(Upland IN) – After avoiding overtime last week against St. Francis, Ind, the No. 13 Cardinals escaped overtime Saturday night in Upland, Ind. The Trojans of Taylor (1-2) defended their home turf until the end looking to knock off the unbeaten Cardinals (4-0). Luis Gomez drilled a 35-yard field goal during the Cardinals first possession of overtime. For the third game in a row, the contest would come down to an opposing field goal. The CUAA defense came up a crucial block to secure the 17-14 win.
Peter Morrison passed for 107 yards and a touchdown while adding a rushing TD. Keviontae Brown ran for 88 yards on 25 carries while Dorian Edmond added 55 yards on 14 attempts. Parker Graham had 68 yards and a receiving touchdown.
Aaron Rahn, Darius Arrington, Gabe Whitmore, and Ryan Fish tied for the team high with 7 tackles apiece. Whitmore added an interception along with Conner Long and Mark Wilson.
Taylor kicked off to Concordia to begin the game. Both teams traded defensive stops with the Cardinals forcing a three-and-out on the Trojans' first series. The Concordia defense forced a turnover early on when Gabe Whitmore made an interception in the endzone. Both offenses struggled to find a rythmn and the game remained tied 0-0 after the 1st quarter.
The second quarter remained dominated by defense with Ryan Fish coming up with a sack. The Concordia offense got the ball back at the 2:37 mark and Peter Morrison put together a 9-play, 68-yard scoring drive before halftime. Donovan Johnson hauled in a 32-yard pass to move the team downfield, keeping his feet in bounds near the sidelines. Peter Morrison eventually rolled out to his right and found Parker Graham in the back of the endzone for a touchdown. CUAA led 7-0 at halftime.
Taylor started with the ball in the 3rd quarter and needed just 3 plays to tie the game on a 30-yard pass from Zac Saltzgaber to Brendan Lamb. Concordia drove down to Taylor's 27-yard line on the ensuing offensive series, but the Trojans forced a turnover on downs.
Mark Wilson made a critical interception to give the ball right back to the Cardinals at Taylor's 34-yard line. CUAA capitalized as Keviontae Brown steadily moved the team downfield with strong runs. Peter Morrison eventually rolled out after a play action fake and ran into the endzone for a 1-yard touchdown, giving Concordia a 14-7 lead.
Conner Long made an interception for the Cardinals on the next series, but Taylor responded with a pick of their own on the very next play. Concordia maintained a 14-7 lead heading into the 4th quarter.
While both defenses traded stops, Taylor got the ball back with 8:43 left to play and put together a 14 play, 79-yard drive that took 7:25 off the clock. The Trojans eventually tied the game when quarterback Zac Saltzgaber ran to his right for a 5-yard touchdown on fourth down to knot the score 14-14.
Seeger DeGayner made a 40-yard return on Taylor's kick after the touchdown, but the Cardinals had to survive a late scare after a Taylor interception with just under a minute left. The CUAA defense held strong and the game went to overtime.
Taylor won the overtime coin toss and deferred, giving Concordia the opening possession. Luis Gomez drilled a 35-yard field goal to put the team ahead 17-14.
For the third game in a row, the Cardinals would have to depend on a missed field goal to clinch a victory. Concordia was able to deflect Taylor's game-tying field goal attempt at the end of the game to secure the win.
The Cardinals will return home next week on Saturday, March 27 against Madonna. Kickoff is at 1pm.
