GAME 5
#14 Concordia College (3-0/2-0 MIAC)

at

Hamline University (2-2/0-2 MIAC)

Oct. 8, 2005
Klaas Center

St. Paul, Minn.

GAMEDAY BASICS

GAME TIME: 1:00 pm
RADIO: Live on 1280 AM in the F-M area with Steve Carlson doing the play-by-play and color commentator Chris Ohm. Also live on the internet via the Concordia website at www.gocobbers.com.
RANKINGS: Concordia is ranked 14th in the latest D3football.com NCAA Division III poll. The Cobbers are also ranked 13th in the AFCA poll and 17th in the Football Gazette poll. Hamline is unranked.
LAST WEEK: Concordia posted its first shutout of the season as they blanked Gustavus 30-0 in front of a Homecoming crowd of 4,280. The Cobbers held the Gusties to only 21 rushing yards while amassing over 350 yards of total offense. Hamline was shutout for the second consecutive week, losing 44-0 at St. John’s. The game was tight until the third quarter as the Pipers only trailed 14-0 at half time.
LAST YEAR: Andrew Passanante collected over 200 yards in receiving, Brian Schumacher threw for five TD's and Concordia rolled to a 42-0 Homecoming win over Hamline. Overall, Concordia racked up 591 yards of total offense and the Cobber defense held Hamline to 142 yards of total offense.
SERIES: Concordia leads 47-13-0
SERIES STARTED: 1936
SERIES HISTORY: Concordia has won the last 13 meetings between the two teams. The last time the Pipers prevailed was in 1991...the teams have only played seven times at Hamline since 1990. The Cobbers have a 6-1 mark in St. Paul during that time...the most points ever scored by a team in a single game is 64. That occurred in Concordia’s 64-14 win in 1955…the most points scored by both teams in a single game is 79. Concordia beat Hamline 41-38 in 1988…there have been 13 shutouts in the series - the Cobbers have shutout the Pipers 11 times in the series and Hamline has posted two blankings...the last time the Cobbers were shutout in the series was in 1941 when the Pipers prevailed 7-0...the lowest scoring contest in the series was a 2-0 forfeit win for the Cobbers in 1982.

GAMEDAY KICKOFF
(What you need to know about this weekend’s Concordia-Hamline match-up)

-- Concordia is currently ranked 14th in the latest D3football.com NCAA Division III national poll. The Cobbers are also ranked 17th in the Don Hansen Football Gazette Poll and 13th in the AFCA poll. That marks the fifth straight week in 2005 that Concordia has been ranked in the top 25 in all three major Division III polls. It is also the 13th consecutive week that the Cobbers have been in the top 25.
-- With Concordia’s 30-0 win over Gustavus on Saturday, the Cobbers extended their MIAC winning streak to 13 games. The Cobbers have not lost a conference game since Oct. 25, 2003. The longest conference winning streak in the history of the program is 18 games. That streak occurred from 1980 through the middle of 1982. Concordia also has an extended winning streak at home. The Cobbers have won ten consecutive games at Jake Christiansen Stadium. They are 3-0 at home in 2005 and were 5-0 in 2004.
-- Concordia leads the MIAC in rushing yards per game. The Cobbers are averaging 318.7 yards per game on the ground in their two MIAC games and 302.0 yards on the ground in their three overall games. No team in the history of Concordia football has averaged over 300 rushing yards per game for the season.
-- Concordia has the top rusher in the MIAC in conference play and three in the top eight. Freshman Cory Johnson leads the league in rushing, while quarterback Brian Schumacher is fourth and fullback Kevin Williamson is eighth. Johnson is averaging 106.0 yards per game in the team’s first three league games, and Schumacher has a 94.5 yards per game average.
-- Hamline started the season on a tear, winning the first two games of the season and giving first-year head coach Paul Miller a positive start to his second stint in the MIAC. Since the wins over UM-Morris and Gustavus, the Pipers have lost two straight and have been shut out in both of those games. Hamline lost 27-0 at Bethel on Sept. 24 and then were blanked 44-0 at St. John’s last week.
-- Head Coach Paul Miller coached at St. Olaf for five seasons from 1997-2001. During that time he had a 2-3 record against the Cobbers, including two straight victories in his last two seasons. He has a 1-0 record against current Cobber head coach Terry Horan.
-- The Pipers lead the conference in turnover margin, and are ranked 11th in the nation, after forcing five turnovers against the Johnnies on Saturday (three interceptions, two fumbles). Hamline has 18 takeaways in four games this season (4.5 per contest). The team is +8 in the turnover category.
-- Senior strong safety Tyler Schultz has intercepted a pass in each game this season. He extended the streak Saturday, intercepting a pair of Johnnie passes. He picked off a pass in the end zone to stop one drive in the second quarter. He also intercepted a pass midway through the fourth quarter. Schultz leads the league with five picks in four contests.

