SEWARD, Neb. – Based on rankings, the Concordia University football team faces its stiffest challenge yet this season in this Saturday’s action. It will be Military Appreciation day at Bulldog Stadium, where sixth-ranked Northwestern will be on hand for a 1 p.m. CT kickoff. Fans who present military identification will be admitted free of charge. Concordia is 2-1 over its first three home games.
Third-year head coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad has won three of its last four games after taking a 24-17 decision from Dakota Wesleyan this past week. The Bulldogs again leaned heavily upon a defense that limited the Tigers to 12 yards rushing. As a result of another dominant performance, junior linebacker Lane Napier was named the GPAC Defensive Player of the Week. On the other side of the ball, Concordia got its passing game back on track with quarterback Jake Kemp racking up 296 yards and three touchdown passes.
Head coach Matt McCarty’s program is aiming for a third-straight berth in the NAIA Championship Series. On paper, it’s difficult to pinpoint a weakness for a Red Raider squad that ranks in the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and defense. No opponent has had fun dealing with junior quarterback Tyson Kooima, who has thrown for 13 touchdowns and has run for four more scores this season. Last week Northwestern cruised to a 35-6 win at Dordt while outgaining the Defenders, 398-254.
GAME INFO | Military Appreciation Day
No. 6 Northwestern (5-0, 4-0 GPAC) at (Concordia (3-3, 3-2 GPAC)
Saturday, Oct. 19 | 1 p.m.
Bulldog Stadium | Seward, Neb.
Webcast/Stats: Concordia Sports Network
Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Commentators: Tyler Cavalli and Roger Fitzke
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Team Statistics
*2019 national rank in parentheses
Concordia
Offensive PPG: 21.3 (62nd out of 93)
Defensive PPG: 14.7 (T-14th)
Total Offense: 314.3 (64th)
Pass Offense: 235.2 (22nd)
Rush Offense: 79.2 (83rd)
Total Defense: 274.2 (15th)
Pass Defense: 204.2 (51st)
Rush Defense: 70.0 (3rd)
Turnover +/-: +9 (T-8th)
Northwestern
Offensive PPG: 41.0 (9th)
Defensive PPG: 10.2 (4th)
Total Offense: 455.6 (7th)
Pass Offense: 281.2 (10th)
Rush Offense: 174.4 (29th)
Total Defense: 290.8 (T-18th)
Pass Defense: 130.8 (3rd)
Rush Defense: 160.0 (54th)
Turnover +/-: +4 (T-22nd)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Concordia
Head Coach: Patrick Daberkow (12-14, 3rd season)
Passing: Jake Kemp – 89/161 (.553), 1,182 yards, 7 td, 3 int, 127.6 effic.
Rushing: Ryan Durdon – 140 rushes, 374 yards, 2.7 avg, 3 td; 11 catches, 106 yards, td
Receiving: Cayden Beran – 37 catches, 536 yards, 14.5 avg, 2 td
Defense: Lane Napier – 72 tackles, 8.5 tfl’s, 4.5 sacks, 2 ff, fr, int
Northwestern
Head Coach: Matt McCarty (26-11, 4th season)
Passing: Tyson Kooima – 85/138 (.616), 1,344 yards, 13 td, 3 int, 170.1 effic.
Rushing: Jacob Kalgonis – 101 rushes, 620 yards, 6.1 avg, 8 td, 14 catches, 135 yards, td
Receiving: Shane Solberg – 29 catches, 478 yards, 16.5 avg, 5 td
Defense: Tanner Machacek – 46 tackles, 5.5 tfl’s, 2.5 sacks, int
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Concordia (3-3, 3-2)
9/7 vs. Doane, L, 10-17
9/14 at Buena Vista, L, 24-27
9/21 at Hastings, W, 44-0
9/28 vs. Briar Cliff, W, 16-14
10/5 at Jamestown, L, 10-13 (4 OT)
10/12 vs. Dakota Wesleyan, W, 24-17
10/19 vs. (6) Northwestern, 1 p.m.
10/26 at Dordt, 1 p.m.
11/2 vs. Midland, 1 p.m.
11/9 at (1) Morningside, 1 p.m.
Northwestern (5-0, 4-0)
9/7 vs. Valley City State, W, 47-7
9/14 at Midland, W, 26-25
9/21 at Dakota Wesleyan, W-52-7
9/28 vs. Jamestown, W, 45-6
10/12 at Dordt, W, 35-6
10/19 at Concordia, 1 p.m.
