A Crystal-clear Cobbers’ win
After all, the unit only returned five starters from a year ago and the Cobbers were pitted against a potent Moorhead State running game, which ranked second in NCAA Division II last season.
But any uncertainty Christopherson felt entering the 14th edition of the Crystal Bowl was quickly put to rest. Concordia limited the Dragons to 87 yards on the ground on its way to a 17-7 triumph.
"Unbelievable," said Christopherson. "My hats off to the defensive team; they really were the difference today. The players and the coaches."
Concordia’s defense was flawless in the first half. The Cobbers limited Moorhead State to 39 yards on 23 plays, including only one first down. The Dragons couldn’t move the ball into Concordia territory until the third quarter.
"I did not expect that," said senior linebacker Ryan Sannes. "We just totally keyed on the option. It worked for us."
Sannes and senior defensive tackle Jeff Gronner were huge for the Cobbers. Sannes recorded eight tackles, two sacks and one interception, while Gronner added nine tackles and one sack.
"We came up with a new defense before the game," Gronner said. "We kept Ryan Sannes on (Moorhead State quarterback Pat) Elmes to help stop the option."
The plan worked to perfection. And when Sannes or Gronner weren’t making the play, the rest of the defense was there to shut things down. The Cobbers held Elmes to 47 yards on 17 carries and 1,000-yard rusher Grover Moore to 35 yards on 14 carries.
"What we thought of as our strength was something we didn’t do a good job at," said Moorhead State coach Ralph Micheli. "They changed defenses on us and we just didn’t adjust fast enough."
By the time the Dragons thought about changing anything, they were down 14-0.
Concordia opened the scoring on its first possession, starting at Moorhead State’s 36-yard line. Concordia was left with excellent field position after a low snap forced Dragons punter Mark Teckenburg to run with the ball on fourth down. Teckenburg was stopped short of the first-down marker by a slew of Cobber defenders.
Concordia took advantage of the mistake, moving the ball into the end zone on eight straight running plays. Senior halfback Dan Steinbeisser, making his first career start, carried the ball five times for 32 yards on the drive to set up a touchdown.
Steinbeisser finished with 151 yards rushing. Senior fullback Chris Ohm capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge.
A Moorhead State gamble on the ensuing possession gave the Cobbers excellent field position again. The Dragons decided to go for a first down on fourth-and-2 from its own 37. But Elmes’ pass attempt to Wade Lewandowski was low and the Dragons turned the ball over again on downs.
The Cobbers again capitalized. This time it only took six plays. Quarterback Ethan Pole connected with Tory Langemo on a nifty 22-yard touchdown play.
"It was a basic post-corner route," Langemo said. "I was able to get behind the defenders a little bit. Ethan put it right behind the defender. It was a great throw."
It took Moorhead State until the third quarter to enter the scoring column. The Dragons put together an impressive nine-play, 95-yard drive that covered 4 minutes, 50 seconds. Elmes capped the march with a 3-yard scoring sweep around right end.
The score was set up by an Elmes-to-Nathan Middleton 51-yard pass play which moved the ball to the Cobbers’ 8.
"That kind of hurt us," Sannes said. "They were throwing a little more than we expected."
But Moorhead State could get no closer. The Dragons only advanced the ball into Cobbers’ territory one more time. Concordia’s Clayton Horgen kicked a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin.
"It was an excellent performance for an opener by the entire football team," Christopherson said.