SEWARD, Neb. – The circumstances played out in eerily similar fashion to a week earlier when Concordia University, Nebraska Football overcame the furious rally of Mount Marty. However, the 17th-ranked Bulldogs’ homecoming Saturday (Oct. 11) rivalry renewal ended in heartbreak when visiting Midland celebrated a 60-52 double overtime victory. The Warriors came all the way back from a 38-7 third-quarter deficit behind seven touchdown passes from quarterback Brodey Johnson.
The defeat snapped a nine-game program winning streak for Concordia, which had gone since September 2024 without enduring a loss. Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad slipped to 4-1 overall (4-1 GPAC).
“Of course we’re disappointed,” Daberkow said. “There are so many lessons we’re going to learn from this, and that’s the approach we’re going to take. We’re going to do the next right thing. There are a lot of crazy things that happened. It’s frustrating to drop this one for sure. We’re still capable of doing a lot of things. As wild as last weekend was, I think this one was wilder.”
The Bulldogs appeared to be on their way to a homecoming throttling when their opening drive of the third quarter covered 56 yards on five plays and culminated with Carlos Collazo’s 15-yard rushing touchdown. The Aurora High School product’s third touchdown of the gave Concordia a seemingly commanding 38-7 lead at the 11:20 mark of the third quarter. In three quarters of action, Collazo racked up 171 yards a week after his school record 283-yard performance at Mount Marty.
With their backs against the wall, the Warriors abandoned a nonexistent rushing game and leaned upon the arm of Johnson. The North Bend, Neb., native proceeded to throw all seven of his touchdown passes after halftime. Concordia aided Midland’s comeback efforts with a pair of lost fumbles, one that led to a Johnson touchdown pass of 22 yards to TJ Covington and another that gave way to a 10-yard touchdown toss form Johnson to Tyson Denkert.
The Warriors caught up to the Bulldogs at the 6:17 mark of the fourth quarter when Payden Alexander knotted the score, 38-38, via a 39-yard field goal. The final five minutes of regulation then saw plenty of drama. Midland scored 38 straight points by the time Johnson connected with Kevin Adams Jr. for a 30-yard score. The visitors suddenly led, 45-38. The Bulldogs responded by marching 65 yards on 12 plays and evened things back up with Gideon Stark’s 13-yard touchdown whirl to Max Bartels.
In overtime, Concordia struck first on a 22-yard touchdown hookup from Stark to Adam Van Cleave on third and seven. But Johnson wasn’t done carving up the Bulldog secondary. His sixth and seventh touchdown passes of the contest pushed the Warriors to the winner’s circle. Midland sealed the victory when Stark’s fourth down pass from the Warrior 14 fell incomplete in double overtime.
The miraculous rally overshadowed what had been a first half full of big plays for the Bulldogs. Concordia scored on three separate plays of at least 50 yards, including a 57-yard pitch and catch from Stark to tight end Maddox Rickertsen (first career touchdown), a 50-yard burst by Collazo and a 55-yard dart over the middle from Stark to Jonny Puelz. Defensively, the Bulldogs got a pick and 34-yard return to the 2-yard-line from safety Luke Penrod on Midland’s first offensive play of the game. Concordia quickly cashed in on Collazo’s two-yard touchdown rush.
Unfortunately, Collazo was lost to injury at the 14:26 mark of the fourth quarter. On the play, Collazo lost a fumble. The Bulldog offense finished with 482 total yards with 294 coming through the air from Stark (20-for-44 for four touchdowns). Van Cleave made nine grabs for 105 yards and a score and Rickertsen (three for 95) came up just shy of the century mark. In helping build the lead, kicker Peyton Atwood drilled a 37-yard field goal and made all seven PATs.
Midland (3-3, 3-2 GPAC) managed to reach 60 points despite being held without a single first down in the first quarter. By game’s end, the Warriors ran 91 plays and racked up 441 passing yards. However, Concordia shut the run game down (43 yards on 29 attempts). In pacing the Bulldog defense, Deegan Barnes, Carson Fehlhafer and Grant Huss registered a sack apiece. Huss also forced a fumble. A key for the Midland offense was its ability to convert fourth downs (3-for-3).
In a game high on possessions, the two teams actually combined to punt 15 times. Concordia punter Braxtyn Koch punted seven times and pinned the Warriors inside their 20 on three occasions.
Two weeks in a row, the Bulldogs relinquished leads of 24 points or more. There have been a combined 207 points in Concordia’s past two games. The miscues, in tandem with a red-hot Midland passing game, came back to bite the Bulldogs this time around.
Said Daberkow, “You have to care of the football. We didn’t do that well enough. They capitalized on both of them. That’s how you get back into a game if you’re down big. We had them down big and we just haven’t developed that killer instinct yet. You have to make the big plays in the big moments. As we learn and grow, I hope to see us make those plays. We have a lot of season left and a lot of good football ahead of us. I’m excited about the opportunities that are still out there.”
Another in-state matchup is on the docket for next Saturday (Oct. 18) when the Bulldogs will be at Lloyd Wilson Field for a clash with Hastings (3-3, 3-3 GPAC). The Broncos had a bye this week following their 10-9 road upset of No. 22 Northwestern on Oct. 4. Concordia has won five of the past six meetings with Hastings.