10/26 vs. Doane, 1 p.m.
11/2 at Briar Cliff, 1 p.m.
11/9 vs. Hastings, 1 p.m.
11/16 vs. (1) Morningside, 1 p.m.
In the rankings
Concordia last cracked the NAIA top 25 national poll on Nov. 6, 2017 but then dropped out after falling in the 2017 finale. The Bulldogs have not yet received any votes in the 2019 polls. They were picked eighth among the 10 GPAC football schools by both the coaches and media in the preseason. Massey Ratings currently lists Concordia as the 62nd ranked team nationally in the NAIA (stayed in the same position as last week).
Northwestern has been ranked in 28-straight NAIA top 25 polls. Its peak position over that stretch was No. 3, where it appeared for back-to-back weeks during the 2018 season. The Red Raiders have reached the top of the mountain in their past, having won NAIA national championships in 1973 and 1983. Northwestern checked in at No. 2 in the GPAC media and coaches’ preseason polls. In the NAIA ranking released today (Oct. 14), the Red Raiders landed at No. 6, up one spot from last week. Northwestern is rated 16th by Massey Ratings.
Concordia
GPAC preseason: 8th (coaches); 8th (media)
NAIA coaches’ poll (Oct. 14): not ranked
Massey Ratings: 62nd
Northwestern
GPAC preseason: 2nd (coaches); 2nd (media)
NAIA coaches’ poll (Oct. 14): 6th
Massey Ratings: 16th
Napier the third Bulldog this season to be named GPAC award winner
It’s not hyperbolic to call linebacker Lane Napier one of the best defensive players ever to wear the navy and white – and he’s only a junior. In the four-overtime game at Jamestown, Napier overtook Sean Stewart for the most career tackles for a Bulldog during the GPAC era (see list below). With 12 more tackles last week versus Dakota Wesleyan, Napier surpassed 300 stops for his career. The David City, Neb., native also added 1.5 tackles for loss, a half a sack and his first career interception in the latest victory. As a result, Napier was named the GPAC Defensive Player of the Week.
Napier is the third Concordia player to earn GPAC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season. He joined senior linebacker Derek Tachovsky (Sept. 23) and freshman safety AJ Jenkins (Sept. 30) as GPAC weekly honorees. Napier has collected three GPAC Defensive Player of the Week awards in his career, including one as a freshman and one as a sophomore.
Most tackles, GPAC era
311 – Lane Napier (2017-- )
290 – Sean Stewart (1999-02)
261 – Michael Hedlund (2013-16)
246 – Ben Klein (2008-11)
237 – Jerrod Fleming (2008-11)
234 – Tait Sibbel (2012-15)
D ranks as one of NAIA’s best
The defense has given Concordia a shot each time out. No opponent has scored more than 27 points in any single game (and that total was inflated by an interception return for a touchdown). One of the more impressive displays for the Bulldog defense last week came when it held Dakota Wesleyan out of the end zone after it had first and goal inside the one-yard-line on the final possession of the first half. Through six games, Concordia has allowed its opponents only 81 first downs. On the national leaderboards, the Bulldogs rank second in third down defense (20 percent conversion rate), third in rush defense (70.0), 11th in total defense (274.2), 14th in scoring defense (14.7) and 28th in pass efficiency defense (108.3).
Durdon contributes in passing game
The running game has been a work-in-progress since the start of the 2018 season, but senior running back Ryan Durdon still finds ways to contribute. In last week’s game, Durdon piled up 98 total yards (49 rushing, 49 receiving) and scored a touchdown on a 15-yard reception in the third quarter. The Decatur, Texas, native is now 58 rushing yards shy of 2,500 for his career. He remains at No. 6 on the program’s all-time rushing list, which is topped by Cleve Wester and his 3,731 yards. Durdon has reached the end zone 21 times as a Bulldog.
