Broncos' Fourth Quarter Comeback Held Off by Bulldogs
(Hastings, NE) – In a matchup that featured a Bronco team coming off of a huge win at Northwestern before a bye week, and a Concordia team that the week before led by 31 before falling in double overtime to Midland, the Bulldogs scored a touchdown with less than a minute to go to win, 32-29. Hastings trailed 26-14 in the fourth quarter, but took a brief lead on a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone before Concordia scored with 32 seconds left.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
10 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 32 |
|
|
0 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 29 |
Team Stats
Concordia (NE)
| Game Statistics | Concordia (NE) | Hastings |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 306 | 122 |
| Rushing Yards | 147 | 130 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 2 |
| Time of Poss. | 31:41 | 28:19 |
(Hastings, NE) – In a matchup that featured a Bronco team coming off of a huge win at Northwestern before a bye week, and a Concordia team that the week before led by 31 before falling in double overtime to Midland, the Bulldogs scored a touchdown with less than a minute to go to win, 32-29. Hastings trailed 26-14 in the fourth quarter, but took a brief lead on a blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone before Concordia scored with 32 seconds left.
The defense shined for both teams early on, with neither team able to get much traction offensive. Midway through the opening quarter, Concordia went on an eight-play, 40-yard yard drive, scoring on a five-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0. A quick three-and-out by Hastings turned into a Bulldog field goal and a 10-0 deficit after one.
Concordia forced a punt to open the fourth, but sophomore linebacker Dawson Kissinger, who had a career-high 15 tackles, intercepted a pass at the Concordia 40 yard line. Junior quarterback Carson Kudlacek followed that up with a quick strike to senior wide receiver Quaesean Hill for 14 yards. Hastings got down to the 25 yard line, but a fourth down pass to Hill fell incomplete.
The next Bulldog possession resulted in a field goal after a big defensive play on a tackle-for-loss by senior linebacker Jake Lambert, who had a career-high 19 tackles - two shy of the Bronco single-game record - to go up 13-0.
Hastings punted on their next possession, but got enough pressure on the Bulldog quarterback to force an off-balance throw, allowing senior defensive back Sam Ahl to jump the route and take the pick back 70 yards for six, cutting the lead to 13-7. Concordia worked their way down into the red zone on their next drive, but junior defensive back Colton Marsh forced the third turnover of the half with an interception at the five yard line, as Hastings trailed 13-7 at halftime.
In the second half, Concordia opened with an eight-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown in just over two minutes. Hastings answered back shortly after with a touchdown of their own, a six-yard pass from Kudlacek to senior tight end Jake Bargen on third-and-goal. Concordia pushed the lead to 12 at 26-14 on two field goals later in the third quarter.
Hastings seemed to be running out of time to come back after they threw an interception with 13:30 left in the game, but their defense came up big with a big third-and-one stop by senior defensive back Gio Mendoza. Taking over at their own 44, junior running back Dalton Armbruster set up the Broncos with a goal to go situation after a 40-yard run. Kudlacek scrambled two plays later for a nine-yard touchdown run to make it 26-21 with 9:07 remaining.
Concordia was driving on their next possession, getting to the Hastings 42, but a fumbled handoff was recovered by junior defensive lineman Tywan January with 6:20 left. Hastings punted back to the Bulldogs when faced with a fourth-and-11 from the Concordia 41. The defense came up big against, forcing an incompletion on third down.
Punting from their own 25, Concordia prepared to kick it away, but junior Josiah Aldridge stormed through the protection and blocked the punt. The ball rolled all the way to the end zone, where senior Wyatt Ryan dove to give the Broncos a one-point lead. Kudlacek made it 29-26 with a tough two-point conversion run, absorbing the contact from the Bulldog defense.
The Bulldogs converted a third-and one on their first set of downs needing a field goal to tie. They got two more first downs after that, working it down to the Hastings 37 with just over a minute left. On third-and-six from the 33, Concordia completed a seven yard pass that initially looked like it could be a fumble and recovery by the Broncos, but forward progress was ruled before the fumble. Two plays later the Bulldogs connected on a 26-yard touchdown pass to go up 32-29 with 32 seconds left. Hastings kept it a three-point game with Ryan blocking the extra point.
Hastings began their last drive from their own 25 looking for a big play to get in field goal range, but on their second play, Kudlacek's pass was intercepted, allowing Concordia to run out the clock and win, 32-29.
Kudlacek finished the game 14-39 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown, along with nine carries for 27 yards and a rushing touchdown. Armbruster had 11 carries for 62 yards and senior wide receiver Eli Nappe had five catches for 44 yards. Bargen, who had the receiving touchdown, had four catches for 35 yards. Lambert led the team with 19 tackles, followed by 15 tackles each from Kissinger and senior defensive back Marcus Dustin, which marked career-highs in tackles for all three players. Kissinger also added three tackles for loss.
Up next, Hastings will play at Mount Marty on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 3pm.
