Meyer's Four Field Goals Lifts Football in Opener

To no surprise, Saturday's college football season opener featured two tough-nosed defenses who kept the opposing offenses in check. The low-scoring affair ended with a 12-10 Doane victory over Concordia.

Doane used four field goals on the night to account for their scoring while Concordia had a touchdown and a field goal.

The scoring started late in the first quarter with the Bulldogs scoring on a nine-yard run by Austin Jablonski. Concordia had a chance to add to their lead in the 2nd quarter only to have Cooper Bates (SR/Wilber, Neb.) block a 23-yard field goal attempt.

The Tigers put the final points of the opening half on the board as time expired in the second quarter. Kelen Meyer (FR/Ord, Neb.) made a 21-yard field goal to send the game into halftime with Concordia leading 7-3.

Doane pulled within a point with 9:17 left in the 3rd quarter as Meyer knocked in a 39-yard field goal. Doane was poised to take the lead late in the quarter following a forced fumble by Cade Wiseman (SO/Sutton, Neb.) and a recovery by Owen Kuntz (JR/Crete, Neb.) at the Concordia 15-yard line. The Tigers would be forced backwards on a penalty but Meyer would knock in a 45-yard field goal to put Doane up 9-7.

Concordia regained the lead with 10 minutes left in the game on a 28-yard field goal from Ty Harold. After an exchange of punts, Doane drove into Bulldog territory before a fumble would go to Concordia. The Tiger defense came up with a three-and-out to force a punt with 2:59 to play.

Doane took over at their 29-yard line and on the second play of the drive, Jeremiah Payne (JR/Dallas, Texas) made an acrobatic catch for 33-yards to move into Concordia territory. Doane would be limited to four more yards on the drive, setting up Meyer once again. The University of Nebraska transfer knocked down a 47-yard field goal to put Doane in front.

Concordia had one last chance and moved the ball near midfield only to have the play come on an illegal forward pass, moving the ball back with a loss of down. The penalty would be costly for the Bulldogs as they would have three incompletions to close out the game and Doane would run off the final seconds in the victory formation.

Doane finished the game with 278 yards of total offense while Concordia finished with 221. The Tigers had 172 yards through the air and 106 on the ground. The Bulldogs went with 138 yards on the ground and 83 in the passing game.

Mike Pulliam made his first start and had 16 completions for 172 yards. Payne brought in six receptions for 52 yards and Brehan Lambert (SR/Lincoln, Neb.) posted three catches for 60 yards. Frazzie Wynn (SR/Lincoln, Neb.) led the team with 79 yards rushing.

Defensively, Doane recorded three sacks and seven tackles for loss. The sacks came from Aaron Reyes (SO/San Benito, Texas), Anthony Adams (SO/San Antonio, Texas), and Ryan Michael (SR/Brea, Calif.). Austin Simmons (SR/Boelus, Neb.) had two tackles for negative yardage. Ty Martinsen (JR/Cedar Rapids, Neb.) and Caden Doolittle (SR/Ponder, Texas) were tied for the team lead with seven total tackles.

Next up for the Tigers will be another home GPAC contest as they host Midland on September 10 at 1 PM in Crete. The Warriors were 14-10 winners over Hastings in their GPAC opener and are 2-0 on the year.