GAMEDAY PREVIEW -

Marquee Match-Up –
Concordia Wide Receivers vs. Hamline Secondary
If there was ever a game to break out and start becoming a threat, this would be the one. The Cobbers’ wide outs have a grand total of 23 catches in the team’s first four games. If you’re scoring at home, that’s 5.75 receptions per game. The Piper secondary enters the game having allowed 506 total yards against St. John’s and 288 of that through the air. Hamline is currently seventh in the league, allowing 240.5 yards per game. A more balanced attack will serve the Cobbers well as they begin to enter the “meaty” part of the 2005 schedule.
Marquee Match-Up Part Deaux –
Concordia “Hands” People vs. Hamline Defense
We’ve seen this one before and it is a trend that Concordia will have to improve on if they will be able to stay atop the MIAC. In their first four games, the Cobbers have fumbled the ball 16 times (only losing six). That is an average of four per game and sooner or later the odds are going to catch up with the offense. The turnover theme reared its head against Carleton and allowed the Knights to stay close. The Pipers enter the game ranked 11th in the nation in turnover margin and have caused 10 fumbles, recovering nine.
The Coaches
Concordia head coach Terry Horan (Concordia ’89) is in his fifth year as head football coach at Concordia College. Last season he helped the Cobbers to an 11-1 overall mark and a perfect 8-0 MIAC record - and the program’s 18th conference title. For his efforts he was named the AFCA Region Coach of the Year as well as the MIAC Coach of the Year. He has compiled a 25-8 conference record and a 30-12 overall mark in his first four seasons. Paul Miller is 2-1 in his first season at the helm of the Pipers. Before Hamline, Miller coached at Apple Valley High School for 17 seasons, earning three Prep Bowl appearances, including two AA championships in 1986 and 1993.
Gameday Preview
Middle Management
Concordia is outscoring its opponents 94-27 in the second and third quarters this season. The Cobbers have only given up two touchdowns in the second quarter and two in the third quarter. This has become somewhat of a trend the past two seasons. Last year, Concordia held a 234-93 edge in the middle quarters of the game.
Record Watching and Waiting and Waiting....
Concordia kicker Brian Halverson (Sr., Fargo, N.D./Fargo North HS) tied head coach Terry Horan for most career points in program history. Halverson recorded six points against the Gusties and is now at 200 points for his career. He also set a program record for the longest field goal. Halverson knocked home a 45-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter to break the old mark of 42 yards held by Clayton Horgen (’00).
“There’s Nothing To This College Game”
Concordia freshman running back Cory Johnson (Moorhead, Minn.) has scored a touchdown in each of his first four collegiate games. He is currently tied for second on the team in scoring with 24 points. He also leads the team in rushing. He is averaging 102.2 yards per game in his first four games.
“What He Said”
Another Concordia freshman is also among the league leaders. Levi DeVries (Bejou, Minn./Mahnomen HS) is leading the league in punt return average. DeVries has eight returns in the team’s first three conference games and is averaging 10.4 yards per return. Against Gustavus on Saturday, he had 56 total punt return yards on four returns. He also came up with his longest return of the year when he ran back a punt in the second quarter for 37 yards.
Nationally Speaking
Individually, Concordia only has two defensive players ranked among the national leaders. Mark Halley is 15th in forced fumbles (0.5/game) and Tyler Ledyard is 30th in sacks per game (1.1). As a team the Cobbers are ranked in the top 40 of the nation in four different statistical categories. The highest ranking for Concordia is rushing offense. The Cobbers are seventh in the nation in rushing yards per game (302.0). Defensively, Concordia ranks 17th in rushing defense (73.8 yds/game). They also rank 24th in total defense (266.2) and 34th in scoring defense (15.8 pts/game). Hamline senior strong safety Tyler Schultz is third in interceptions per game (1.3). He is also 23rd in passes defended (1.8/game). Schultz’ defensive teammates, Paul Klees and Darryl Sledge, rank 15th in forced fumbles (0.5/game). As a team, the Pipers rank 11th in turnover margin. They are a +2 in turnovers per game.