LISLE, Ill. – The Concordia Wisconsin football team dampened the spirits of the Benedictine faithful with a 23-18 victory to spoil their homecoming weekend. The Falcons improved to 2-0 in the young season and are 1-0 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Saturday also marked the first loss of the season for Benedictine as the Eagles fell to 3-1 and 1-1 in the NACC.
The Eagles took advantage of an interception on the opening drive that set Benedictine up in Concordia territory with a 33-yard field goal.
Four minutes later, freshman Max Michonski (Chicago, Ill.) had his first career interception and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown to give the Falcons the lead.
The Falcons held a 7-3 lead to end the first quarter.
Benedictine marched down the field to start the second quarter and reached the red zone. The CUW stiffened up and forced the second field goal of the game for BU which was good from 32 yards.
Concordia responded with a methodical drive of their own that was capped off with a five-yard rush up the middle untouched for senior Pierre Summers III (Columbus, Ga.) to put the Falcons up 14-6.
Sophomore Logan Navis (Cedar Grove, Wis.) drilled a field goal from 25 yards in the final minute of the first half to give CUW a 17-6 lead going into halftime.
The Eagles had an excellent opportunity with an instant red zone opportunity off a fumble, but the CUW defense forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back.
Both defenses stood tall in the third quarter and the score remained 17-6 after 45 minutes of play.
Benedictine started the fourth quarter going for it on fourth down and scoring a touchdown on a 28-yard pass. The Red and White tried to cut the margin to three points, but the CUW defense stopped the Eagles short on the two-point conversion.
The Eagles reclaimed the lead with a two-yard rush with 8:44 remaining. The Eagles once again tried to convert on a two-point conversion, but the Falcons stopped them short.
The Falcons responded with a gritty drive that required all hands on deck. Pierre Summers III was able to run down the far sideline and leap into the endzone on an eight-yard catch from sophomore Roman Funk (Scottsdale, Ariz.) to finish the drive.
The Eagles marched down the field for one last chance but the fourth-down heat and the pressure from Max Michonski was too much and the Falcons stopped Benedictine from the 16-yard line.
Concordia held a 271-234 advantage in yards on Saturday. The Birds had 165 yards through the air and 106 yards on the ground. The 234 yards are a season-low for Benedictine. The Eagles also rushed for a season-low 114 yards.
Roman Funk threw for 165 yards on 19 completions and one touchdown. He also rushed for 40 yards in the victory. Senior Nick Taylor (West Bend, Wis.) led a well-balanced receiving unit with 29 yards on two catches. Eight Falcons had two or more catches on Saturday.
Pierre Summers III ran for 77 yards in the victory and scored both of the Concordia offensive touchdowns.
Senior Zac Ballard (Paramount, Calif.) led the game with 14 total tackles. Senior Justice Kaneta (Brighton, Colo.) recorded 10 tackles against the Eagles.
This is the first time that the Falcons have defeated Benedictine in back-to-back seasons since 2012 and 2013. Last year, the Falcons shut out the Eagles, 28-0.
The Falcons will continue their tour of the NACC on Saturday with a noon kickoff at St. Norbert. The Green Knights picked up their first victory of the season today with a 40-3 victory at Rockford.
