(Georgetown, KY) – Concordia football traveled to Georgetown on Saturday afternoon to compete in the first round of the NAIA Football Championship Series for the fourth year in a row. The #5 Cardinals came in 5-0 overall while #12 seed Georgetown entered with a 6-1 record. CUAA converted multiple times on offense in the first half and put together a solid defensive effort in a 21-7 win to advance to the next round to face #3 Lindsey Wilson. Head Coach Joshua Schumacher was impressed with how all three factions of the team contributed to the win. "The guys started fast and really set the tempo early."
Luke Wilson led the team with a career-high 104 receiving yards and a touchdown in the game and was named the Offensive Player of the Game. "Luke was awesome making big catches in traffic," said Schumacher. Peter Morrison threw for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns in the game. Keviontae Brown led the team with 66 rushing yards on 17 carries. Dovovan Johnson also notched 75 receiving yards and a touchdown while Nolan Smith chipped in a 3-yard touchdown catch.
On defense, Hunter Maynard recorded a new career-high 14 total tackles en route to being named Defensive Player of the Game. Casey Rauch finished second with 8 tackles. Ryan Fish finished third with 6 tackles.
Mark Wilson was named the Cardinals Champions of Character for the game as well.
Concordia kicked off to Georgetown to begin the game. The Cardinal defense made a stop on the opening series, and a shanked punt gave the ball back to the offense at the Tigers' 47-yard line. The offense quickly completed their longest play of the season as Peter Morrison fired deep to Donovan Johnson for a 47-yard touchdown.
Concordia's defense made another stop and the Cardinal offense put together a 16-play, 78-yard drive that took 7:25 off the clock. Dorian Edmond rushed for a first down on a 4th-and-1 situation and eventually Peter Morrison rolled to his left and passed to the right, finding Luke Wilson for a touchdown. CUAA held a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.
Both teams continued to exchange defensive stops throughout most of the second quarter. Concordia special teams made an impact later in the quarter when Seth Beeler blocked a punt, sending the ball straight up into the air where it was caught by James Carpenter and returned to the 20-yard line.
Starting in the redzone, Dorian Edmond took a pair of carries down to the Georgetown 3-yard line. After a play action fake, Peter Morrison fired to Nolan Smith for a 3-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0.
Concordia held Georgetown as the quarter wound down with Alex Hinojosa and Bryson Williams combining for a third-down sack. CUAA maintained their 21-0 lead at halftime.
The Cardinals started the second half with the ball, driving down to the Georgetown 23-yard line before the Tigers forced a turnover on downs. The Concordia defense was forced to make a stand late in the quarter when Georgetown drove to the Cardinals' 3-yard line. CUAA forced a critical turnover on downs on a 4th-down rush with Hunter Maynard and Ryan Fish combining for a tackle behind the line.
Both defenses continued to combine for stops in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals kept the ball mostly on the ground with Keviontae Brown grinding out strong rushing plays to keep the clock moving.
Georgetown was able to put together a scoring drive with 55 seconds remaining, breaking the shutout with a 7-play, 70-yard drive. The Tigers attempted an onside kick, but Luke Wilson continued his standout day with the recovery. Peter Morrison kneeled out the clock and CUAA secured the 21-7 win.
"The defense did a phenomenal job," said Coach Schumacher. "Special teams did a great job getting after their punter too."
Concordia will now travel back to Kentucky for the second round of the NAIA Championship Series next Saturday, April 24, where they will face #3 Lindsey Wilson.
