Undefeated Dawgs look to end drought at DWU

By Jacob Knabel on Oct. 5, 2020 in Football

SEWARD, Neb. – The win streak to begin 2020 continued last week behind another stellar defensive performance. The Bulldogs recorded seven sacks while smothering Jamestown in the 23-3 homecoming victory. There’s a long way to go, but Concordia finds itself in an enviable position as one of three 4-0 teams in NAIA football. The Bulldogs will ride that unblemished mark into Saturday’s game at Dakota Wesleyan. Kickoff from Joe Quintal Field is set for 1 p.m. CT.

This is the type of success Head Coach Patrick Daberkow has building towards after back-to-back 3-7 seasons (2018 and 2019). Concordia has shown it can run the ball effectively with Jonah Weyand and last week it realized some the potential it has in the passing game. Blake Culbert threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns. The latter two gave the Bulldogs some breathing room against a Jimmie squad that played its season opener in Seward.

Dakota Wesleyan has been a perennially strong program within the GPAC, but slipped to records of 2-9 in 2018 and 3-8 in 2019. In his ninth season as head coach, Ross Cimpl is trying to steer the Tigers back above the .500 mark. Last week was a start. Dakota Wesleyan shook off a fourth quarter deficit at Doane with a 23-yard touchdown run by Jamin Arend for the deciding score. Dakota Wesleyan emerged with a 29-26 victory for its first triumph of 2020.

GAME INFO
Concordia (4-0) at Dakota Wesleyan (1-3)
Saturday, Oct. 10 | 1 p.m.
Joe Quintal Field | Mitchell, S.D.
Webcast/Stats: Stretch Live
Radio: 104.9 Max Country
Commentators: Evan Jones and Ross Wurdeman

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Team Statistics

*2020 national rank in parentheses
NOTE: 46 of the 95 NAIA football programs that intend to play in 2020-21 have started their seasons.

Concordia
Offensive PPG: 26.3 (19th)
Defensive PPG: 11.8 (6th)
Total Offense: 395.5 (14th)
Pass Offense: 230.0 (14th)
Rush Offense: 165.5 (18th)
Total Defense: 253.3 (10th)
Pass Defense: 157.0 (10th)
Rush Defense: 96.3 (9th)
Turnover +/-: +3 (T-7th)

Dakota Wesleyan
Offensive PPG: 15.5 (38th)
Defensive PPG: 42.0 (40th)
Total Offense: 284.0 (35th)
Pass Offense: 209.8 (23rd)
Rush Offense: 74.3 (42nd)
Total Defense: 475.0 (T-41st)
Pass Defense: 207.3 (26th)
Rush Defense: 267.8 (43rd)
Turnover +/-: +3 (T-7th)

2020 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Concordia
Head Coach: Patrick Daberkow (16-18, 4th season)
Passing: Blake Culbert – 68/129 (.527), 920 yards, 5 td, 0 int, 125.4 effic.
Rushing: Jonah Weyand – 65 rushes, 384 yards, 5.9 avg, 7 td
Receiving: Korrell Koehlmoos – 16 catches, 345 yards, 21.6 avg, 2 td
Defense: Chase Hammons – 11 tackles, 5 tfl’s, 5 sacks

Dakota Wesleyan
Head Coach: Ross Cimpl (50-41, 9th season)
Passing: Zachary Lester – 73/118 (.619), 719 yards, 6 td, 4 int, 123.0 effic.
Rushing: Jamin Arend – 51 rushes, 148 yards, 2.9 avg, td
Receiving: Spencer Neugebauer – 27 catches, 316 yards, 11.7 avg, 3 td
Defense: Samuel Kretschmar – 33 tackles, 1.5 tfl’s, int

SCHEDULE/RESULTS

Concordia (4-0, 4-0 GPAC)
9/12 at Doane, W, 24-7
9/19 vs. Hastings, W, 34-28 (OT)
9/26 at Briar Cliff, W, 24-9
10/3 vs. Jamestown, W, 23-3
10/10 at Dakota Wesleyan, 1 p.m.
10/17 at Northwestern, 1 p.m.
10/24 vs. Dordt, 1 p.m.
11/7 vs. Morningside, 1 p.m.
11/14 at Midland, 1 p.m.

