Courtesy of Midland Athletics
SEWARD, Neb. – Wild. There’s no better word to describe the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) football game between Midland University and No. 17 Concordia University on Saturday afternoon at Bulldog Stadium. Wild, indeed.
Midland battled back from a 38-7 deficit in the third quarter to defeat Concordia 60-52 in double overtime. The 112 combined points are the most in a Midland victory in program history. The win also came in the 100th game coached at Midland by head coach Jeff Jamrog.
Concordia received the opening kickoff, but Midland’s defense forced a three-and-out. After the Bulldogs’ punt, the Warriors took over at their own 31-yard line. On Midland’s first play from scrimmage, quarterback Brodey Johnson‘s pass was intercepted by Concordia’s Luke Penrod and returned 34 yards to the Midland 2-yard line. The Bulldogs scored on the next play when Carlos Collazo ran it in for a 2-yard touchdown. Peyton Atwood’s extra point gave Concordia a 7-0 lead with 13:04 left in the first quarter.
The Warriors went three-and-out on their next possession. Following Gavin Rohewal‘s punt, Concordia took over at its own 16-yard line. On the Bulldogs’ first play, quarterback Gideon Stark completed a 12-yard pass to Maddox Rickerts for a first down at the 28. Four plays later, the Midland defense held, and the Bulldogs punted.
Midland moved the ball through the air on the next series but was forced to punt again. Concordia took over at the 20 after a touchback. On the next drive, Collazo broke a 28-yard run to the Midland 35-yard line. Seven plays later, Atwood connected on a 37-yard field goal to extend Concordia’s lead to 10-0 with 3:55 left in the opening quarter.
After another Midland three-and-out, the Bulldogs took over at the Warriors’ 48-yard line but failed to convert and punted back. Midland again went three-and-out, and the first quarter ended with Concordia leading 10-0.
After trading punts early in the second quarter, Concordia struck again when Stark connected with Rickerts for a 57-yard touchdown. Atwood’s PAT made it 17-0 with 11:57 left in the half. Midland responded with its first scoring drive. Starting at their own 25, the Warriors moved downfield with a series of completions from Johnson to Tyson Denkert and Kevin Adams Jr. Denkert capped the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. Payden Alexander‘s extra point cut the deficit to 17-7 with 6:28 remaining in the half.
Concordia answered quickly. Collazo ripped off a 50-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs ahead 24-7 with 5:10 left. Later, Stark connected with Jonny Puelz on a 55-yard touchdown pass, and Atwood’s PAT made it 31-7 with 1:51 before halftime. Concordia led 31-7 at the break.
The Bulldogs extended their lead to 38-7 early in the third quarter when Collazo scored his third rushing touchdown of the day, a 15-yarder with 11:20 remaining. Then, the comeback began. Midland went 75 yards in nine plays, capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Tim Brown. Alexander’s extra point made it 38-14 with 6:10 left in the third quarter. Moments later, Midland recovered a Concordia fumble and converted it into a 22-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to TJ Covington. Johnson found Adams Jr. for a two-point conversion to make it 38-22 with 4:33 left.
Midland forced another punt and struck again, this time with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Adams Jr. The two-point try failed, but the Warriors had cut the deficit to 38-28 with 1:28 left in the third quarter. Midland’s defense came up big again early in the fourth, forcing a fumble that the Warriors recovered. Johnson capitalized with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Denkert, pulling Midland within three, 38-35, with 11:40 to play.
After another defensive stop, Alexander hit a 39-yard field goal to tie the game at 38-38 with 6:17 remaining. Johnson gave Midland its first lead of the game with 2:02 left, connecting with Adams Jr. for a 30-yard touchdown. Alexander’s PAT made it 45-38. Concordia, however, tied the game with 21 seconds left on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Stark to Max Bartels, sending the contest to overtime at 45-45.
In the first overtime, Stark found Adam Van Cleave for a 22-yard touchdown to put Concordia ahead 52-45. Midland answered when Johnson hit Covington for a 10-yard score on fourth down. Alexander’s extra point tied it 52-52, forcing a second overtime. After a sack on the first play of the second overtime, backup quarterback Zach Congalton came in and completed a 17-yard pass to Tae Marks. Johnson reentered and found Marks again for a 13-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion pass to Brodie Anderson gave Midland a 60-52 lead. On Concordia’s possession, the Bulldogs faced a fourth-and-10 at the Midland 14. Stark’s pass to Rickerts fell incomplete, sealing the historic comeback win.
“What a classic!” Jamrog said. “We talked about resilience and bouncing back from a tough loss to Doane. Being down 31-7 at half and 38-7 in the third quarter isn’t what we had in mind. But our guys battled and never gave up. We started playing fearless, made plays on offense, got a couple of takeaways, and some big special teams plays. We cut it to 16 points in the third and knew we had the wind in the fourth. We came back, took the lead, and then finished the game in overtime. Hats off to our players, coaches, and trainers. This is a great program win and says a lot about the fight these Warriors have!”
Midland (3-3, 3-2 GPAC) ran 91 plays for 484 total yards — 441 passing and 43 rushing. Concordia (4-1, 4-1 GPAC) totaled 482 yards on 84 plays, with 294 through the air and 188 on the ground. Johnson completed 37 of 60 passes for 424 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception — all new school records. Denkert rushed 14 times for 40 yards and one score while adding seven receptions for 57 yards and another touchdown. Adams Jr. had five catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Covington caught nine passes for 93 yards and two scores. Brown added seven catches for 77 yards and one touchdown, and Marks recorded six receptions for 63 yards and a score.
Defensively, Paxton Van Houten led Midland with 10 tackles. Justin Gassaway had four tackles and a fumble recovery, while Zach Dickey added a tackle and recovery. For Concordia, Stark went 20 of 44 for 294 yards and four touchdowns. Collazo carried 30 times for 171 yards and three scores. Van Cleave had nine catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Rickerts had three catches for 95 yards and a score. Puelz and Bartels each added a touchdown reception.
Midland will return to action Saturday, Oct. 18, when it hosts Briar Cliff University. Kickoff at Heedum Field in Fremont, Nebraska, is set for 1 p.m.
