Game 8 Preview: Hamline at #23/20 Concordia

GAME 8: Hamline (2-4/0-4 MIAC) at #23/20 Concordia (6-1/4-1 MIAC)

DATE: October 25, 2014
LOCATION: Moorhead, Minn. (Jake Christiansen Stadium)
GAME TIME: 1 p.m.
RADIO: 1660-AM in the F-M area

Live Video: Cobber Primetime GameDay

Live Stats: Cobber Primetime GameDay

Live Audio: MN Sports Network

Cobbers vs. Hamline Series History:
Series started: 1936

Cobbers lead overall series: 58-11-0

Series Synopsis: Concordia has won the last 22 meetings between the two teams. The last time the Pipers prevailed was in 1991 when they won 30-20 in St. Paul....the Cobbers have also beaten Hamline 14 straight times in Moorhead. The last time that HU beat CC at home was in 1983…the teams have played two games in domes with Concordia winning both. The Cobbers won 49-19 in the Fargo Dome in 1997 and 28-24 in the Metrodome in 1987…the teams have also played in a white-out blizzard. In 1986 the Cobbers hosted Hamline in the final game of the regular season. A winter storm blew into the F-M area on Friday night. By Saturday morning Highway 94 was closed and the game was played before a few hearty souls and in 35mph wind that made seeing more than 10 yards ahead almost impossible. Concordia won the "Snow Bowl" game 19-3...the most points ever scored by a team in a single game is 64. That occurred in Concordia's 64-14 win in 1955...Cobber head coach Terry Horan is 13-0 vs. Hamline.

Cobber vs. Piper Complete Series History (pdf)

Cobber Football in the Fargo-Moorhead Media:

Fargo Forum
- Griffin Neal is on the verge of breaking two Concordia passing records

50th Anniversary NAIA Championship Look Back: 1964 - Oct. 24 vs. St. Thomas
This year will be a season-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 NAIA National Championship Team. That team was honored with the Murray Warmath Legendary Team Award given out by the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation earlier this spring and we will be remembering the games and players from the '64 season all during 2014.  
 
This week we highlight the game played on Oct. 24 at St. Thomas.

The game against the Tommies marked the halfway point of the season. The teams squared off for the annual Homecoming game in St. Paul. The Tommies had lost four straight to open '64 but then rebounded with victories against Duluth and Macalester. St. Thomas was predicted to finish seventh in the Concordian's preseason preview poll.
  
The Cobbers blanked St. Thomas 9-0 which set up the biggest match-up of the regular season against defending national champion St. John's the next week.

Here is the game report by Paul Sandager that appeared in the Concordian the next week:

"A late touchdown and field goal stood up for the margin of victory as the Concordia Cobbers nipped St. Thomas 9-0 to gain sole leadership in the close MIAC leadership race. The fast-rising Tommies provided one of Concordia's toughest gridiron battles of the waning season with scoring led by Bob Nick and Paul Brynteson.

The first half was highlighted by some great offensive spurts as the Cobs and Tommies moved into scoring position. In the second period quarterback Bruce Reinhart led a 49-yard drive to the Cobber five-yard line before being stopped by a fierce defensive rush by the Cobs. Reversing the action, Concordia came back with a 95-yard splurge to fall short by only inches before the halftime homecoming festivities began.   

A poor St. Thomas punt to their 21-yard line set up Concordia's sole field goal. Halfbacks John Nellermoe and Stu Bartholomaus were largely responsible for Nick's short touchdown run from the one yard line. Moments later a Concordia drive was slowed down, but a blooping kick from an angle by Paul Brynteson tallied the final points to give the Cobbers a needed safety margin. The Tommies exhibited a sharp passing attack led by the combination of Bruce Reinhart and Lou Stocco, but simply ran out of man power in their bid to derail the Concordia express."        

Last Year: Concordia 63 at Hamline 7
Last year Concordia scored on their first nine possessions and rolled to a 63-7 win at Hamline. The Cobbers built up a 42-7 lead at the half and finished the game with 342 rushing yards. CC had 481 yards of total offense. The CC fullback duo of Domenic Fraboni and Alex McLean combined for five rushing TD's and 168 rushing yards. Quarterback Griffin Neal threw for a pair of strikes. Concordia had 23 first downs in the game but lost the time of possession battle. The Cobbers scored nine TD's and eight came with drives of eight plays or less.

MIAC Play of the Week:
In what is becoming a weekly occurrence, Concordia won the MIAC Play of the Week fan voting poll. The only surprise of the POTW contest was that the Cobber trio of Jon Baune, Griffin Neal and the Cobber offensive didn't walk away with the honors. This week it was the combination of senior fullback Alex McLean and the offensive line. McLean broke through the line on a 2nd-and-7 situation from the Cobber 40-yard line and didn't get touched on his way to a 60-yard TD scamper. It was the longest run of the year by any CC back this season and capped Concordia's scoring for the afternoon. 

This week's win in the POTW marks the sixth time in seven weeks that Concordia has won the fans voting award.

Concordia has owned the MIAC Play of the Week honors in the past two years. The Cobbers have claimed the MIAC POW award in 11 of the 15 weeks the feature has been awarded.

