SIOUX CITY, Iowa – In one final road trip this 2026 season, freshman running back Dylan Mika proved once again that he’s the real deal. The Aspen, Colo., native jitterbugged through openings on his way to the ninth-highest single season rushing total in program history. Mika found the end zone three times in powering a 37-14 Concordia University, Nebraska Football win at Briar Cliff on a sunny and mild November Saturday (Nov. 7).
Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad moved back above .500 (5-4, 5-4 GPAC) with one game remaining in the ’26 campaign. Daberkow has led the program to eight consecutive series wins over Briar Cliff.
Said Daberkow of Mika, “He's confident because he's earned that confidence, and he has worked really hard. The other running backs have, too. Our running back room is awesome. We've got a bunch of talented guys in there. He's also the first one to credit the offensive line. I thought the offensive line did a great job today. Coach (Grady) Koch had them ready to go, and Coach (Greg) Nelson called a really good game. It was fun to see – and a second-half shutout is always going to set you up for success.”
In attempting to salvage a challenging season from a results standpoint, the Chargers (1-9, 1-8 GPAC) made it a one-score game (21-14) at the half thanks to their eight-play, 74-yard drive that capped the second quarter. With the game still up for grabs in the third quarter, both teams agonized over an empty red zone trip. The back breaker for Briar Cliff occurred in the final minute of the third frame when Mika raced 55 yards for a touchdown that made it a 17-point spread (31-14).
Playcaller Greg Nelson kept going back to the well. In burning Briar Cliff, Mika produced six rushes of 10 yards or more while churning out 223 yards on 29 attempts. His touchdown rushes (fifth, sixth and seventh of the season) came from distances of four, 12 and 55 yards, respectively. Back-to-back 150-yard rushing performances have pushed Mika’s season total to 709.
Quarterback Gideon Stark engineered an offense that racked up 517 total yards. Stark shoveled a touchdown pass to Adam Van Cleave on a seven-yard scoring play in the middle of the second quarter. Then in the fourth, Stark put the contest out of reach when he plunged over the goal line from two yards out, polishing off a drive highlighted by Mika’s 32-yard carry. Stark wound up completing 14-of-25 passes for 252 yards. His top receivers were Collin Fritton (five for 82), Van Cleave (three for 75), Jonny Puelz (three for 52) and tight end Dustin Kapke (three for 43).
With Camden Jensen subbing in for Stark in the fourth quarter, the offense ran the final 8:41 of clock out while keeping the ball on the ground. Jensen and Calvin Sassaman joined Mika in a run game that amassed 265 yards. Notably, the Bulldogs were penalized only one time.
On the defensive end, Concordia got after Briar Cliff quarterback Brock Saya, sacking him seven times. Tanner Schroder took Saya down twice, while one sack apiece was notched by Deegan Barnes, AJ Frazey, Brock Ostdiek, Tristen Ray and Drake Trent. In the secondary, senior safety Luke Penrod broke up two passes. Fellow safety Kaden Thompson collected six stops. Collectively, the Bulldogs held Briar Cliff to 319 total yards (including only 91 rushing), forced seven punts and limited them one conversion on nine third down attempts.
Said Daberkow, “I thought this was as good as it's felt all season in terms of having the defensive line generate pressure and being able to send linebackers on blitzes and get them home. When you send pressure, you can't give the quarterback much time. I felt like the improvement from the Doane game to the Briar Cliff game was huge. We really made a good jump in that regard from last week to this week.
That's a lot of hard work to make progress that quickly, and it's not something to take lightly.
“I'm proud of the defense and how they performed in the second half. I felt like we brought a little bit of a different energy in that second half. Once Coach O (Corby Osten) had them dialed in, that really took things to the next level.”
On special teams, Concordia’s Braxtyn Koch boomed a 69-yard punt that pinned the Chargers back at their own six in the opening quarter. Koch punted twice for 124 yards. In handling place kicking once again, Admir Mujkic connected for a 22-yard field goal and made 4-of-5 PATs. Trent forced a fumble on a kickoff that was recovered by Briar Cliff.
The veteran Saya completed 14-of-21 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown, which went to Kymani Fleurme. Marquise Thomas-Gray helped keep the Chargers close in the third quarter with a red zone pick on a pass from Stark that pin-balled around. The lone win this season for Briar Cliff remains the one it secured over Waldorf.
Heading into the season finale, Concordia is averaging 35.3 points and 420.4 yards per game. A revamped offensive line has paved the way for the ground game to pile up 1,485 yards this season. The offensive line starters at Briar Cliff were: left tackle Derek Campbell, left guard Layne Bugarske, center Joshua Luehr, right guard Jackson Jenkins and right tackle Carter Meier.
The Bulldogs will return home to wrap up the 2026 season next Saturday (Nov. 14) as rival Midland (8-2, 7-2 GPAC) makes a visit to Bulldog Stadium. Prior to the 1 p.m. CT kickoff, Concordia will honor a class of 27 seniors. In Saturday’s action, the Warriors blew out Doane, 51-14, in Crete. Each of the past two Concordia-Midland matchups in Seward have been decided in overtime.