Box Score
Box score
RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Wisconsin Lutheran
College football team suffered its first Northern Athletics
Conference loss Saturday afternoon, falling on the road to league
preseason favorite Concordia University Chicago 38-21 on Homecoming
for the Cougars at Concordia Stadium.
The Warriors found the end zone on their opening possession of
the game when sophomore quarterback Zach Shaw (Gurnee, Ill./Warren
Township) threw a 44-yard touchdown strike to fellow sophomore wide
receiver Josh Stodola (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) for a 7-0 lead with
just 2:50 off of the first-quarter clock.
The host Cougars closed out the opening quarter with 10
unanswered points, a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike
Marotta to Savonte Hunt and a 23-yard Andrew Shine field goal.
Following a nine-yard touchdown run by CUC running back Khyre
Copeland midway through the second quarter, WLC closed within three
points, 17-14, on a 54-yard touchdown catch by senior tight end
Kinte Collins (Chicago, Ill./Clemente). CUC returned the ensuing
kickoff 56 yards which setup a 38-yard touchdown pass from wide
receiver Jamal Thomas to his counterpart Mike Egebrecht. Concordia
Chicago led Wisconsin Lutheran 24-14 at the half.
Neither team found the end zone in the third quarter between
their combined 11 possessions as CUC maintained its 10-point lead
until the final period. The Warriors forced three turnovers in the
period, but unfortunately could not covert them into any
points.
Concordia Chicago scored on its first fourth-quarter possession
to jump out to a 31-14 advantage. The Warriors notched their final
score of the contest with 7:07 left on a Matt Lopata (Cudahy,
Wis./Cudahy) seven-yard touchdown grab. CUC added an insurance
score on a 67-yard touchdown pass with just 2:00 minutes left.
Shaw completed 13 of 38 passing attempts for 173 yards and three
touchdowns, but was plagued with three interceptions. Lopata had a
team-high five catches for 36 yards. Stodola and Collins each
finished with 54 receiving yards. Junior Jesse Muldrow (Milwaukee,
Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) totaled 83 of the Warriors' 158 yards on
the ground.
Senior Shaun Stannard (Merton, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) had
seven solo tackles, including one for a loss, a fumble recovery,
sack and pass break-up to lead WLC defensively. Senior Alex
Allister (Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) added a 31-yard
interception return.
Marotta finished 24-for-43 with 377 yards and two touchdowns for
the Cougars (3-2, 1-1 NAC). Thomas and Egebrecht hauled in 163 and
111 receiving yards, respectively. Copeland rushed for 61 yards and
a pair of scores. Matt Rolf recorded a game-high nine tackles, an
interception and pass break-up for the CUC defense.
CUC out-gained WLC 478-331 in total yards of offense, despite
the Warriors running three more plays than the hosts and holding
the ball more than seven minutes longer.
After three weeks away from its home turf, Wisconsin Lutheran
(3-2, 1-1 NAC) returns to Raabe Stadium next Saturday, October 16
to host the Lakeland College Muskies (2-3, 1-1 NAC) in a 1 p.m. NAC
kickoff.
