SEWARD, Neb. – The second bye week of the 2024 season leads the Concordia University, Nebraska Football team into its final game of the regular season. With it comes one last opportunity for the Bulldogs to impress the NAIA Football Championship Series selection committee. At 7-2, Concordia finds itself in the discussion for a postseason berth. In order to bolster their case, the Bulldogs need to emerge victorious in Fremont on Saturday. Concordia and Midland are getting set to play for the 72nd time in series history.
Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad has been idle since routing Hastings, 42-6, on senior day (Nov. 2). The Bulldogs have won seven of their first nine games for the first time since the 2001 team that shared the GPAC championship. In the current league standings, Concordia sits in a three-way tie for second place along with Dordt and Northwestern. Morningside (9-0 GPAC) has clinched the conference championship.
Win or lose, Midland is on track to finish above .500 for the ninth-straight season. All of those years have occurred during the tenure of Head Coach Jeff Jamrog. The Warriors earned a 24-0 shutout at Doane last week while moving to 6-4 overall. Midland has been a defensive-oriented squad this season and has played competitively with GPAC powerhouses Morningside (28-21 loss) and Northwestern (17-7 loss). The Warriors have won four of the past five meetings with the Bulldogs.
GAME INFO
Concordia (7-2, 7-2 GPAC) at Midland (6-4, 5-4 GPAC)
Saturday, Nov. 16 | 1 p.m.
Heedum Field | Fremont, Neb.
Webcast: GPAC Network
Live Stats: PrestoStats
Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Commentators: Parker Cyza and Ross Wurdeman
Tickets: HomeTown Ticketing (also sold on site)
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Team Statistics
*2024 national rankings out of 97 NAIA football programs in parentheses
Concordia
Offensive PPG: 37.8 (21st)
Defensive PPG: 19.0 (T-23rd)
Total Offense: 480.1 (9th)
Pass Offense: 267.9 (16th)
Rush Offense: 212.2 (12th)
Total Defense: 349.4 (50th)
Pass Defense: 241.2 (80th)
Rush Defense: 108.2 (20th)
Turnover +/-: +2
Midland
Offensive PPG: 26.4 (50th)
Defensive PPG: 18.9 (22nd)
Total Offense: 339.2 (52nd)
Pass Offense: 199.1 (48th)
Rush Offense: 140.1 (58th)
Total Defense: 281.2 (16th)
Pass Defense: 178.6 (32nd)
Rush Defense: 102.6 (16th)
Turnover +/-: +1
2024 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Concordia
Head Coach: Patrick Daberkow (39-38, 8th season)
Passing: DJ McGarvie – 181/305 (.593), 2,199 yards, 26 td, 11 int, 140.8 effic.
Rushing: Mark Arp – 214 rushes, 1,098 yards, 5.1 avg, 11 td; 19 receptions for 141 yards
Receiving: Austin Jablonski – 70 receptions, 1,010 yards, 14.4 avg, 9 td
Defense: Grant Huss – 77 tackles, 4 tfl’s, 3 int, 3 pbu, 1.5 sacks
Midland
Head Coach: Jeff Jamrog (57-36, 9th season)
Passing: Teryn Berry – 144/260 (.554), 1,851 yards, 15 td, 8 int, 128.1 effic.
Rushing: Tyson Denkert – 194 rushes, 1,135 yards, 5.9 avg, 10 td; 20 receptions for 250 yards (1 td)
Receiving: Tim Brown – 26 receptions, 308 yards, 11.8 avg, 5 td
Defense: Gabriel VanWinkle – 41 tackles, 10 tfl’s, 7 sacks, 1 ff
2024 SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Concordia (7-2, 7-2 GPAC)
8/31 vs. Waldorf, W, 45-7
9/7 vs. (10) Morningside, L, 21-51
9/14 at Dakota Wesleyan, W, 42-7
9/21 at Briar Cliff, W, 63-13
9/28 vs. (9) Dordt, L, 22-33 (homecoming)
10/5 at (2) Northwestern, W, 29-17
10/19 at Doane, W, 45-10
10/26 vs. Mount Marty, W, 31-27
11/2 vs. Hastings, W, 42-6
11/16 at Midland, 1 p.m.
Midland (6-4, 5-4 GPAC)
8/30 vs. Clarke, W, 45-7
9/7 vs. (13) Dordt, L, 20-38
9/14 vs. (14) Morningside, L, 21-28
9/21 at (2) Northwestern, L, 7-17
9/28 vs. Dakota Wesleyan, W, 21-20
10/5 at Waldorf, W, 28-14
10/12 at Briar Cliff, W, 45-30
10/19 vs. Hastings, W, 26-7
11/2 at Mount Marty, L, 27-28
11/9 at Doane, W, 24-0
11/16 vs. Concordia, 1 p.m.
