Sept. 3, 2016 - Football fans in River Forest could be excused for thinking that they watched two games instead of one on a beautiful late summer afternoon. The first half of today's game between the host Concordia-Chicago Cougars and the Ripon Red Hawks was a battle of field position, but the second half saw both teams' offenses open up and race back and forth down the field. In the end, it was the Cougars that made more big plays over both halves and emerge victorious by a score of 40-30.
Ripon took the opening kickoff with a big return setting them up near midfield. The Red Hawks made it as far as the CUC 10 before a strong pass rush by Sang Lee (Tucson, AZ/Canyon Del Oro) forced an incomplete on third down. Forced to go for the field goal, Tim Bahr (Hartland, WI/Lake Country Lutheran) got a piece of the ball as it sailed to the right, no good from 28 yards out.
The Cougars took over at the 20 and went deep on the first play, Shane Virnala (Hacienda Heights, CA/Los Altos) finding freshman Corey Dooley(Dallas, TX/South Grand Prairie) for a 38-yard gain into Ripon territory. However, the drive soon stalled, and the two teams would engage in a territorial battle for much of the half. The defenses dominated as the two teams combined for seven first-half punts, although the CUC defense collected the first takeaway of the game on an interception by Kareem Dabney (San Ramon, CA/San Ramon Valley) to thwart one Ripon drive.
Late in the second quarter, the Cougars took possession at their own 32 and put together the first scoring drive of the game. A nine-yard scramble by Virnala on third down picked up a crucial first down, and a 10-yard run by junior transfer Aaron Gaines (Los Angeles, CA/Washington Prep) moved the chains again. LAter in the drive on a third-and-11, Virnala found Ryan Allison (Parkland, FL/Stoneman Douglas) behind the defense for a 28-yard gain and a first down at the five. On the next play, CUC ran an end around as Rashad Lofton (Detroit, MI/Romulus) turned the corner on the left side and stepped into the end zone for the score. Orlando Hayes (Hialeah, FL/Mater Academy) added the extra point, and Concordia-Chicago led 7-0 with 3:23 remaining. Ripon threatened to get on the scoreboard in the final seconds of the half, but special teams came through again as Ahn Nguyen (West Chicago, IL/H.S.) blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt and kept the home team's lead at seven after 30 minutes.
While the first match was more of a chess match, the second half started out as a horse race with the home team sprinting out of the gates. The Cougars took the ball first and needed just three plays to find the end zone. The combination of Virnala and Allison struck again, and this time Allison took it to the house from 55 yards out for a 14-0 lead. Then, on the second play of Ripon's drive, a deflected pass wound up in the hands of A.J. Seidler (West Chicago, IL/H.S.) who returned the ball 33 yards to the Red Hawks' 22. The Cougars overcame a holding penalty to march to the 12-yard line from where Virnala found Allison along the right sideline for the score and a 21-0 lead less than four minutes into the half.
The two quick scores sounded the alarm for Ripon, and they responded with their first score of the game. A 29-yard run by Cody Chase put them into CUC territory, and an 18-yard strike from Griffin McNeal to Cameron Mignone accounted for the score, making it a 21-6 game (extra point blocked)..However, the Cougars responded quickly as Virnala found Dooley for another big gainer, a 30-yarder to the 20-yard line. On the next play, Virnala threw a short pass to the right for Lofton, who weaved his way through a mass of players and powered into the end zone for a 27-6 edge.
Concordia-Chicago threatened to run away as freshman Deshawn Battle (Bolingbrook, IL/H.S.) recorded the Cougars' third interception of the day The offense then moved steadily down the field, aided by strong running from Lance Moise (Coral Springs, FL/Stoneman Douglas) and Gaines. Virnala then put the points up on the board with his fourth TD pass of the day, this one to Lofton from 19 yards out. The extra point missed, but the Cougars had their biggest lead of the day at 33-6.
With the clock down to 13 minutes and desperation setting in, the Red Hawks made a spirited charge at the Cougars. Ripon got an eight-yard run by Cody Chase, a fumble recovery and a one-yard run by Logan Grahn to close to within 33-18. The Red Hawks kept their momentum going with a defensive stop and a one-yard run by Sam Georgeson for a 33-24 score. The nervousness of the home crowd became more palpable as Ripon recovered an onside kick and drove downfield to the 10. However, CUC stood its ground with Bahr leading the way, the tall defensive lineman pressuring McNeal on both third and fourth downs to force incompletes.
The Cougars took over on downs and needed just one play to seal the deal. Moise took a handoff and slipped through the defense on the left side, making his way down the sideline for a 90-yard touchdown run. Hayes added the extra point to put the lead back up at 16. Ripon did manage a final score with nine seconds left, but the ensuing onside kick ended up in the hands of Lofton, and CUC needed just one snap to run out the clock and take the 10-point victory.
"I was happy with the fact that we kept working and kept fighting," said CUC head coach Randy Awrey. "They challenged us late, but we kept our heads in the game amd were determined not to let this get away." Awrey was also pleased with the play of his newcomers, stating that "We had a couple of mistakes from our freshmen, but we also saw the positive impact that they can make in a game, and this was a very good start for many of them."
After combining for just 329 yards in the first half, the final count showed Concordia-Chicago with a slight edge, 531 to 499. Virnala passed for 332 yards on 23 of 40 with his leading receiver Allison hauling in 10 passes for 149 yards. The CUC running game accounted for 199 yards with Moise's final 90-yarder giving him 157 for the day on 14 carries. Defensively, Seidler led the way with six solo tackles and four assists while Payan added five solos and three assists.
For Ripon, Chase ran for 85 yards on 11 carries and McNeal 79 yards on 20 carries. McNeal passed for 259 yards on 15 of 29, his top target being Mignone who had four catches for 89 yards. Nick Fahnrich led the defense with five solos and one assists while Josie Schaffer and Hunter Gruenwald each recording two solos and six assists.
The Cougars will return to action on Sept. 17 when they host Hope College.
Big Play Day For Cougars In Opening Victory Over Ripon
/seasons/2016/boxscores/20160903_ft98.xml
2016
Ripon
30
Concordia-Chicago
40
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ripon (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 30 |
| Concordia-Chicago (1-0) | 0 | 7 | 20 | 13 | 40 |
Sep 03, 2016