SEWARD, Neb. – Ground and pound became the theme as the afternoon wore on from a chilly Bulldog Stadium. A career best effort from junior running back Calvin Sassaman helped power the Concordia University, Nebraska Football team to a 34-17 win over Briar Cliff on Saturday (Nov. 1). Four different Bulldogs rushed for a touchdown as the victors churned out 233 yards on the ground.
Head Coach Patrick Daberkow’s squad moved to 6-2 (6-2 GPAC) while keeping postseason hopes alive with two games remaining in the regular season.
“It’s been a wild ride with this group with the amount of injuries we’ve dealt with this season,” Daberkow said. “It’s just been unlike any I can remember. We came out with a positive outcome and scored 34 points on them. I’m really proud of the team win. We threw a lot of stuff out there today, and did what we had to do.”
The energy in the stadium wasn’t quite the same as it was three weeks earlier for homecoming, but Concordia fed off the physicality of its offensive line. The group paved the way for Sassaman to rush for a career-high 152 yards and a score on 29 bruising carries. The starting group up front included Derek Campbell and Jeremiah Vazquez at the tackles, Kadence Velde and Seth Moore at the guard spots and Brevin Damrow at center.
As a marker of how the game went down, the Bulldogs played slam ball to the tune of 65 yards on 16 plays (4:32) on their first touchdown drive and 81 yards on 14 plays (6:36) on their final touchdown drive. The Concordia ball carriers to find paydirt were Adam Van Cleave (one yard), Tyler Douglass (five yars), Sassaman (three yards) and backup quarterback Nixon Ligouri (seven yards). Dependable kicker Peyton Atwood also drilled field goals from 38 and 20 yards out.
Said Sassaman in explaining the running success, “I would say consistency on the offensive line. They always do a great job. When we just keep running the rock and running the rock, we’re going to hit it big. That’s what we saw today with every running back that was in today – Van Cleave and Doug. We were all able to have a lot of success today because of the o-line.”
The Bulldog offense amassed 420 total yards and did not commit a single turnover, a feat that was emphasized following last week’s loss at Morningside. In addition to Sassman’s 152-yard output, Van Cleave piled up a combined 104 total yards (54 receiving and 50 rushing). It was also a fine day for senior receiver Max Bartels, who snared seven receptions for 89 yards. Quarterback Gideon Stark completed 19-of-39 passes for 187 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Briar Cliff (5-5, 4-5 GPAC) finished with 394 total yards (with 96 coming on a game closing touchdown drive with the game well out of reach). The Chargers were limited to 80 yards rushing. Quarterback Brock Saya’s stat line (24-of-45 for 301 yards) was hurt by drops, including one in the second quarter that may have gone for a long touchdown. Saya threw a touchdown and caught one on a trick play.
The Bulldog defense did its job. Briar Cliff’s first six drives went: punt, punt, punt, punt, interception, lost fumble. Those results helped Concordia build a 17-0 first-half lead. As highlights for the Bulldogs, Blake Mosenteen picked off a pass and Luke Penrod forced a fumble that teammate Will Potratz scooped up and returned 48 yards to the Charger 5-yard line. The turnover set up Douglass’ second quarter touchdown. Senior linebacker Grant Huss led the defense with eight tackles, in addition to his half a sack, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
Said Huss of the defensive effort, “We wanted to continue to play our football. Honestly with last week’s game, we wanted to come out this week and wash away and learn what we needed to from that game. We wanted to fix our mistakes and go out and play our football. That’s exactly what we did today. It always feels good to get back into the win column.”
Once again, the Bulldogs played without stars Carlos Collazo and Carson Fehlhafer, and Van Cleave did not return in the second half on Saturday. Concordia stands at 6-2 after eight games for the second straight season while relying on the next man up. The Bulldogs have even used linebacker Drake Trent up front as an edge rusher. As a compliment to the special teams performance, punter Braxtyn Koch twice pinned Briar Cliff inside its own 20.
The brightest star statistically on Saturday was Sassaman. Said Daberkow, “He did a great job. When you put out a depth chart at the beginning of the season, it’s a joke to think that’s how it’s going to play out for 10 weeks. We’ve had so many guys that have stepped up in big moments. Tyler Douglass scored his first career touchdown and Nixon Ligouri scored his first career touchdown. We had freshmen get in today because we needed them. We’ve had linebackers playing d-line. It’s been a weird year, but we’ve been able to overcome some things. I’m proud of this team and excited to move forward. It’s fun to be 6-2 in November.”
Concordia’s final road trip on the 2025 schedule is coming up next Saturday (Nov. 8) when it will be headed to Sioux Center, Iowa. The Bulldogs will take on No. 6 Dordt (8-0, 8-0 GPAC) at 1 p.m. CT from Open Space Park. In Saturday's action, the Defenders won a close one, 31-26, at Hastings while remaining unbeaten and atop the GPAC standings.