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	2003 Concordia Football Line Score
	Cobbers lose for the first time in 2003. Teams 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Bethel 6 10 14 6 36 Concordia 7 0 0 12 19  Story | Box Score | Play-by-Play | Drive Chart |

GAME 3: Bethel College Royals (1-0, 2-0) at Concordia College Cobbers  (1-0, 2-0)
LOCATION: Jake Christiansen Stadium (7,000) - Moorhead, MN
KICKOFF: 1:00 p.m.
RADIO: Live on 92.7-FM
TV: None
INTERNET: www.gocobbers.com
TICKETS: 218-299-4434
SERIES: Concordia leads series, 19-6-0
LAST WEEK: Concordia won at Gustavus 24-2. Bethel won at home against St. Thomas 40-6.
RANKINGS: Concordia is ranked 26th in the latest D3football.com national poll and 34th in the Football Gazette Poll. Bethel is ranked 30th in the D3football.com poll and 33rd in the Football Gazette Poll 
COACHES: Concordia head coach Terry Horan (Concordia â89) is in his third year as head football coach at Concordia College. In 2002 he was named the MIAC Coach of the Year as he guided the Cobbers to a second place finish. Concordia went 7-1 in the MIAC and was 7-3 overall. In his first two seasons at the helm, he has compiled an 12-6 conference record and a 14-8 overall mark. Bethelâs Steve Johnson (Bethel â79) begins his 15th season as head coach at Bethel with a 91-49-1 overall record.

Series Background:

Last year against the Royals, the Concordia defense pressured Bethel into six interceptions en route to a 35-14 victory.

Concordia leads the overall series 19-6, but in the past five years the Royals have claimed three victories including a 60-21 offensive outburst in 2000. Bethel has won only one game at Jake Christiansen Stadium. The lone Royals victory came in 2001 when they beat the Cobbers 48-14. 

Last year Concordia rode a six-interception effort by the defense to a commanding 35-14 victory. Leading the Cobber offense were quarterback Ryan Hebrink  and running back Robert Clark who combined for three touchdowns. Concordia rushed for 127 yards, compared to 36 by the entire Royals offense. 

Bethel wide receiver John Kilde provided one of the afternoon's few highlights with a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter. The Royals then went two quarters without scoring. As the clock ran out in the fourth quarter, Lachermeier hit senior wide receiver Joel Olson (Becker, Minn.) with a 16-yard touchdown pass. 

Cobber defensive back Josh Vickerman collected two interceptions and linebacker Josh Dietz returned an interception 28 yards for the first score of the game.

The last time Concordia beat Bethel at Jake Christiansen Stadium was in 1999 when the Cobbers squeeked out a 17-15 victory. 

After a scoreless first quarter the Cobbers gained some confidence by taking a 3-0 lead with 8:37 left in the second quarter on a 25 yard field goal by Clayton Horgen, completing a 16 play, 72 yard drive. Bethel came back with an 8 yard Belisle TD reception with 5:38 left in the half to give Bethel their only lead at 7-3. Concordia replied with a Jon Doebler 2 yard TD run with 1:11 left in the first half to make it 10-7 Cobbers at the break. 

Doebler scored again with 7:34 left in the third, capping a 10 play, 71 yard drive - to make it a 17-7 Cobber lead. But Bethel's Gary Stone took the ensuing kickoff 68 yards to the Cobber 12. That led to a  Ryan Ruisch 3-yard TD run with 5:59 left in the third.  Bethel went for two on the conversion with a wild spread formation and Kirk Midthun dove over the line to make it 17-15 Cobbers. 

The Cobber offense helped the defense stay rested all day by keeping the ball for nearly 37 minutes. The key for the Cobber offense was the ball control ground game generated by the offensive line and a backfield by committee. The Cobbers gained 257 yards rushing.  Alternating halfbacks Joel Ferrie and Jason Braaten accounted for 88 and 65 yards respectively. Fullback Nathan Reiff, getting just his second career start due to a midweek injury to three year starter Len Crouse, was the most consistent  runner on the field.  The Cobber wrestling All-American racked up 84 yards on 22 carries while usually dragging three Royal defenders along for the ride. And Reiff's backup, Doebler, was nothing if not effective, three carries for two touchdowns and six yards. 

Horan Sets New Pace
Concordia's 2-0 start to the season marks the first time in head coach Terry Horan's three-year stint that the Cobbers have gone undefeated in their opening two games.  The last time a Concordia football team won their opening two games was in 1997 when the Cobbers started the season 6-0. Concordia finished the '97 season in second place in the MIAC and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs.

Concordia Under Horan 
2001 Cobber Football 
S8  MSU-Moorhead Home W 18-10 
S15 St. Thomas   Home L 35-38 
S22 Macalester   Away W 35-12 
S29 Gustavus     Home L 28-42 
O6  Hamline      Away W 25-7 
O13 Bethel       Home L 14-48 
O20 St. Olaf     Away L 33-34 
O27 Carleton     Away W 35-0 
N3 St. John's    Dome L 14-28 
N9 9 Augsburg Mtrdome W 33-3 
Record: Overall 5-5, 
MIAC: 4-5 - 6th Place

2002 Cobber Football
S7  MSU-Moorhead Away L 17-41 
S14 Gustavus     Home W 20-14 
S21 Bethel       Away W 35-14 
S28 Carleton     Home W 51-7 
O5  Hamline      Away W 40-7 
O12 Augsburg     Home W 38-13 
O19 UW-Stout     Away L 21-27 
O26 St. John's   Home L 9-34 
N2  St. Olaf     Away W 24-14 
N8  St. Thomas Mtdome W 63-21 
Record: Overall 7-3, 
MIAC: 7-1 - 2nd Place

Cobber Staff Shows School Spirit 
Six of the eight coaches on Terry Horanâs staff attended Concordia and played football for the Cobbers. The elder statesman of the group is offensive coordinator Bob Nick â65 who begins his 37th season as a football assistant. He was captain of the 1964 team that won the national championship. After Nick, offensive backs coach Doug Perry has the second-most tenure. Perry, who graduated with Nick in 1965 is starting his 21st campaign with the maroon and gold. The newcomer to the staff is second-year, defensive line coach Gary Haugo. Haugo, a â94 grad, is the defensive line coach·Co-Defensive Coordinator Dave Klug played for the Cobbers from 1976-79. He went on to play professional football in the NFL for four years. 

Close, But No Cigar
After further review, Cobber cornerback Josh Vickerman (Sr., Alexandria, Minn./Jefferson HS) did not set a school record for career interceptions against MSU-Moorhead. The ãpickä was his 12th in his career, which was believed to be a school record, but after perusing the archives it was found out that Terry Storm (â89) actually amassed 17 ãpick offsä in his career·Neil Guggemos of St. Thomas and David Adams of Carleton are the MIACâs all-time leaders in interceptions. Guggemos went on to play for the Minnesota Vikings.

MIAC All-Time Interception Leaders
Game: 5  Ben Matthews BC 9/26/00
Season:13 Ben Matthews BC 2000
Career:25 Neal Guggemos, UST Î86
                 David Adams, Car.  Î88 

Big ãDä Defense
Concordiaâs Achilles heel this season was supposed to be their defense but after the Cobbers stifled Gustavus 24-2, the defensive unit is starting to come into its own. The Cobbers limited the Gusties to only 32 yards of rushing and 203 yards of total offense. 

Last year the Cobbers led the MIAC in total defense, allowing a mere 255.9 yards of total offense per game during the MIAC season. The highlight of their airtight defensive squad was their outstanding ability to stop the run. The Cobbers held opponents to only 77.0 yards per game on the ground. League-leading St. John's was second in that category - allowing almost 30 yards more per game·Through two games in 2003, the Cobbers have held opponents to 278.5 yards of total offense and 79.0 yards on the ground·Concordia ranks third in the MIAC in rush defense and fourth in overall defense.

Welcome Back
The Cobbers welcomed back two familiar faces in week two of the season. Linebacker Derek Fischer was cleared to play after sitting out the preseason and opening game with a shoulder injury. Last season Fischer  was the teamâs second leading tackler. Joining Fischer is wide receiver Daylon Faber. Faber is the recipient of a medical redshirt, after sitting out a year with a knee injury. He will be used mainly as the snapper for all punting and kicking situations. 

The Starting Lineups:

Bethel Royals (1-0, 2-0) Offense Pos # Name               Yr Ht   Wt  QB 05 Scott Kirchoff     Sr 6-3  223  FB 33 Chris Evans        Jr 6-1  225  HB 39 Jesse Dick         So 5-10 200  WR 07 John Kilde         Sr 5-10 185  SE 10 Jeff Lehn          Sr 5-11 173  TE 19 Paul Scrabeck      Jr 6-5  241  LT 56 Dave Thomas       Jr 6-4  265  LG 73 Pat Corcoran       So 6-3  292  C  55 Ryan Lyle          Sr 6-2  252  RG 63 John Holgrimson    Sr 5-11 265  RT 74 Tim Lawrence       Sr 6-2  287  Defense Pos  # Name              Yr Ht   Wt  OLB 06 Josh Kurtz        Sr 6-4  225  ILB 45 Jake Schnieder    So 6-4  239  ILB 41 Matt Wassink      Sr 6-1  225  OLB 42 Josh Holm         So 5-8  196 CB  03 Jeremy Sather     Jr 5-11 190 S   24 Peter Eastlund    Jr 6-1  200  S   21 Sam Lacy          Sr 6-1  208  CB  47 Steve Darr        Sr 6-0  185  DT  59 Scott Wessman     Sr 6-3  240  NG  46 Brett Schendel    Sr 6-0  283  DT  93 Jeff Mattson      Sr 6-0  250  Special Teams Pos    # Name            Yr Ht   Wt  S     59 Scott Wessman   Sr 6-3  240  H     04 A.J. Parnell    So 6-1  182  P     13 Ryan Davis      Jr 5-10 179  KO/PK 18 Paul Tschetter  Sr 6-1  190  PR/KR 07 John Kilde      Sr 5-10 185  KR    25 Phil Porta      Fr 5-10 187

Concordia Cobbers (1-0, 2-0) Offense Pos # Name               Yr Ht   Wt  QB 10 Ryan Hebrink       Sr 6-3  210  RB 06 Bobby Clark        Sr 5-9  195  RB 34 Ed Oehlers         Jr 5-11 215  RB 27 Travis Christensen Jr 6-0  210  WR 07 Andrew Passanante  Jr 6-3  195  WR 80 Shawn Reile        Jr 6-1  175  LT 74 Nick Didier        Jr 6-3  255  LG 71 Lance Mumm         Sr 6-0  260  C  50 Jason Kelly        Jr 5-10 260  RG 52 Mitch Maxwell      Sr 6-0  265  RT 63 Ryan Johnson       So 6-3  255  Defense Pos  # Name              Yr Ht   W  SLB 31 Kade Birkeland    Sr 6-0  225  MLB 16 Doug Runke        Jr 6-2  220  WLB 43 Josh Dietz        Jr 6-1  215  SCB 04 Josh Vickerman    Sr 6-0  180  ROV 47 Eric Preszler     Jr 6-2  200  FS  19 Tanner RadermacherSo 6-2  185  WCB 09 Jordan Talge      Jr 5-11 180  DE  99 Adam Campbell     Jr 6-3  245  DT  97 Andrew Campbell   Sr 6-4  260  NG  94 Evan Emmerich     Jr 6-2  255  DE  40 Todd Hann         Sr 6-0  220  Special Teams Pos   #  Name             Yr Ht   Wt  S     86 Daylon Faber     Sr 6-2  195 H     09 Jordan Talge     Jr 5-11 180  P/KO  25 Lucas Draxten    Jr 6-5  185  PK    38 Brian Halverson  So 6-1  170  PK    25 Lucas Draxten    Jr 6-5  185 PR/KR 06 Bobby Clark      Sr 5-9  195

 

CC/BC Archives:
2002 - CC 35 @ BC 14
2001 - BC 48 @ CC 14
2000 - CC 21 @ BC 60
1999 - BC 15 @ CC 17