Dakota Wesleyan (1-3, 1-3 GPAC)
9/12 at Hastings, L, 7-45
9/19 at Northwestern, L, 16-50
9/26 vs. Dordt, L, 10-47
10/3 at Doane, W, 29-26
10/10 vs. Concordia, 1 p.m.
10/17 vs. Midland, 1 p.m.
10/24 at Morningside, 1 p.m.
10/31 vs. Briar Cliff, 1 p.m.
11/14 at Jamestown, 1 p.m.

Fan protocols/ticketing
Dakota Wesleyan’s fan protocols for Saturday’s game can be viewed HERE. DWU will be limiting capacity and is encouraging fans to purchase advance tickets online through its website HERE. Per GPAC guidelines, face coverings must be worn by fans in attendance. Fans of the Bulldogs are advised to check COVID-19 related protocols for each road venue prior to traveling for away contests.

In the rankings
The GPAC Preseason Football Coaches’ Poll was unveiled on Aug. 26. Concordia landed at No. 7 (37 points) while Dakota Wesleyan was placed ninth in the league (22 points). The poll resembled the final 2019 standings. The NAIA has not released a single national poll this year. In the current Massey Ratings, the Bulldogs appear at 25th while the Tigers check in at 63rd. Concordia last appeared in the national rankings in the preseason of 2017 when it was rated 20th. Dakota Wesleyan’s most recent top 25 appearance came in October 2017 when it polled at No. 22. The Tigers found their way into the top 25 at least once every season from 2008 through 2017.

Concordia
GPAC preseason: 7th
Current Massey Ratings: 25th

Dakota Wesleyan
GPAC preseason: 9th
Current Massey Ratings: 63rd

4-0 conference starts, GPAC era
Records of 4-0 or better in conference play have been rare for Concordia Football during the GPAC era (2000-present). In that time period, only two previous Bulldog squads won each of their first four GPAC games: the 2001 and 2013 editions. The ’01 team is arguably the greatest in program history. That particular team began the year at 7-0 inside the conference (8-0 overall) before suffering a 20-16 home loss to Hastings. The 2013 team got to 5-0 in the GPAC (6-0 overall) before a 30-28 defeat at Northwestern.

Previous 3-0 conference starts in GPAC era
2001 (final record: 10-2; shared GPAC title)
2013 (final record: 7-4; tied for 5th in GPAC)

Hammons earns GPAC honor
Senior defensive end Chase Hammons has been a pleasant surprise as a pass rusher off the edge. After notching two sacks, three tackles and a quarterback hurry in last week’s victory, Hammons earned the GPAC Defensive Player of the Week award. He’s the second Bulldog to be honored by the conference this season. Running back Jonah Weyand also garnered GPAC and NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week accolades on Sept. 21. Hammons is the GPAC and NAIA leader with five sacks on the season. The native of Columbus, Neb., has run his collegiate career totals to 49 tackles, 7.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.

Defense continues dominant ways
The defense is dominating despite the absence of All-American linebacker Lane Napier the past two weeks (Briar Cliff and Jamestown games). Coach Corby Osten’s unit has displayed considerable depth in the defensive line and linebacker groups. In the win over Jamestown, the Bulldogs held the Jimmies to 265 total yards and 15 first downs. Concordia created a turnover on the opening possession of the game (led to a field goal), posted seven sacks and forced Jamestown to punt eight times. Five different Bulldogs got into the backfield for at least one sack: Chase Hammons (two), Gerald Morris (two), Payton Kidder (one), Eric Kieper Jr. (one) and Keon Waters (one). Osten’s defense has limited three of its first four opponents to single-digit point totals.

Culbert’s big day
Blake Culbert carved up Jamestown’s secondary for 361 passing yards and three touchdowns. The passing total ranks as the second highest in a single game in Concordia Football history (Andrew Perea’s 455 yards passing versus Northwestern in 2018 represents the school record). Culbert fired touchdown passes of 17 yards to Cayden Beran, nine yards to Cole Schaedel and 41 yards to Korrell Koehlmoos. Of course playing the maximum number of games (four) to this point helps – but Culbert ranks second in the NAIA this season in passing yards with 920. The program’s single-season passing yardage record of 2,150 by Jarrod Pimentel has stood since 2001.

