(Indianapolis, IN) – Concordia football traveled to #3-ranked Marian on Saturday afternoon for their second straight top-ten matchup. The Cardinals came in 5-1 overall while the Knights entered a perfect 4-0. CUAA rallied from an early deficit to take a 13-7 lead at halftime, but Marian responded and came away with a 28-13 win.
Omar Sinclair (SO/Norcross, GA) led the rushing attack with 75 yards in the game. Roderick Dailey (SR/Detroit, MI) led all receivers with 53 yards in the contest while Clay Coltson (SR/Hastings, MI) added 45 receiving yards. Parker Graham (SO/Livonia, MI) threw for 73 yards while Peter Morrison (JR/Fort Wayne, IN) passed for 33 yards.
On defense, Ryan Fish (JR/Allen Park, MI) led the Cardinals with 13 total tackles. Prince Alex AyoOla (SR/Dearborn, MI) finished second with 11 tackles. Hunter Maynard (JR/Plain City, OH) and Reggie Thompson (SR/Chicago, IL) tied for third on the team with 8 tackles apiece. Amaan Payne (SR/Holt, MI) recorded a key 96-yard interception return for a touchdown while adding 2 tackles.
Concordia received the ball to begin the game, but the Marian defense forced a three-and-out. The Knights scored on their first play from scrimmage when Ethan Darter passed to Ben Stevens for a 45-yard touchdown.
Keirell Jackson (SO/Westwego, LA) made a pair of rushes to give the Cardinals a first down on the next series, but the team was forced to punt. Marian put together an 11-play, 78-yard drive, but the defense came up big when Amaan Payne jumped a route and made an interception. Payne showed his speed and ran untouched all the way down the field for a 96-yard touchdown, tying the game 7-7.
The Concordia defense stopped Marian on their next possession and the Cardinals took the lead just before the end of the 1st quarter. Parker Graham looked deep to Clay Coltson for a 40-yard gain to start a 9-play, 69-yard drive. Wyatt Mast (JR/Delton, MI) kicked a 29-yard field goal to put CUAA up 10-7.
The Cardinal defense forced a three-and-out to begin the 2nd quarter. Peter Morrison rushed for a 12-yard gain to begin a 10-play, 35-yard drive, and Wyatt Mast capped off the drive by drilling a career-best 47-yard field goal. Both defenses held strong for the rest of the half and Concordia led 13-7 at halftime.
Both teams traded stops to begin the 3rd quarter. Alex Hinojosa (JR/Allen Park, MI) made a key defensive play with a blocked field goal, keeping the Cardinals in front. However, Marian broke through with a 20-yard touchdown run by Charles Salary to retake the lead. The Knights capitalized on a turnover to add another touchdown just over 3 minutes later, and CUAA trailed 21-13 after the 3rd.
Marian extended their lead with a 15-play, 84-yard scoring drive in the 4th quarter which took 6:57 off the clock. After another defensive stop, Marian took 6:46 off the clock on their final drive to close out the game.
Concordia will return home on Saturday, October 26 when the team hosts Taylor in MSFA Mideast Division play. Kickoff is set for 1pm.
