The Dordt Defender football team won a dramatic 29-28, come from behind decision on the road against Concordia on Saturday, October 22. The game, matching a pair of 3-3 entering play, lived up to expectations with both teams controlling significant stretches of play.

Dordt threatened first with two possessions in the first quarter and a half that had the Defenders inside the Concordia 35 but came up empty.  An interception stopped on drive at the 31 and the field goal attempt fluttered wide from 34 yards out and left the score 0-0. Concordia returned the favor with a missed field goal after its drive stalled at the Dordt 14.

Dordt eventually broke through with an 88 yard completion from Ethan Thomas to Jayden Huisman  that eventually put Dordt up 7-0 with 3:09 left in the half.  Thomas got a backwards pass from Zach Rozeboom and found Huisman when the defense peeked into the backfield for run support.

After two punts Concordia started at their own 32 and marched 68 yards on eight plays and tied the game on a 27 yard pass completion with :41 left in the half and the quarter ended with the score tied 7-7.

Concordia had the ball to start the second half and made it to the Dordt 10 where a field goal attempt was blocked by Grant Hixson and Aren Van Hofwegen scooped the loose ball up and raced 78 yards for a score. 

Concordia didn't miss a beat, driving 73 yards on nine plays to tie the game. Dordt had an answer of its own on the next possession with Kade McDaniel finishing the drive with a completion to Eli Boldan form 11 yards but the point after knocked off of the upright and left Dordt up 20-14.

Concordia eventually took the lead with a seven play, 65 yard drive that ended with a six yard pass completion and a 21-20 lead with less than a minute left in the third quarter. Dordt was forced to punt on the next possession and the Bulldogs struck quickly with two pass plays for a 28-20 lead with 13:19 left in the game.

Dordt rallied as Chase Tompkins finished the 85 yard scoring drive with a 22 yard reverse for a score but Dordt's two-point conversion failed, leaving the Defenders trailing 28-26.

Concordia failed to move the ball on its next drive as it completely abandoned the run game in the second half and Dordt went from its own 39 to the Concordia two before settling for a field goal with 4:10 left in the game.

It appeared Concordia would have enough time to pull out a comeback but Daniel Jungling intercepted a pass with 1:33 left in the game at his own 18 yard line. Dordt ran three plays and lost seven yards in the process with Concordia using all its timeouts to preserve the clock. At the 1:04 mark Dordt punted and Blade Koons got away a booming 54 yard punt that put the Bulldogs at their own 40 yard line. A pass completion for negative yards followed by three incomplete passes allowed Dordt to seal the win.

THE NUMBERS

• Dordt was outgained 499-485.  Dordt ran 88 plays and Concordia 83 on a day where temps hit the mid-80s and both teams tried to run up tempo against tiring defenses.
• Dordt ran for 279 yards while limiting Concordia to 50 yards. Dordt passed for 232 yards while surrendering 458.
• Kade McDaniel was 10-21 passing for 101 yards and one touchdown. McDaniel also ran for 69 yards on 16 carries.
• Ethan Thomas was 3-3 passing for 94 yards and ran for 55 yards on five carries before leaving the game late in the second quarter with an injury.
• Brendan Pieper gained 80 yards on 23 carries.
• Eli Boldan caught six passes for 75 yards and Hayden Large had four catches for 54 yards.
• Concordia's DJ McGarvie was 34-67 passing for 458 yards and completed six passes to Luke Lang for 117 yards; seven to Korrell Koehlmoos for 96, five to Carsen Arline for 91 and five to Austin Jablonski for 80 yards.
• Lucas Huttinga had six solo and two assisted tackles while Grant Hixson had five and one.
• Drew Daum had five solo and one assisted tackle with three tackles for loss and Dordt's only sack of the day. 
• Daniel Jungling picked off a pass, his fourth of the season.
• Blade Koons punted seven times with a long of 54 and three of over 50 yards.

JOEL PENNER SAID

"I'm proud of our players' resiliency. We knew this game was going to be a fight all the way through. They were up to the challenge of momentum swings. I thought it was a great example of a team win with all phases coming up with critical plays at the end."

NEXT

Dordt will host Jamestown on October 29 with kickoff at 1:00.
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