Sept. 14, 2019 - Coming off a 44-6 season-opening victory last week, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars were hoping to carry over the good feelings and the excitement to this afternoon's home opener against Olivet College. The beginning of the game gave promise to a thrilling 60 minutes of football, but a couple of miscues in the second quarter put the momentum irreversibly on Olivet's side. The Comets would emerge from the first half with a 40-10 lead and go on to win by a final score of 54-24.
The visitors from Michigan got their first crack at the ball on a short field after forcing CUC to punt on their opening series. Kaleb Jarrett was 3-3 on the Comets' drive, hitting , Jalen Broussard for completions of 12 and six yards, and later Seth Young for a 23-yard scoring pass. The extra point was missed, leaving Olivet with a 6-0 lead.
On CUC's ensuing possession, the Cougars faced a third-and-12 when Jaxon Aubry hit Lance Moise with a short pass which Moise turned into a 31-yard gain for the Cougars' first big play. Aubry later converted on a big fourth-down play. Needing six yards, he found Semaj James for seven yards to reset the chains at the Olivet 18. The drive eventually stalled at the four, but Andrew Lechuga put CUC's first points on the board with a 21-yard field goal to cut the visitors' lead in half.
Olivet would find the end zone early in the second quarter as Jarrett made good on connections to Broussard and Zameer Wallace. A pass interference penalty against the Cougars gave the Comets a first-and-goal at the two, and Jarrett would do the honors himself on the keeper. The Comets led 12-3 after a second extra-point kick was off target.
Concordia-Chicago came right back after an Aubry-to-James pass play of 42 yards. Later in the drive, Aubry made another big fourth-down conversion, scrambling for 16 yards on a fourth-and-eight. Then, it was CUC's turn to benefit from a flag for pass interference as they were given a first down at the two. Moments later, it was Moise powering his way into the end zone. Lechuga's extra point made the score Olivet 12, CUC 10.
It appeared as if momentum was firmly with the home team, as the Cougars came with a fierce pass rush on the next series. Back-to-back sacks combined for losses of 13 yards, and the Comets brought out their punter with CUC looking to get favorable field position. However, a roughing the kicker call against the Cougars gave the Comets new life, and they took advantage. Eight plays later, the Comets were at the one-yard line. Jarrett then scored his second touchdown of the game, and the Comets were up by a 19-10 score, but they were not finished.
Starting at their own 15 after the kickoff, Aubry's pass to the right side went in and out of the Cougar receiver's hands and was picked off by OC's Paris Trotter. Trotter had an easy 16-yard path to the end zone, and the Comets had their second score within 11 seconds and a 26-10 lead. The wave of momentum continued against the Cougars for the remaining minutes of the half. A short field led to a one-yard touchdown by Noah McMinn, and a 45-yard pass to Broussard ended the scoring for the half with CUC facing a 30-point deficit.
The Comets looked to add to their lead as they received the second-half kickoff. However, they gave the Cougars an early chance, with Caleb Casey forcing a fumble and Tyler Dudley falling on the loose ball. It took the Cougars three plays to capitalize, with Moise breaking free of a couple of tackles in the middle of the line and outracing the rest of the defense for a 26-yard score. Lechuga's extra point put the Cougars within 40-17.
Concordia-Chicago hung on to hopes of making a game of it with lots of time still remaining to be played. But Olivet remained calm and took the air out of the ball with a 17-play, 61-yard drive that ate up nearly nine minutes of clock. McMinn ran the ball in from the one on a fourth down, and the Comets' lead was restored to 30 points late in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter scoring was limited to one touchdown apiece. Jake Trujillo's five-yard run capped an 11-play, 70-yard drove for the visitors' final score. The Cougars then drove 75 yards in 11 plays, with Aubry throwing to Moise for two 12-yard gains. The touchdown would go to Aubry as he sneaked in behind center on a third-and-goal with 3:13 remaining.
Olivet won the battle of total yardage, 445 to 229. Jarrett was on target all day, completing 14 of 16 passes for 219 yards, with his top receiver Broussard hauling in eight passes for 113 yards. McMinn came up a yard short of the century mark, his 99 yards coming on 23 carries. Kolby Williams was the defensive leader for the Comets with six tackles, four solo.
For Concordia-Chicago, Moise carried 21 times for 80 yards. He is now within 295 yards of the all-time record, and his next touchdown will tie the all-time mark as well. Moise was also a threat as a receiver today with four grabs for 62 yards. Aubry threw for 141 yards on 11-25, with James catching four for 58 yards. Matt Henning and Casey were the leading tackles with 13 and 11 respectively.
The Cougars (1-1) will play the final of their non-conference games to start the season next Saturday when they travel to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to face Finlandia University. Game time is set for 1:00 Eastern time.
Second-Quarter Mistakes Lead to Cougars' Downfall
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20190914_8u0o.xml
2019
Olivet
54
Concordia-Chicago
24
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olivet (2-0) | 6 | 34 | 7 | 7 | 54 |
| Concordia-Chicago (1-1) | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Sep 14, 2019