No. 21 Concordia Holds Off Doane in Night Contest

SEWARD, Neb. – Doane football dropped its second straight conference matchup on Saturday night, falling 35–7 to No. 21 Concordia (NE) at Bulldog Stadium. The Tigers (0-2, 0-2 GPAC) fought to sustain drives and leaned on their defense throughout the evening, but early miscues and a balanced Bulldog attack proved decisive.

Concordia struck first midway through the opening quarter after recovering a Tiger fumble deep in Doane territory. Quarterback Gideon Stark found Jonny Puelz from eight yards out to give the Bulldogs a 7–0 lead. A 12-play, 52-yard drive in the second quarter extended the advantage as Carlos Collazo powered in from the one-yard line. Just before halftime, Stark connected with Adam Van Cleave for a 53-yard strike, sending Concordia to the locker room ahead 21–0.

Doane regrouped after the break with its most sustained offensive series of the night. Quarterback Sam Hartman engineered a 12-play, 73-yard march, capping it with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Quinton Archer at the 7:18 mark of the third quarter. Ivar de Jong's extra point pulled the Tigers within 21–7. However, Concordia answered quickly, capitalizing on a short field after an interception to set up back-to-back one-yard scoring runs by Collazo. The junior tailback finished with three touchdowns and 95 rushing yards.

Offensively, Doane generated 252 total yards on 89 plays but struggled to establish the ground game, netting just nine rushing yards against a stout Bulldog front. Hartman completed 30 passes for 201 yards and a score, while Noah Booras added 42 yards through the air in relief. John DeRiso was the top target with 11 receptions for 85 yards, followed by Andrew Waido (five catches, 58 yards) and Archer (six catches, 46 yards, one touchdown).

The Tiger defense produced several highlights, forcing two interceptions and recovering a fumble. Linebacker Reece Zutavern anchored the unit with 17 tackles, a forced fumble, and a tackle for loss. Fellow linebacker Tanner Simdorn added 16 stops, while Jarett Boggs contributed eight tackles and a tackle for loss. Doane's coverage unit broke up six passes on the night.

Concordia's offense finished with 401 yards, balanced nearly evenly between the run and pass. Stark threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted twice by the Tiger secondary. Van Cleave proved his top target, hauling in 13 passes for 173 yards and a score.

Special teams were active for Doane as well. Punter Garrett Pap averaged 34.3 yards across 11 punts, placing three inside the 20. The Tiger kick returners totaled 111 yards.

Despite controlling time of possession (38:33 to 21:27), Doane was undone by 12 penalties, five fumbles (three lost), and eight sacks allowed. The Bulldogs' defensive front registered 14 tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hurries to keep the Tigers off balance.

Doane will look to bounce back next week at Papik Field when the Tigers host Dordt on September 13. Kickoff is set for 6:00 PM.

Final - #21 Concordia 35, Doane 7

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