Concordia all-time leading rushers
1. Cleve Wester (1982-85) – 3,731
2. Bryce Collins (2013-16) – 3,547
3. Gary Seevers (1953-56) – 3,257
4. Alex Alvarez (1999-03) – 2,959
5. JaMaine Lewis (2004-07) – 2,731
6. Ryan Durdon (2016-- ) – 2,442
7. Phillip Elder (2002-05) – 2,027
8. Jeff Towns (1978-79) – 1,930
9. Don Baker (1971-75) – 1,799
Beran continues monster campaign
After biding his time last season as a freshman, Cayden Beran has burst onto the scene as the team’s go-to receiver in 2019. The 6-foot-3 native of Hutto, Texas, has three 100-yard receiving games already this season and tops the Bulldogs in catches (37) and receiving yards (536). Beran ranks second and fourth, respectively, in the GPAC in those categories. He is on a pass for roughly 62 catches for 893 yards. Those statistics would make for one of the top seasons ever by a Concordia pass catcher. The single-season school records for receiving yards is 951 by Clarence Woods (1988) while the standard for catches is 62 by Eric Pralle (1990).
Kemp breaks 1,000-yard mark
Junior Jake Kemp is providing some stability to a quarterback position that has been the exact opposite of stable in recent years. Since Von Thomas’ final season in 2014, the position has been a revolving door. Just consider the team’s leading passers since then: Garrett Folchert (1,087 yards in 2015), Riley Wiltfong (1,136 yards in 2016), Wiltfong again (1,078 yards in 2017) and Andrew Perea (1,100 in 2018). In six games, Kemp’s total of 1,175 passing yards already surpasses the aforementioned totals. Only one Bulldog quarterback has ever reached 2,000 passing yards in a season (Jarrod Pimentel). Kemp will have to average at least 206.3 passing yards per game over the final four contests in order to reach the 2,000 mark.
Top five single season passing yardage totals, program history
1. Jarrod Pimentel – 2,150 (2001)
2. Von Thomas – 1,947 (2013)
3. Phil Seevers – 1,938 (1988)
4. Von Thomas – 1,840 (2012)
5. Jon Von Rentzell – 1,771 (1984)
Sack lunch
Improvement up front has made a big difference in the Concordia pass rush. The Bulldogs are averaging nearly 4.0 sacks per game after piling up six more last week (ranked seventh nationally in sacks per game). Senior Aaron Rudloff has been a terror at the defensive end spot. His seven sacks are tied for the most among GPAC players. Concordia’s linebackers also contribute heavily to the total. Napier has 4.5 sacks, Riley Bilstein has 2.5, Tachovsky has two and Walter has one. The Bulldogs lead all GPAC teams with 23 sacks on the season. Rudloff’s seven sacks are the most by a Concordia individual since Trey Barnes put up nine in 2016.
Turnovers = equalizer
Turnover margin can be an equalizer when up against a highly-rated opponent like Northwestern. The Bulldogs rank in the top 10 nationally in turnovers with a plus-nine margin. In last week’s game, both Concordia and Dakota Wesleyan committed one turnover apiece. It marked the first game this season that the Bulldogs failed to have a positive margin. The one Concordia turnover came on Lane Napier’s interception. To this point, the Bulldogs have forced 11 fumbles (recovered nine) and have fumbled only twice themselves.
Series vs. Northwestern
Northwestern has had the upper hand, winning 27 of the first 41 meetings with Concordia in a series that began in 1960 (the first year of football at Northwestern). The Bulldogs most recent win over Northwestern occurred inside Bulldog Stadium in 2016 when they held off the Red Raiders, 9-7, in a defensive battle. An improved Concordia defense will attempt to contain Tyson Kooima, who has had his way with the Bulldogs the past two seasons. Kooima piled up 385 total yards and five total touchdowns in the 2017 meeting and then 371 yards and three touchdowns at Concordia last season. In the 2018 matchup in Seward, Northwestern mounted a 42-7 lead before the Bulldogs got rolling through the air and closed to within 42-28 by the time final horn sounded. Andrew Perea’s 455 passing yards against Northwestern broke a Concordia single-game record.
Scouting Northwestern
Head coach Matt McCarty has crafted another playoff contender in Orange City, Iowa. The offense has balance with Tyson Kooima starring at quarterback and with Jacob Kalgonis (4,036 career rushing yards) averaging more than 6.0 yards per carry at running back. The Bulldogs will find out exactly how good their defense is in this matchup. The only team thus far to give Northwestern a challenge was Midland. The clash in Fremont resulted in a 26-25 Red Raider win. Kicker Braxton Williams booted the game-winning 21-yard field goal with five seconds left. Considering its strength on both sides of the ball, Northwestern has its sights set on dethroning Morningside atop the GPAC.