In the rankings
Concordia landed at No. 5 in the 2024 GPAC preseason coaches’ poll. From a national perspective, the Bulldogs began this season off the radar. The win at No. 2 Northwestern garnered Concordia some national respect and it received votes in the NAIA coaches’ poll for four-straight weeks before cracking the NAIA top 25 at No. 23 on Nov. 4. The occasion marked the program’s first top 25 ranking since the 2017 season. Meanwhile, Midland was ranked as recently as the 2022 season when it spent nine weeks in the NAIA top 25 and rose as high as 14th.
Concordia
GPAC preseason: 5th
Current Massey Ratings: 25th
Midland
GPAC preseason: 4th
Current Massey Ratings: 38th
Last time out
The record moved to 7-2 as the Bulldogs overcame five turnovers while manhandling Hastings, 42-6, on senior day (Nov. 2). The Concordia defense was up to the challenge in forcing three turnovers of its own and holding the Broncos to 4-for-17 on third downs. Kyle Sterup and his teammates up front ate well. Sterup finished with seven tackles (three for loss) and two sacks and Devon Polley made 2.5 stops for loss. Despite the turnovers, Hastings reached the red zone only two times while averaging 1.9 yards per rush. Offensively, quarterback DJ McGarvie threw four touchdown passes and Carlos Collazo rushed for two scores. All-American receiver Austin Jablonski enjoyed a monster day as he caught eight passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. As a result, Jablonski was named the GPAC Offensive Player of the Week (second time this season). His touchdowns came on passes of 67 and 42 yards from McGarvie, who also tossed touchdowns of 30 yards to Daylan Russell and two yards to Adam Van Cleave. Concordia outgained Hastings, 543-303. Prior to kickoff, Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s program honored a group of 29 seniors.
Best since 2001?
Concordia Football has won at least seven of its first nine games of a season since the 2001 GPAC championship team sat at 8-1 at this point in the season. The ’01 NAIA playoff qualifier (final record of 10-2) coached by Courtney Meyer is also the most recent Bulldog edition to win at least eight games in a single season. Since then, four Concordia teams have won exactly seven games: the 2013, 2016, 2021 and 2024 squads. Now a nationally ranked team, the Bulldogs are looking to close out a season with a top 25 number next to their name for the first time since the 2016 squad ended the year at No. 19 after going 7-3 overall (5-3 GPAC) under then Head Coach Vance Winter.
7-2 or better after nine games, GPAC era
2024 – 7-2 (7-2 GPAC)
2001 – 8-1 (7-1 GPAC)
6-2 or better after eight games, GPAC era
2024 – 6-2 (6-2 GPAC)
2013 – 6-2 (4-2 GPAC)
2001 – 8-0 (7-0 GPAC)
NAIA football playoff announcement scheduled for Sunday
By this Sunday evening, the official 2024 NAIA Football Championship Series pairings will be made public. The NAIA has scheduled a selection show for 6 p.m. CT on Sunday (Nov. 17) to announce the playoff field. More details about that show can be found HERE. Recently, Victory Sports Network released an explanation of the NAIA playoff selection process HERE. The playoff field consists of 13 automatic qualifiers and seven at-large teams. Concordia hopes to be included as one of the at-large choices.
Coach Daberkow + staff
Patrick Daberkow’s history at Concordia dates back to his first season as a Bulldog football player in 2003. This is Daberkow’s 17th season as part of the program’s staff – eighth as head coach. He served as defensive coordinator for seven years before being named as head coach in December 2016. Daberkow assumed offensive play calling duties in 2022 before turning that role over to Greg Nelson, former Lincoln Lutheran head coach, in 2023. Meanwhile, his full-time staff includes Defensive Coordinator Corby Osten, Special Teams Coordinator Trent Laune and Assistant Coach Grady Koch (who specializes in coaching the offensive line, among other duties). Former Nebraska Wesleyan assistant Kevin Crume is in his second season at Concordia. Former Head Coach Courtney Meyer again works with the specialists and has spent more than 50 years coaching football.