Money Team
Culbert has been helped by improved offensive line play and by a deep and talented receiver group. Last week Culbert connected with four different receivers five or more times: Korrell Koehlmoos (six catches for 113 yards), Cole Schaedel (five catches for 84 yards), Garrett Schardt (five catches for 78 yards) and Cayden Beran (five catches for 55 yards). On the season, Beran (19 catches for 199 yards) tops the team in receptions while Koehlmoos (16 catches for 345 yards and two touchdowns) paces the squad in receiving yards. Koehlmoos has gone past 100 receiving yards in three-straight games and ranks No. 4 nationally in that category. Meanwhile, Beran ranks fifth nationally for total number of catches.

Whitney steps in
Sophomore running back Lyle Whitney has led the team in rushing in back-to-back weeks, going for 73 yards on 16 carries at Briar Cliff and then 86 yards on 24 attempts versus Jamestown. Whitney has gotten the lion’s share of the carries in place of Jonah Weyand, who has been banged up. Whitney did not have a single college carry until this season (made his first career start last week). Concordia hopes to get Weyand back soon. Despite sitting out the Jamestown game, Weyand still ranks second nationally in rushing yards with 384. The Crete native has rushed for seven touchdowns in 2020.

Sacks piling up
The seven sacks posted last week vaulted the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the nation with 17 sacks on the season. The production has been especially impressive considering Concordia graduated its top pass rusher from 2019 in Aaron Rudloff (nine sacks). The Bulldogs notched a solid 30 sacks last season. Nine Concordia players have at least one sack this season with Chase Hammons (five), Karson Dickson (two), Logan Kreizel (two) and Gerald Morris (two) leading the way.

On the mend
Concordia came out of last week with a 20-point margin of victory though it was missing arguably its best player on both sides of the ball – running back Jonah Weyand and linebacker Lane Napier. Both players are hoping to return this Saturday. As of now, both are questionable to play. If Napier can return to the lineup again soon, he may still have time to reach 400 tackles for his career. The three-time first team All-GPAC performer owns career totals of 364 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, seven pass breakups and an interception. The Bulldogs were also missing linebacker Logan Kreizel (two sacks at Briar Cliff) last week.

Undefeateds
Less than half of all NAIA football programs have played a game in 2020. Among those that have played at least once, Concordia is one of 11 undefeated teams. Only two others have reached 4-0: Bethel College (Kan.) and Dickinson State University (N.D.). Another two NAIA teams are 3-0: Keiser University (Fla.) and Southeastern University (Fla.). Concordia and Morningside (2-0) are the lone two GPAC squads that have yet to suffer a loss in 2020. Undefeated seasons in Bulldog Football history have been hard to come by. There have been three of those seasons with them having occurred in 1945 (6-0), 1944 (8-0) and 1931 (7-0).

Series vs. Dakota Wesleyan
Three-straight wins over Dakota Wesleyan have given Concordia an 11-9 lead all-time in the series. The first two meetings occurred prior to the formation of the GPAC. The Bulldogs defeated the Tigers, 36-29, in 1984 and then fell to them, 28-21, in 1985. The two programs finally met again in 2000 as GPAC members. Each of the last three meetings have been contested in Seward. Concordia has not had much luck when playing in Mitchell. Dakota Wesleyan has beaten the Bulldogs each of the last five times the two sides have played in South Dakota. The most recent Concordia win at Dakota Wesleyan came in 2007 when JaMaine Lewis ran wild for 261 yards and four touchdowns.

Scouting Dakota Wesleyan
The vintage Dakota Wesleyan teams of the recent past have featured high-powered offenses. It was a chore dealing with four-year starting quarterbacks Dillon Turner (10,704 passing yards and 3,215 rushing yards for his career) and Jon Bane (9,224 passing yards, 83 touchdown passes for his career) over an eight-year stretch. Reclaiming that identity has not been easy. The Tiger offense averaged 20.4 points in 2018 and 21.6 points in 2019 (the two years following Turner’s graduation). Dakota Wesleyan got out to a rough start this season before last week’s tight victory at Doane. The playmaker to watch out for is senior receiver Spencer Neugebauer, who has 141 catches for 2,013 yards and 10 touchdowns on his career ledger. The Tigers are trying to shore things up defensively after allowing each of their first three opponents to eclipse the 40-point mark. Considering the history here, Concordia won’t expect things to be easy on Saturday. From a head coaching perspective, there’s plenty of mutual respect between Ross Cimpl and Patrick Daberkow.