Oct. 5, 2019 - During the week leading up to today's Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference football opener, Concordia-Chicago head coach Jason Aubry stressed to his team the ability to keep mistakes to a minimum and to limit the big-play ability of CUC's opponent, the Lakeland University Muskies. No CUC fans would argue Aubry's strategies today, as the Cougars made good on both counts in defeating the Muskies 31-26 on a cool and cloudy day at Concordia Stadium.
Lakeland's big guns were kept under control for much of the day, although one of their biggest plays of the day - a 31-yard pass from Charl'Tez Nunnery to Bryce Kensey on the Muskies' second possession - accounted for the game's initial score. The play capped a five-play, 67-yard drive and gave Lakeland a 7-0 lead.
The Muskies would get the ball back later in the quarter and still with the 7-0 lead, but a penalty pushed the Muskies back into their own end. A shanked punt would then set up the Cougars at the LU 27. It took CUC just one play to cash it in, as Griffin Beaudette aired it out to Semaj James at the right pylon, and James caught the ball over his shoulder for the six points. The Cougars were on the board, although they still trailed after the extra point was missed.
Late in the quarter. CUC forced the first of three Lakeland turnovers. Jelani Warner knocked the ball loose as Nunnery was scrambling, and Tyler Dudley recovered at the 47. From there, it was three handoffs to running back Lance Moise for gains of six, 20 and 21 yards. The latter came on the first play of the second quarter and propelled the Cougars into the lead at 12-6. The Cougars then added a deuce as Beaudette threw to an open Corey Dooley for a 14-7 lead,
The Muskies were on the drive on their next possession, hoping to tie the score. Larry Rivers had a 13-yard run on the drive, and Nunnery hit Dezmon Eddie for a 13-yard gain as the Muskies marched down the field. Rivers eventually scored on the eighth play of the drive on an 18-yard run, but CUC would keep the lead as Tyler Creamer blocked the extra-point kick. With 11:24 remaining in the half, the score was CUC 14, Lakeland 13.
Concordia-Chicago's defense came up big later in the second, as Lakeland began a drive at the 34 and moved steadily down to the 25. However, the Cougars' "sack attack" took over. First, Jason Doran hauled down Nunnery for a 10-yard loss. Nunnery fumbled the ball, although he was able to recover. The Muskies' quarterback was not as fortunate on the next snap. as Gustavo Alba knocked the ball loose. This time, CUC's Kolson-Ethan Pua made the recovery, and the Cougars were in business near midfield. They would make a late drive for more points, but the Cougars' only turnover of the day - an interception in the end zone - would keep the halftime score at 14-13 in favor of the Cougars.
The third quarter would put CUC in the driver's seat as they held the ball for just over 12 minutes. The Cougars took the opening kickoff, and Moise picked up 16 yards on three carries to move the chains. Three plays later, CUC faced a third-and-nine at their own 42. Beaudette found Da'Nas Pinellas, who was making his 2019 season debut, on a short route. Pinellas evaded a few tacklers and, 58 yards later, he was in the end zone with the Cougars' third touchdown of the day. Andrew Lechuga added the extra point for a 21-13 lead.
The Cougars were back on the field moments later after consecutive penalties derailed Lakeland's drive. After a punt, Concordia-Chicago ate up six minutes of clock. A nine-yard scramble by Beaudette, a 10-yard completion on third down to Eric Hoff and a 20-yard run by Moise were all key plays in the drive. An 11-yard completion to Pinellas then took the ball to the seven, from where Moise ran it in for the score. The Cougars now had a two-score lead at 28-13 with 4:30 remaining in the third.
Penalties would continue to haunt the Muskies on the ensuing possession, and they would be forced to punt from deep in their end. The Cougars set up shop at the 50 and Moise would add 30 yards to his rushing total on six carries. An 11-yard completion t Pinellas put the ball in the red zone. The drive would stall, but Lechuga added three points to the CUC lead with a 28-yard field goal. The Cougars had their largest lead of the game at 31-13 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Lakeland would come back to make a game of it. Behind the rushing of Rivers, along with a 23-yard completion to Kensey, the Muskies came within 31-19 on Rivers' eight-yard run. On their next drive, the visitors would go from their 27 to the CUC five. However, a costly 15-yard penalty pushed Lakeland back, and on fourth down, Creamer would knock away a Nunnery pass intended for Eddie.
The Muskies were not yet finished, as the Cougars were unable to milk the clock in the fourth. Lakeland drove into the red zone as Logan O'Neill threw 38 yards to Mason Prunick, who made a great catch in traffic. However, O'Neill went for the end zone on the next play, and Creamer made a big play with tight coverage on the receiver, making his second interception of the season to deny the Muskies yet again.
What would prove to be Lakeland's final possession came with a short field. Eddie hauled in a 22-yard strike from Nunnery to cap a quick three-play drive. The extra point made the score CUC 31, LU 26 with 1:11 remaining. Lakeland then attempted an on-side kick, but Juan Urrea came up with the ball at the bottom of the pile, and the Cougars were able to take the final 71 seconds off the clock and finally celebrate victory.
The battle of running backs went to Rivers by one yard - 167 on 29 carries to Moise's 166 on 32 carries. However, Moise's two touchdowns moved him into sole possession of Concordia-Chicago's all-time rushing touchdown record with 45. Moise also upped his career rushing yards total to 3.854, and he will have a chance at Copeland's record of 3.957 next week.
Elsewhere for the Cougars, Beaudette made his first appearance for the Cougars in 2019 and finished with 16 of 22 for 188 yards passing. Pinelas was the Cougars' top receiver with four catches for 86 yards, followed by James with four grabs for 47 yards.Defensively, Henning and Dudley tied for top honors with 13 tackles each while Caleb Casey added eight.
For Lakeland, their quarterbacks combined for 226 yards passing, with Nunnery going 16 for 29 and 186 yards. Eddie caught eight balls for 78 yards while Kensey caught three for 68 yards. Andrew Cardiel led Lakeland's defense with 14 tackles.
The Cougars (3-1, 1-0 NACC) will travel to the west suburbs next Saturday to take on Aurora University at 1 p.m.
CUC Cougars Make the Big Plays to Win Conference Opener
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20191005_wvq9.xml
2019
Lakeland
26
Concordia-Chicago
31
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland (1-2) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 26 |
| Concordia-Chicago (2-1) | 6 | 8 | 14 | 3 | 31 |
Oct 05, 2019