McGarvie pads single season touchdown pass record, reaches 80 TD passes for career
DJ McGarvie made his 35th career start in the win over Hastings. His latest school record is the standard for touchdown passes in a single season (26 in 2024). The Lincoln North Star High School alum rose to the top of the program’s all-time passing charts in 2023 and continues to pad his records. As part of the win at Doane, McGarvie eclipsed 8,000 career passing yards (currently at 8,856) and surpassed 70 career touchdown passes. McGarvie then hit 80 career touchdown passes last week versus Hastings. He owns a career completion percentage of 57.4 (747-for-1,301) in 38 games. In addition to his 80 career touchdown passes, McGarvie has run for nine scores. While leading the GPAC in passing yards per game (264.2) in 2023, McGarvie became the first Bulldog quarterback in the GPAC era (2000-present) to be named either first or second team all-conference. By season, McGarvie has turned in touchdown-to-interception ratios of 19-7 in 2021, 18-6 in 2022, 17-10 in 2023 and 26-11 in 2024. Among GPAC quarterbacks in 2024, McGarvie ranks second in touchdown passes (26), second in passing yards (2,177), third in passer efficiency (140.6) and fifth in completion percentage (.589). McGarvie needs 144 passing yards to reach 9,000 for his career.
Concordia all-time passing yards leaders
1. DJ McGarvie – 8,856
2. Jarrod Pimentel – 6,435
3. Von Thomas – 5,662
4. Rod Giesselmann – 5,519
5. Kurt Earl – 4,158
Concordia all-time passing touchdowns leaders
1. DJ McGarvie – 80
2. Von Thomas – 49
2. Jarrod Pimentel – 49
4. Rod Giesselmann – 47
5. Kurt Earl – 37
Primary targets: Jabo and Van Cleave
Receivers Austin Jablonski and Adam Van Cleave are targeted most frequently by McGarvie. On the season, Jablonski has hauled in 70 receptions for 1,010 yards and nine touchdowns. Meanwhile, Adam Van Cleave has racked up 56 catches for 644 yards and six touchdowns. Both Jablonski (walk-on) and Van Cleave (student only) began their college careers at the University of Nebraska. As the numbers show below, Jablonski continues to move up the program’s all-time receiving lists, currently ranking second in receptions (189), second in receiving yards (2,627) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (20). Jablonski broke the school record for receiving yards in a single game with 213 in the win at Doane. He is also the program record holder for receiving yards in a season with 1,134 in 2023 and is the first player in program history to record back-to-back seasons of 1,000 receiving yards. As for Van Cleave, he is enjoying a breakout season after an injury limited him to three games in 2023. Another key target for McGarvie in and near the red zone has been tight end Daylan Russell. Six of Russell’s 15 catches this season have gone for touchdowns.
Concordia all-time reception leaders
1. Korrell Koehlmoos – 221
2. Austin Jablonski – 197
3. Ross Wurdeman – 168
3. Jared Garcia – 161
5. Eric Pralle – 147
Concordia all-time receiving yards leaders
1. Korrell Koehlmoos – 2,894
2. Austin Jablonski – 2,627
3. Jared Garcia – 2,495
4. Ross Wurdeman – 2,458
5. Clarence Woods – 2,011
Arp-Collazo form 1-2 punch in backfield behind veteran o-line
The 1-2 punch of Mark Arp and Carlos Collazo continues to produce impressive numbers week after week. Through nine games, Arp has rushed for 1,098 yards and 11 touchdowns on 214 carries. Heading into the final game of the regular season, Arp ranks second among GPAC players and fifth among all NAIA running backs in rushing yards for the season. As the No. 2 back, Collazo has rushed for 522 yards and six touchdowns on 78 attempts (for a 6.7 average per carry). As a team, Concordia is averaging 212.2 rushing yards per game and 5.4 rushing yards per carry. The offensive line deserves plenty of credit along with Arp and Collazo. The same five players have started up front for eight of the nine games: Cohen Carpenter and Blake Schlegel at the tackles, Tyler Walford and Christian Schlepp at the guard spots and Jackson Anderson at center. In the win at Doane, Brevin Damrow stepped in and made the start at center for Anderson (under the weather). The group has surrendered only four sacks all season and has held its opponents without a sack in 11 of the past 14 games dating back to last season. Concordia has outnumbered its foes in sacks, 27-3, for the season and has outrushed them, on average, 212.2 to 108.2.
Concordia 1,000-yard rushers, single season
1. JaMaine Lewis – 1,265 (2007)
2. Ryan Durdon – 1,247 (2017)
3. Cleve Wester – 1,114 (1984)
4. Mark Arp – 1,098 (2024)
5. Randy Posphishil – 1,085 (1972)
6. Bryce Collins – 1,016 (2014)
7. Jeff Towns – 1,002 (1979)
Offense achieving at record setting pace
McGarvie and the offense have put up more than 40 points in five of this season’s first nine games with a high of 63 coming at Briar Cliff (a GPAC conference game record for the program). The 2024 team’s current averages of 37.8 points and 480.1 yards per game are on track to break school records. The current standards for a single season are 35.9 points (1951) and 412.0 yards (2023). The 670 total yards at Doane also represented a new program GPAC era record, eclipsing the 641 yards Concordia totaled in this season’s win at Dakota Wesleyan.
