Clips: Van Cleave 79-yard TD reception | Schmidt’s second INT
SEWARD, Neb. – On a day that featured a senior day recognition, an appearance from Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and aerial fireworks from both sides, Concordia University, Nebraska Football wasn’t having overtime. After quarterback Gideon Stark ran for the game’s final touchdown, the Bulldogs were unsuccessful on a two-point attempt, resulting in visiting Midland escaping Bulldog Stadium with a wild 42-41 win on Saturday (Nov. 14) afternoon. The Warriors squeaked past Concordia despite six total touchdowns from Gideon Stark and more than 200 receiving yards from Adam Van Cleave.
Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad has finished the 2026 campaign at 5-5 overall. The Bulldogs badly wanted to win for the 28 seniors honored prior to kickoff.
“It was heartbreak,” Daberkow said. “When you get that close and come up a point short, it's a hard pill to swallow. But that's how it went. I told our guys that I'm walking out of the locker room with my chest out, my shoulders back, and one foot in front of the other, doing the next right thing. That's all you can do. Being able to send these seniors out on a winning note was so important to all of us. To do it against these guys would have just been icing on the cake, but we didn't do everything we needed to do today.”
Up against an opponent hoping to make one last pitch to the NAIA Selection Committee, Concordia put on an early display of explosiveness courtesy of Stark and Van Cleave. However, Midland seemingly wrestled away control of the game with three straight touchdowns that erased a 28-21 second half Bulldog lead. It was all part of yet another dramatic Concordia-Midland collision. Stark rallied the troops and led fourth quarter scoring drives of 66 and 51 yards, respectively, both ending with No. 11 calling his own number.
Each of the previous two home matchups (2023 and 2025) with Midland had gone to overtime, but Daberkow elected to go for the win on Saturday. On consecutive plays in the waning moments, Stark ran for 10, 16 and nine yards, reaching the end zone to get Concordia within 42-41. Following a timeout, Stark’s pass intended for a well-covered Van Cleave fell incomplete on the two-point try.
As Daberkow explained, “I made that decision on Thursday. We talked about it as a staff, and we felt like that was our best shot. So, we did what we did. We made the call, and we felt like that was the right decision.”
Regardless of one’s rooting interest, the game didn’t disappoint from an entertainment factor. The two teams combined for 799 passing yards on a chilly, but sun-soaked day inside Bulldog Stadium. In the first quarter alone, Van Cleave hauled in five receptions for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Van Cleave’s final score came on an underthrown heave that forced the Columbus native to come back to the ball, snatch it from a defender and then race from midfield to the end zone on a play that covered 79 yards.
Van Cleave will go down as one of the program’s all-time greats at the receiver position. He finished his career with totals of 199 receptions for 2,553 yards and 24 touchdowns (all top five on the program’s all-time charts). Van Cleave completed Saturday’s game with nine grabs for 216 yards.
Reflected Van Cleave after the contest, “I'm just really grateful. I didn't know I was going to be able to come back and play football like I did, especially at this level. It's given me way more than I could ever ask for. All the coaches and all the guys have put in so much time over the years. For it to come to an end today, I'm just super grateful and really blessed.”
Defensive stops were difficult to come by on Saturday, but Concordia got a couple of them thanks to a pair of interceptions from senior safety Gabe Schmidt, a Lincoln Lutheran High School alum. The defense also came up with a key third down stop that paved the way for the potential game-winning touchdown. On third-and-three from its own 29, Midland was stuffed a yard short of the marker by the combo of Luke Penrod and Will Potratz. A shanked punt then set the Bulldogs up at their own 49. Additionally, the defense got a sack apiece from AJ Frazey, Dylan Meyer, Tristen Ray and Drake Trent. At linebacker, Meyer led the way with 10 tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
Midland (9-2, 8-2 GPAC) played this game without prolific quarterback Brodey Johnson and former Oregon Ducks receiver Jurrion Dickey. In subbing in at QB, Nate Lewis threw for a program single game record 447 yards and two touchdowns (to go with two rushing scores). His go-to targets were Tyson Money (seven catches for 208 yards and two touchdowns) and TJ Covington (eight catches for 131 yards). The Warriors racked up 570 total yards of offense. The game pitted Midland’s third-ranked pass offense up against Concordia’s 85th-ranked pass defense (entering the day). The Warriors took their first lead of the game at 35-28 in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the Bulldog offense posted 497 yards. In his final game in Bulldog Blue, Stark completed 21-of-29 passes for 352 yards. He also rushed for 68 yards on seven attempts. Stark fired completions to seven different receivers. Out of the backfield, Dylan Mika rushed 11 times for 41 yards while Carlos Collazo returned from injury to carry the ball 15 times for 36 yards.
Also noteworthy, reigning GPAC Special Teams Player of the Week Braxtyn Koch pinned Midland at its own four on his first boot of the day. Koch punted four times for an average of 47.0 yards per attempt with three of his punts downed inside the 20. A key part of the special teams operation has been long snapper Max Wurdeman, one of the 28 seniors.
Concordia Football now enters the offseason after having posted at least a .500 record for the fourth straight year and for the sixth time over the past seven years. For returning players, spring practice will take place in the latter half of the spring semester.
Concluded Daberkow, “I appreciate Bulldog Nation. It's hard to describe how important it is that these families get to know each other and do life together while we're playing four or five years of college football. The support structures here for these players and everyone involved are really good. I'm just sad that it's over.
“We started our season memorizing Jeremiah 17:7-8. It says, ‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He'll be like a tree planted by the water, whose roots go out to the stream. He does not fear when heat comes. His leaves are always green. He doesn't worry in a year of drought, and he never fails to bear fruit.’ Whether it's a season in a valley or we're on the mountaintop, we know where we need to put our trust. If the guys got nothing else out of this season, they know that verse like the back of their hand.”