Football overpowers Saint Xavier 47-3 to advance in NAIA playoffs

Football overpowers Saint Xavier 47-3 to advance in NAIA playoffs

(Ann Arbor, MI) – Concordia football held their first home NAIA playoff game in school history on Saturday afternoon, squaring off against Saint Xavier.  Both teams entered the contest as the co-champions of their respective MSFA divisions.  CUAA played a solid game before their home fans and cruised to a 47-3 victory to advance to the next round.

Gavin Brooks threw for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding an 11-yard rush touchdown, earning Offensive Player of the Game honors.  Ameir Wilbourn was the leading rusher with 56 yards and a touchdown.  Keirell Jackson added 40 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.  Seeger DeGayner led all receivers with 90 yards and a touchdown.  Luke Wilson and Parker Graham also caught touchdowns while hauling in 73 and 58 yards respectively.

On defense, Aaron Rahn led the team with 12 tackles and was named Defensive Player of the Game.  Hunter Maynard finished second with 8 tackles.  Andrew Foerster was named as the team's Champions of Character representative for the game, tying Casey Rauch with 6 tackles and a forced fumble apiece.

 

Concordia kicked off to Saint Xavier to begin the game.  After Treyon Freeman made a sack on third down for a 10-yard loss, the Cardinals were able to force a safety off of a Hayden Kermode blocked punt to take a 2-0 lead. 

Concordia capitalized on their drive following the safety as Luke Wilson made a 42-yard pass reception down to the Saint Xavier 11-yard line.  Keirell Jackson punched in a 6-yard rushing touchdown to cap off the drive.

The Cardinal defense forced another three-and-out and Gavin Brooks led an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the ensuing series.  Ameir Wilbourn eventually broke a 23-yard run to the right with good blocking and extended CUAA's lead to 16-0.

Concordia forced a missed field goal to maintain their shutout through the first quarter, but the Cougars recorded a field goal early in the second quarter to break the shutout.  The Cardinals countered with a 13-play, 55-yard drive that took 6:56 off the clock.  Gavin Brooks eventually rushed out of the pocket down the left sideline and tacked on an 11-yard rushing touchdown.  CUAA led 23-3 at halftime.

 

The Cardinals received the ball to start the second half.  For the second week in a row Gavin Brooks hooked up with Seeger DeGayner for a big play, connecting for a 90-yard touchdown pass.  Luis Gomez tacked on a 29-yard field goal to make it a 33-3 lead. 

Later in the quarter Andrew Foerster forced a fumble on an attempted trick play which was recovered by Aaron Rahn at the Saint Xavier 17-yard line.  Gavin Brooks found Parker Graham in the corner of the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown to capitalize.

The Cardinals added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter when Gavin Brooks rolled out to his right and found Luke Wilson for a 1-yard touchdown.  Casey Rauch made an impact on defense late in the game when he forced and recovered a fumble.  CUAA maintained their lead and claimed the 47-3 win as time expired.

 

Concordia will now await their opponent and location for the next round on Saturday, November 27.