Sterup, D-line stars
It's been a fine year across the board for Coordinator Corby Osten’s defensive line. The starters all season have been Carson Fehlhafer, Devon Polley and Kyle Sterup, each of whom will undoubtedly garner all-conference consideration once again following the regular season. Statistically, Polley and Sterup have been the most disruptive forces. Polley has registered 16 tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hurries and five sacks while Sterup has posted 14 tackles for loss, five sacks and five quarterback hurries. Sterup ranks third on the team with 59 total tackles. As for Fehlhafer, he consistently eats up blockers from his nose guard position. Fehlhafer was named the NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 7 after he notched three sacks in the win at No. 2 Northwestern. The d-line depth continues with veterans like Stephen Hughes, Tal Solo and Reed McFadden. The senior Hughes came up with a sack on senior day.
Grindey moves up tackle charts
Now in his fourth and final season as a Bulldog, Michael Grindey keeps racking up tackles. With 60 stops in 2024, Grindey has run his career total to 258 tackles. During the GPAC era (2000-present), that number ranks fourth highest for the program (see list below). Grindey’s career high for tackles in a season is 92 (in 2022). He has twice been named a GPAC All-Conference award winner. The Chandler, Ariz., native began his college career at Creighton University, where he was a member of the club rugby team.
Most tackles by a Bulldog, GPAC era
1. Lane Napier – 535
2. Sean Stewart – 290
3. Michael Hedlund – 261
4. Michael Grindey – 258
5. Ben Klein – 246
ARC Ratings
The first ARC Ratings of the 2024 were released by the NAIA on Oct. 24. They can be found HERE. In ARC 3, the GPAC is grouped with the Mid-States Football Association. Concordia is ranked seventh in ARC 3 behind Indiana Wesleyan, Dordt, Morningside, Northwestern, St. Francis (Ill.) and Marian. The rankings provide a picture of where teams currently stand in the eyes of the NAIA Football National Selection Committee, which is tasked with determining at-large bids for the NAIA Football Championship Series. A new set of ARC Ratings is scheduled to be released on Nov. 14.
Around the league
While Concordia sat idle this past Saturday, there were five conference games played around the league. Morningside pummeled Waldorf, 70-7, Midland blanked Doane, 24-0, Dakota Wesleyan routed Briar Cliff, 35-7, Mount Marty clipped Hastings, 24-21, and Northwestern won a slugfest over Dordt, 3-0, in the most anticipated GPAC game of the weekend. Morningside has now clinched the GPAC title outright and is a spotless 9-0 in league play. Concordia, Dordt and Northwestern are each 7-2 and hopeful of being named to the playoff field when the announcement is made on Sunday evening.
Series vs. Midland
The series with Midland is one of the oldest rivalries in program history. The two sides first met in 1944 in what was six-man football at the time due to man power needs of World War II. The result that year was a 40-0 Concordia victory. The Bulldogs and Warriors did not play each other again until 1952. Then in 1957, they began playing annually all the way up to the present day (with the exception of 2020 due to a COVID no contest). Midland leads the all-time series, 39-31-1. Following Concordia’s six-game series win streak from 2012 through 2017, the Warriors have won four of the past five matchups.
Last 10 meetings vs. Midland
2023 – L, 37-39 | 2 OT (Seward)
2022 – L, 31-41 (Fremont)
2021 – W, 21-7 (Seward)
2020 – COVID no contest
2019 – L, 7-27 (Seward)
2018 – L, 7-35 (Seward)
2017 – W, 44-14 (Seward)
2016 – W, 20-14 (Seward)
2015 – W, 41-38 | OT (Fremont)
2014 – W, 35-28 (Seward)
2013 – W, 35-14 (Fremont)
Scouting Midland
Midland will finish above .500 for the ninth-straight season under Head Coach Jeff Jamrog. The Warriors have gotten to 6-4 on the strength of a solid defense and with the help of star running back and return man Tyson Denkert. A junior from Kenesaw, Neb., Denkert ranks second among all NAIA players with 1,135 rushing yards on the season. In addition to his 10 rushing touchdowns, Denkert has returned one kick and two punts for touchdowns. Defensively, lineman Gabriel VanWinkle has been a disruptive force in piling up seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss. At linebacker, Treden Davis-Reed is a returning Second Team All-GPAC performer. Midland ranks 16th nationally in total defense while allowing only 281.2 yards per game. At quarterback, Teryn Berry has thrown for 1,851 yards and owns a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 15-8.