).
9/6/14 – Won at No. 15 Sterling, 21-15 (away).
10/13/12 – Won vs. No. 11 Northwestern, 17-16 (home).
9/4/03 – Won at No. 15 Doane, 21-17 (away).
11/17/01 – Won vs. No. 13 St. Ambrose, 31-26 (home); NAIA playoffs.
10/27/01 – Won at No. 14 Doane, 14-3 (away).
9/15/01 – Won at No. 8 Sioux Falls, 17-14 (away).
9/16/00 – Won vs. No. 7 Sioux Falls, 43-24 (home).