Concordia football breaks school record in highly successful Briar Cliff game, 63-13
Senior quarterback DJ McGarvie (3) looks to gain yards by passing the ball to a teammate.
Photo credit: Josiah Seabaugh
By Maddy Peters, Sports Editor
The Concordia football team overwhelmed the Briar Cliff University Chargers 63-13 Saturday afternoon in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Bulldogs had another offensive triumph led by senior Mark Arp who led the team to a total of 479 offensive yards for the day. The score broke a school record for most points scored in a single Great Plains Athletic Conference game and was the most points scored in a game since a 64-0 win against Martin Luther College in 1982.
The first points of the day were scored by senior tight end Daylan Russell who took a three-yard pass into the endzone within the first five minutes of the game. Concordia received the ball after an interception by junior linebacker Grant Huss.
Briar Cliff was able to respond on the next drive with a touchdown of their own but missed the extra point allowing Concordia to retain the lead.
The second touchdown of the day was on a drive saved by senior Stephen Hughes II who recovered a fumbled punt so the Bulldogs could march down into the endzone. Senior wide receiver Austin Jablonski brought in an 11-yard from senior quarterback DJ McGarvie to take the total to 14-6.
Jablonski scored the next touchdown off a 50-yard pass from McGarvie to give Concordia a firm lead ahead of the Chargers. Russell would haul in a 12-yard pass for touchdown number four to end the first half of the game.
McGarvie started off the second half of the game with a scoring drive after two rushes from Arp and a 36-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Adam Van Cleave. McGarvie finished playing after this drive, ending his day with a 13-23 reception rate and 169 passing yards.
Junior Gideon Stark took over for McGarvie as quarterback for the rest of the third quarter and led the offense to three more touchdowns. Arp made two with an eight-yard rush midway through the quarter and had a 38-yard rush on the next drive to score another six points.
Junior Jesse Herndon made his running back debut against Briar Cliff and scored his first career touchdown at the end of the third off an 18-yard rush to bring the score to 56-6. Stark finished his day with an 8-10 reception rate 74 yards, a career high, and a 21-yard rush highlight.
The last points of the day were scored by junior defensive back Daylon Henson who intercepted a pass from Briar Cliff’s quarterback Gavin Dobson for a 35-yard pick six.
The defense had a great day against the Chargers forcing five fumbles and two interceptions. There were also five sacks for the Bulldogs with senior Devon Polley making two of those for a total of 12 yards lost. Hughes not only forced a fumble but had a massive sack for a loss of 14 yards in the game. Sophomore Deegan Barnes led the defense in tackles with 12 total including four solos and eight assists.
Freshman Camden Jenson had his quarterback debut in the fourth quarter but was unable to sustain any good drives. He closed out the game with a 2-4 reception rate for a total of six yards.
Arp was the top rusher for the day with a total of 156 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards. Herndon had 49 yards over 12 rushes.
Jablonski was the top receiver with 71 yards on five attempts. Russell and Van Cleave finished out successful days with 42 yards on six attempts and 59 yards on four attempts respectively. Senior Thomas Meaddough had an impressive 23-yard catch late in the third and led the way for Herndon’s touchdown.
The team is now 3-1 both overall and in the GPAC and looks ahead to another big obstacle in No. 10 Dordt University for Concordia’s homecoming game. Dordt shutout Hastings College 58-0 while Concordia was at Briar Cliff. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Bulldog Stadium on Sept. 28.
