Only in 2020 could a team playing its fourth game of the season go head-to-head with an opponent just beginning its campaign. By the close of the afternoon Oct. 3, the Concordia University football team celebrated a happy homecoming and a 4-0 start. The Bulldogs used a strong performance from quarterback Blake Culbert and their defense on the way to a 23-3 win over Jamestown.
From an offensive perspective, this was the coming out party for Culbert and the Bulldog receivers. Culbert connected with three different pass catchers for touchdowns that covered 17 yards to Cayden Beran, nine yards to Cole Schaedel and 41 yards to Korrell Koehlmoos. Culbert totaled 361 passing yards while completing 24-of-41 attempts for the first 300-yard day of his career.
The Concordia defense was its usual stingy self. Chase Hammons (five sacks this season) and Gerald Morris collected two sacks apiece for yet another tenacious performance coordinated by Corby Osten.
Freshman Lyle Whitney has been the team’s leading rusher in back-to-back weeks. He got his first career start on Saturday and carried the ball 24 times for 86 bruising yards. Whitney was responsible for almost all of the team’s 101 rushing yards.
Culbert found four different receivers frequently: Koehlmoos (six catches for 113 yards), Schaedel (five catches for 84 yards), Garrett Schardt (five catches for 78 yards) and Beran (five catches for 55 yards). Koehlmoos has now gone over 100 receiving yards in three straight games.
Concordia has held three of its first four opponents to single-digit point totals. Hammons has played a big role in that success, including two sacks Saturday.
One sack each was also contributed by Eric Kieper Jr., Payton Kidder and Keon Waters. In the secondary, Isiaha Conner had an active day that included three pass breakups. Jourdhin Smith and AJ Jenkins also broke up two passes apiece.
The Bulldogs will be back on the road Saturday, Oct. 10, to play at Dakota Wesleyan (1-3 GPAC). Kickoff from Mitchell, S.D., is set for 1 p.m.
