Sept. 2, 2017 – The Concordia University Chicago Cougars, looking to make it three straight victories on Opening Day, traveled to Wisconsin today to take on Ripon College. The Cougars had defeated the Red Hawks last year in just the second meeting all-time between the two schools. Today's meeting was much the same as a year ago with CUC building a big lead and Ripon coming back late to make a game of it. Fortunately for the Cougars, the result was the same as well, CUC surviving the comeback attempt along with a weather event to win 28-20.
The Cougars offense was unstoppable in the early going. They took the opening kickoff and drove 56 yards as senior Shane Virnala used his multiple receivers, putting Ripon on their heels from the beginning. A holding penalty in Red Hawks territory threatened to derail the drive, but Virnala found an open Ryan Allison deep down the middle on a fourth-and-seven as the Cougars put up their first points of the year. The extra point by Orlando Hayes staked the visitors to an early 7-0 lead.
Concordia was at it again after the defense stopped Ripon three-and-out. This time, Lance Moise did a lot of the work with 28 yards rushing. However, it was the arm of Virnala that scored the points again as he found Leroy Bridges from six yards out on a third-down play. Less than eight minutes in, CUC had a 14-0 lead.
Ripon took the ensuing kickoff and looked to get back into the game. The Red Hawks drove to the nine, where they faced a fourth-and-one. However, a run up the middle was stuffed by Thaddous Daniel, and the Cougars retained their two-score lead.
Early in the second quarter, the Red Hawks put together a long drive, all on the ground, with mobile back-up quarterback Julian Patton providing the spark. It was Patton that found the end zone on a 24-yard scamper to put Ripon within 14-6 (extra point missed).
The Cougars were stymied on their next few possessions, but Ivan Vixamar forced an intentional grounding toward the end of the half that pinned the Red Hawks deep within their zone. The play eventually resulted in a Ripon fumble that was recovered by Rudy Payan. The Cougars cashed in the opportunity in the final minute of the half as Virnala evaded a fierce pass rush and found Bridges in the end zone from six yards out, and CUC extended its lead to 21-6 at the half.
As the second half began, Ripon continued to attack on the ground. Patton drove the Red Hawks to the red zone, but on third down, Payan's pass rush put an end to the home team's drive. Ripon attempted a 37-yard field goal, but the kick was off the mark, and the Cougars retained their lead.
After an exchange of possessions, the Cougars came up with their second takeaway of the day. This time, it was freshman Randall Klagge with the fumble recovery at the RC 19. Shortly thereafter, it was the combination of Virnala and Bridges for the third time in the game. The two seniors combined for an 11-yard score as the visitors' lead grew to 28-6.
The Red Hawks took the ensuing kickoff and drove past midfield before lightning was detected near Ingalls Stadium. The game was delayed for 76 minutes and, upon resumption of play, the Red Hawks completed the drive with a touchdown, Patton hitting Cameron Mignone with a 19-yard pass on a fourth-and-nine play. The extra point made it a 28-13 game.
Ripon built on their momentum, a quarterback sack contributing to CUC going three-and-out. The Cougars were forced to punt, and a backwards bounce on the high kick set up the Red Hawks at the CUC 30 as the third quarter came to an end.
Two minutes into the fourth, the Red Hawks were in the end zone again despite a valiant goal-line stand by the Cougars. Tyler VanDerVelde dove in from a yard out on fourth down, and the excitement on the home side was reaching a frenzy as the lead was down to one touchdown.
The Cougars were unable to generate much offense in the final quarter, but takeaways three and four by the defense eventually saved the day. Demetrius Rufus intercepted a pass after Ripon had gained possession at midfield, and Kareem Dabney wrapped up the win in the final minute as he read the TC quarterback perfectly and stepped in front of the pass at the 50-yard line. Ripon was out of timeouts, and Virnala just had to kneel once to wind down the clock and put the Cougars at 1-0 on the season for the third straight year.
Virnala ended the day with 20 of 30 passing for 209 yards, four touchdowns and no picks. Moise ran for 83 yards on 25 carries, while freshman Tylor Martens made a few key first-down runs in the fourth quarter; he earned 28 yards on five carries. Bridges led the receivers with six catches for 54 yards, including the three touchdowns. Defensively, Jaylan Cox led the way with nine total tackles (6-3).
"Bottom line, we handled everything that came at us today and got the win," said CUC head coach Randy Awrey. "Ripon gave us all we could handle, give them credit, but we dealt with what they were doing, not to mention playing on the road and also dealing with the weather. We'll take the win, continue to build on the good things we did today while making improvements in other areas, and we'll prepare now to win a game next Saturday."
The Cougars will host Lewis and Clark Valley College at home Sept. 9. Kickoff has been moved up 30 minutes to 12:30 p.m.