SEWARD, Neb. – A former collegiate basketball player, Jonny Puelz was Jonny on the spot on Saturday (Sept. 13) night as the 21st-ranked Concordia University, Nebraska Football team survived a scare from visiting Dakota Wesleyan. A hat trick’s worth of touchdowns from the Lincoln Lutheran alum Puelz and a pair of fourth quarter field goals from Peyton Atwood lifted the Bulldogs to a 27-22 down-to-the-wire victory. On the defensive end, nose guard Carson Fehlhafer was nearly unblockable.
Back-to-back Saturday night games have ended with Head Coach Patrick Daberkow and company ringing The Victory Bell. As a program, Concordia has won seven straight games.
“I just told the locker room, we’re not going to apologize for it,” Daberkow said. “A win’s a win. A lot of people would call that an ugly win. We had more adversity this week with some weird injury things and then you lose your running back. I’m proud of our team. That was a team win – offense, defense and special teams. Everybody worked together. We did what we had to do and I was happy to get out of here with a win.”
Plenty of nervous energy filled the seats at Bulldog Stadium as the Tigers (1-2, 0-2 GPAC) of Mitchell, S.D., drove to Concordia’s 41 while trailing 27-22 in the final moments of the game. On third and 3, Bulldog junior cornerback Will Potratz emerged with an interception that sealed the victory. Though he was unable to lead a game-winning drive, DWU quarterback Jed Jensen and his slipperiness (253 yards passing and 58 yards rushing) made it a nail-biter.
Just when it looked like the Bulldogs could breathe easy (with leads of 14-0 and 21-9), Jensen engineered third quarter touchdown drives of 65 yards (nine plays) and 66 yards (10 plays), respectively. Jensen found Chase McGillivary for five-yard touchdown toss with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter, staking the Tigers to their first lead, 22-21. The DWU offense managed to pile up 395 yards and 26 first downs despite the ferocity of Fehlhafer up front.
However, Concordia quarterback Gideon Stark and his side had an answer. After the Bulldogs fell behind, Stark marched the offense 66 yards on 11 plays with the drive highlighted by a 29-yard pitch and catch to Ian Medeck. Atwood drilled a 41-yard field goal to provide a 24-22 advantage. The game’s next three possessions resulted in punts before Stark led Concordia on an 11-play, 68-yard drive capped by a 26-yard Atwood field goal. On this night, it was just enough.
“We just had to play to the final whistle,” Fehlhafer said. “We practice that the last 50 seconds of practice all the time. We’re kind of used to those situations. When you make the play that counts, that’s when it matters … It’s nice to know that even when it looks sloppy, we can get the job done. We just keep trucking onto the next.”
Puelz took advantage of his chance to grab the spotlight on Saturday. With top receiving target Adam Van Cleave sidelined, Puelz emerged in a big way as he pulled down touchdown catches that covered distances of 19, 49 and 74 yards, respectively. On the latter score via rifle of a pass from Stark, Puelz used a stiff arm inside the 10 to propel himself into the end zone. Puelz finished with seven grabs for 176 yards. In making his second career start, Stark completed 20-of-34 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns (against one pick).
Said Puelz of his breakout performance, “I think I just got lucky. We move on through the reads and (Gideon) throws me the ball. It was great celebrating with the guys after the touchdowns. It’s a feeling that’s unmatched. There’s really nothing like it.”
An interior defensive lineman isn’t supposed to put up the numbers that Fehlhafer did on Saturday. He stuffed the stat sheet (and DWU ball carriers) with 13 tackles, seven stops for loss, four sacks and two blocked kicks (one field goal and one PAT). Fehlhafer and the defense were on the field for 89 plays and 41:52 in time of possession. They made the most of it with a second straight eight-sack effort. Two sacks were credited to Dylan Meyer and one apiece was claimed by Deegan Barnes and Terry Sebek. Barnes (12) and Grant Huss (13) also reached double figures in tackles. Jaden Seier led he secondary with seven tackles and two pass breakups.
Offensively, Concordia’s run game took a hit when Carlos Collazo (five carries for 42 yards) sat for the final three quarters. Calvin Sassaman ran nine times for 55 yards. In backing Puelz in the pass game, Maddox Rickertsen (three for 37), Max Bartels (four for 35) and Carter Skleba (three for 34) each snared multiple receptions. Up front, Carter Meier made the start at left guard in place of Kadence Velde. That group continues to progress while breaking in all new starters.
Said Daberkow in summing things up, “Gideon did a great job taking what was there. That was a good team win … There was no tension on our defense during that entire drive (that clinched the win). We had guys who were excited for that moment and excited that the game was in their hands. We’ll have this in our back pocket the entire year knowing we can win close games. We had to get creative with the injuries we dealt with this week. We wanted it to look a little different. It is what it is – I’m super proud of them.”
Dakota Wesleyan played the Bulldogs to the wire one week after a blowout loss at No. 19 Dordt. Jensen’s main target on Saturday was Cole Holden, who reeled in 10 catches for 119 yards and a score. The Tigers got themselves back into the game in the second quarter when Mikey Hart took a pick 74 yards for a touchdown.
Following back-to-back home victories, the Bulldogs will have a bye next Saturday. The next opponent will be Waldorf (0-3, 0-3 GPAC) on Sept. 27 when Concordia will make its way to Forest City, Iowa, for its first ever road matchup with the Warriors. Waldorf is in its second season as a GPAC member and is still seeking its first GPAC win after falling at Midland, 53-0, in its third game of 2025.
| A @CUNEFootball tradition after every game! pic.twitter.com/MGlCkI6KMl
— Concordia Bulldogs (@cunebulldogs) September 14, 2025