Key Plays Go Against Cobbers In Skyline Title Game
Concordia honored its 28 seniors before the Skyline Division championship game and had a couple of key plays ago against them and lost 49-16 to No.25-ranked Bethel. The Cobbers were on the wrong end of a pair of “Pick 6” interceptions in the first and third quarters as they lost for the first time in divisional play
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
12 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 49 |
|
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
Team Stats
Bethel (Minn.)
| Game Statistics | Bethel (Minn.) | Concordia-M'head |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 372 | 119 |
| Rushing Yards | 74 | 124 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of Poss. | 27:16 | 32:44 |
MOORHEAD, Minn. (11/09/24)---Concordia honored its 28 seniors before the Skyline Division championship game and had a couple of key plays ago against them and lost 49-16 to No.25-ranked Bethel.
The Cobbers were on the wrong end of a pair of "Pick 6" interceptions in the first and third quarters as they lost for the first time in divisional play.
Concordia is now 6-3 overall, 5-2 in the MIAC and 3-1 in the division. The Cobbers will face Gustavus in next week's MIAC Championship Week in a battle of second-place teams in the division.
Both teams had a pair of turnovers in the game but it was the Royals who turned those miscues into critical points.
Bethel (8-1, 6-1 MIAC, 4-0) came up with the first of the game-changing plays at the end of the first quarter when they stepped in front of a pass and raced 31yards for the score which turned a 3-0 game into a 10-point lead.
The second key play came at the start of the second half. Just like the Cobbers pulled away from Augsburg last week when they returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown, Bethel was able to extend its halftime lead to 25 points when they scored their second "Pick 6" of the day on Concordia's first possession of the third quarter.
The Royals entered the game with the best rushing defense in Division III and the Cobbers were able to grind out 124 rushing yards on the day. That total is the most allowed by Bethel this season.
Quarterback Cooper Mattern rushed for 88 yards on 23 carries and scored one of the Cobbers' two touchdowns on the day. He scampered in from 19 yards out in the final minute of the fourth quarter to bring the final score to 49-16.
Mattern was also responsible for the other score as he found fellow senior Owen Miller on a 15-yard scoring pass at the start of the fourth quarter.
Davion Henderson led CC with a pair of catches for 69 yards and came down with a great catch on a 339-yard hook-up from Mattern.
Senior Stuart DeMerit had one of the two turnovers for Concordia. He came up with his third interception of the year when he outdueled a Bethel receiver for the ball in the first quarter of play.
DeMerit also led the Cobber defense with a season-high 13 tackles which included 1.0 tackles for a loss.
Ryan Weber had 8.0 tackles and Trace Hochsprung came up with the lone sack of the day for Concordia.
The Cobbers will head to St. Peter to finish off the 2024 season when they face the Gusties on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12 p.m.
CONCORDIA vs. BETHEL HIGHLIGHTS
