SEWARD, Neb. – A closely contested first half turned into a comfortable victory for high-powered and 16th-ranked Dordt on the home turf of the Concordia University, Nebraska Football team. In defeat, Carlos Collazo churned out 113 yards on the ground and Gideon Stark and Adam Van Cleave connected on a 75-yard second quarter touchdown bomb. However, the Defenders controlled the ball (39:20 possession time) and rolled to a 51-21 win inside Bulldog Stadium on Saturday (Sept. 26) afternoon.
Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad slipped to 2-2 while playing at home for the third time this season. The loss snapped a string of four consecutive home wins for the program.
“You know, we had some guys who I thought did a good job of stepping up,” Daberkow said. “We put them in some roles that we weren't sure they were going to be in, and they were just better than us today. We have to make the plays when they present themselves. I have to prepare our team better to do that, and we'll figure it out. I'm confident of that. This is one of those character-check things. You really find out what you're made of. Are egos going to propel us forward, or are they going to get in the way of progress? That's kind of where we're at. I trust the character of our locker room.”
The return of Van Cleave to the lineup and the smash mouth running of Collazo helped keep Concordia tight over the game’s first 30 minutes. Twice in the first half, Stark and the offense answered a Dordt touchdown with one of their own. At the 7:58 mark of the second quarter, Collazo cruised 19 yards to the end zone for his 20th career rushing touchdown. Roughly four minutes later, Stark lofted a deep ball to a wide-open Van Cleave, who outran the Defenders for the 75-yard score. The Bulldogs closed within 21-14 at the time.
Dordt responded by playing like a team on a mission after halftime. A 50-yard field goal by Stephen Leinen heading into the break started a run of 27 unanswered points by the visitors. In the second half, the Defenders put together scoring drives that covered 75, 80, 49, 55 and 65 yards, respectively. A lost Concordia fumble near midfield added to the onslaught.
A 2025 NAIA playoff qualifier that shared last season’s GPAC title, Dordt played an efficient, ball-control offensive style. Quarterback Noah Strickfaden completed 21-of-26 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown. Repeated slants and quick passes worked to near perfection. He avoided the fatal mistakes that plagued the Mount Marty passing attack a week ago in Seward. On the ground, the Defenders worked up clouds of dust while amassing 271 rushing yards.
Stark finished 13-for-29 for 171 yards and a touchdown through the air. While Van Cleave returned, Collin Fritton was sidelined on Saturday (one week after being named GPAC Special Teams Player of the Week). With the outcome decided, Camden Jensen relieved Stark in the fourth quarter. The Grand Island native Jensen caught Dordt off guard with a 46-yard touchdown rush (first career) to cap Concordia’s scoring. Thanks to Jensen’s explosive play and Collazo’s sixth career 100-yard rushing performance, the Bulldogs racked up 215 rushing yards for the afternoon.
A Concordia defense that spent most of the day on the field was led by five players with at least nine tackles: Jett Farwell (11), Deegan Barnes (10), Kaden Thompson (10), Will Potratz (nine) and Treven Weddle (nine). The secondary chased around a Defender receiver group that featured Eliot Beal (seven for 120 yards) and Kaden Harken (eight for 64, TD). The well-balanced attack propelled Dordt to 2-2 on the season (both losses by one possession to NAIA top 10 teams).
Van Cleave finished with 199 all-purpose yards while making nine grabs for 142 yards and a score. As part of the special teams effort, Braxtyn Koch punted five times for an average of 41.0 yards (with one punt downed inside the opposition’s 20). Concordia missed its lone field goal attempt, though Peyton Atwood went 3-for-3 on PATs.
Concluded Daberkow, “It was a combination of things. It wasn't like one thing where we could say, ‘Hey, if we fix this one issue, then we're off and running.’ It's a combination of things, and we just have some work to do. Some things got exposed today, and we're committed to getting them fixed. We will bounce back from this, but it's not to be taken lightly. We just have to get some things fixed.”
A string of three straight road games begins next Saturday (Oct. 3) when the Bulldogs will be headed to Orange City, Iowa, for a matchup with No. 22 Northwestern (3-2, 3-1 GPAC). Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT from De Valois Stadium. Concordia has won back-to-back meetings with the Red Raiders, who won at Hastings, 33-26, on Saturday.