MIAC Play of the Week - Week 7

Stat Central:

- 2014 Concordia Statistics

- 2014 Hamline Statistics

- 2014 MIAC Statistics

- 2014 Concordia NCAA Team/Individual Rankings

- 2014 Hamline NCAA Team/Individual Rankings

Pick 6 - 6 Items To Help You Take It To The House:
1. Fans attending the game in Moorhead on Saturday might be witnesses to history. Cobber quarterback Griffin Neal is on the cusp of breaking a pair of program passing records. He currently has 5,055 career passing yards and needs 181 yards to break the school's all-time record of 5,235 set by Michael Dunham from 2009-11. Neal also 42 career touchdown passes which is three shy of breaking the record set by Ryan Hebrink from 2000-03. Neal's career completion percentage of 64.0% is already tops in that category with the mark of 60.8% by Dunham holding down the second spot. Not only has Neal excelled on the  field but he is also a top student in the classroom. He has a 3.62 grade point average in Business management and this week he was one of the team's two nominees for the Capital One Academic All-American honor.       
 
2. Concordia has history on its side on Saturday, In addition to having bested the Pipers in 22 straight games and 14 straight at home, head coach Terry Horan had some of his biggest games as a player against Hamline. In his final two games against the Pipers, Horan caught 21 passes, amassed 410 receiving yards and caught seven TD passes. He was also 4-0 vs. HU as a player and is now 13-0 as a head coach making him unbeaten in 17 games against Hamline. 

3. For the second straight week the Cobber "Black Shirt" defense will have its hands full with talented offensive players. Last week it was Augsburg quarterback Ayrton Scott and wide receiver Joey Sonnenfeld. On Saturday, CC will tangle with QB Tim Bona and running back Austin Duncan. Bona has thrown for over 300 yards in two of the last three games. Duncan has rushed for over 120 yards in four of the six games this year. He is second in the MIAC in rushes, rushing yards and rushing yards per game. Last year Duncan carried the ball 21 times and had 109 rushing yards vs. the Cobbers.  

4. It sounds like a broken record but Concordia continues to excel in holding on to the ball. Last week the Cobbers had 37:58 in time of possession. They have won the "TOP" battle in all seven games this season. Concordia is averaging 36:17 in time of possession in 2014 which ranks them third in all of Division III. Concordia is also ranked in the top 25 of the country in third-down conversion rate, fourth-down conversion defense, fewest penalties, fewest penalties per game, most first downs, rushing offense and sacks allowed. 

5. Don't look now but the Concordia defensive secondary has moved up the charts in interceptions. The Cobbers are currently tied for third in the league in INT's in MIAC games. CC has come away with five "picks" against league opponents and has two interceptions in each of the last two games. Junior cornerback Monay Swafford came away with his second INT of the year against the Auggies while fellow junior Erik Bye had his first collegiate interception on the last play of the game. Swafford is tied for the team lead in "picks" with senior Christian Erickson.  

6. One of the Cobbers' road bumps in 2014 has been their kickoff coverage. Concordia gave up its second return for a TD on a kickoff last Saturday. Both TD returns have come after a CC score and both quick-strike plays have pushed the momentum over to the visitor's sideline. The Cobbers also gave up 60-yard kickoff return against the Auggies and have given up five returns of over 50 yards this year. 

Scouting the Pipers:
Hamline heads into Saturday's game having lost four straight. The Pipers won the first two games of the year at Minn.-Morris and then at home against Macalester. Hamline put up 24 points against St. Thomas last week. In that game the Pipers had 459 yards of total offense which included 345 passing yards.

Hamline is led by junior Austin Duncan who has been the league's premiere running back the past three years. Duncan has 3,175 career rushing yards and is averaging 141.2 yards per game this season. He has rushed for over 100 yards in all but one game this year. The game he was held under triple digits he had 99 rushing yards. Piper quarterback Tim Bona is also enjoying a stellar season. He is in the top 3 of the MIAC in passing attempts, completions and passing yards per game. He is coming off his best game of the year in the team's loss to St. Thomas. Bona threw for a career-high 345 yards and was 26-for-40 on the day. Hamline's defense is led by junior safety Anthony Hill who has 59 tackles. He is second in the MIAC in solo tackles and tackles per game.      

Cobber SID Picks To Click:
This year we are adding a new feature to the GameDay preview. We will choose one offensive player and one defensive player who we think will have a chance to have a big game on Saturday. It will give the fans a chance to watch the "key" players on either side of the ball. It will hopefully give an insight into what the keys to success might be.

So far this season we haven't been "clicking" on all cylinders and it has been more of a "Pick to Click" jinx. Despite of our past track record, we will continue to give the fans an insight on who we think will have a big game.

Offense - #13 Griffin Neal, Sr., QB
Why yes, yes we will go with the fastball down the middle. Neal is on the verge of setting the school record for career passing yards and touchdown passes. It would only be fitting if he achieved both of those milestones at home on a beautiful sunny day in fron of the home crowd. Neal has completed 64.7% of his passes against Hamline in the last two years. He has also thrown for five TD's in those two contests. 

Defense - #9 Erik Bye, Jr., LB
Erik Bye is quietly putting together a very solid season. He is currently tied for the team lead in total tackles with 37. He leads the team in assisted tackles which means he does the dirty work of holding up the ball carrier so his teammates can come along and stop the play. His unselfish play has the Cobbers leading the MIAC in rush defense. The "Black Shirts" are also 1.2 yards off of the conference lead for the top mark in total yards allowed per game. Bye should be at his best in trying to put a stop to the Hamline offense which is averaging almost 180 rushing yards per game.

Coach Horan Preview Interview: