Mequon
In five heart-stopping seconds Concordia (0-2) went from a
probable tie... to a nearly amazing win...and then to a
gut-wrenching defeat at the hands of D1AA Valparaiso Saturday
afternoon in Mequon. The final series of the game for CUW and the
frantic last play came after a dramatic block of a Valpo punt with
less than two minutes remaing set the Falcons up at the Crusader
twenty.
Three plays netted only five yards so Dan Winsey came on to
attempt a game-tying field goal. When the snap skipped to
holder Aaron Siekmann, he chose to pick the ball up and roll out to
his right looking for a receiver in the end zone. He found his
target in Paul Metcalf, but Metcalf 's vision was obstructed by a
leaping defender and the ball bounced off his chest incomplete in
the end zone.
CUW led at the half 14-13 thanks to a pair of TD passes from
senior TJ Pacchioli, who was outstanding game-long as he kept
pressure on the Crusaders with his arm and legs. After Valpo took
a 3-0 lead on a 25 yard field goal nine minutes into the game,
Pacchioi launched a 4 yard strike to Eric Rusch on CUW's third
possession to bring the home crowd to life.
Valpo got a 2 yard TD run by Ross Wiemer early in period number
two but Concordia came back on a terrific 25 yard throw and catch
from Pacchioli to Montrell Davidson in the middle of the period.
Smith added another field goal, this time from 39 yards out, to
create the 14-13 halftime score.
Winsey made it 17-13 when he connected from 39 yards out at 3:49
of the third quarter and that 17-13 lead held until John Popper
caught a 24 yard TD pass from Bobby Wysocki to make it 20-17
Valparaiso with a little over eight minutes left in the game.
Greg Etter's team outgained Valpo 280- 211 with Pacchioli
scrambling for 96 yards and throwing for another 100. Valpo's
Wysocki connected on only eight aerials but those receptions
totalled 133 yards.
