A year after losing to the Gusties in the final seconds, the Cobbers had their revenge.

Despite keeping the score close throughout the first three quarters of the game, the Gustavus football team dropped their Homecoming game to the Cobbers last Saturday, 21-46.

The Gusties faced a very different team than the previous week, when they held Hamline to only 17 rushing yards but struggled against the pass. Concordia, on the other hand, only threw the ball 9 times for 18 yards, but ran the ball successfully 57 times for 400 yards.

The Cobbers were led by Running Back Chad Johnson, who amassed 190 yards and four touchdowns on 21 attempts.

The Concordia offense scored on its second possession of the game, but missed the extra point, to  lead 6-0. That score held for the remainder of the first half and the Gusties were never able to regain the lead.

   Early in the second quarter, Concordia found the endzone again with their second rushing touchdown, extending the lead to 13-0.  Not long after, Freshman Quarterback Christian Haffner orchestrated a 65-yard drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown pass to fellow Freshman Josh Kirk.  The teams went into the locker rooms at half time with the Gusties down 13-7.

Concordia wasted little time in expanding their lead after the half, as they constructed a seven play, 70 yard drive on their first offensive possession.  However, the Gusties responded right away, highlighted by a 77-yard touchdown completion from Haffner to Kirk to bring the Cobber lead back to just six points.

This didn’t last long though, as Concordia scored in just two plays after a 60-yard kickoff return.

The Gusties’ final response was sparked by a fumble recovery by Junior Chris Nelson at Concordia’s 17-yard line.  With less than two minutes left in the third quarter, Haffner found Sophomore Jamison Beulke in the end zone from six yards out to cut the deficit to 21-26.

The Gustavus offense was unable to put any points on the board in the fourth quarter, and Concordia scored three touchdowns in the final quarter to stretch their lead.

Haffner finished the game 19-29 with 234 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.  The Gustie defense was led by Junior Leeland Lauti, who made his presence felt all over the field with 11 tackles.

Concordia held Gustie Running Back Karim Ortiz to 45 yards on 18 carries after he ran for more than 150 yards in the previous two games.

With this loss, Gustavus moves to 3-2 on the season, and 1-2 in the MIAC. The Gusties now have a weekend off, before they return to the field away in Arden Hills against another MIAC opponent, Bethel University.

Bethel is 1-4 this season (1-2 MIAC), but two of those losses have been by seven points or fewer. In 2015, the Gusties fell to Bethel by a score of 24-33.

The Gustie offense will look to have a productive outing, as Bethel has allowed an average of 34 points per game to opponents this season.

The Gusties don’t return home to Hollingsworth Field until Oct. 22nd, when they take on St. Johns in the Hall of Fame Game at 1 pm.