GREENVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 5) -- The Thiel College Football team fell to Concordia (Wis.) 27-8 Friday evening in the season opener from Alumni Stadium at Stoeber Field in non-conference action.
The Falcons begin the season 1-0 while the Tomcats falls to 0-1.
The first quarter was scoreless as the visitors missed a 41-yard field goal wide right on their second possession of the game. The Falcons got all the points they need in the second quarter as they put a trio of touchdowns on the board to carry a 21-0 lead into the break.
Trailing 27-0 in the fourth quarter, the Tomcats capitalized on stout defense and good field position as
Deon Logan (Richmond, Va./James River) rushed one in from a yard out and
Brandon Flock (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) converted the 2-point try to make it 27-8.
Thiel nearly recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Concordia pounced on it in route to the season-opening win.
Offensively,
Jaylen Benjamin (Hartsville, S.C./Hartsville) had game bests in catches (six) and yards 77.
Riley Dunbar (Lyons, Ohio/Evergreen) had four grabs for 30 yards while
CK Kershaw (Bristow, Va./Patriot) made four catches for 16 yards.
Na'Jier Howard (Struthers, Ohio/East) got the start at QB and went 12-for-29 for 95 yards and four interceptions.
Joseph Fell (Warren, Ohio/Champion) provided a second-half spark under center as he went 5-of-10 for 52 yards and ran for 18 yards on five carries.
On defense,
Matt Jordan (New Castle, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) made a career-best 13 tackles (seven solo).
Devin Long (White Oak, Pa./McKeesport) had 12 tackles (eight solo) while
Chris Bloomfield (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boca Raton) set career highs in tackles (11 solo) and tackles for loss (three).
The Tomcats return to action next Saturday at Adrian in non-conference action beginning at 3 p.m.
