LINCOLN, Neb. — Keaton Erdmann completed 11 passes for 81 yards and Casen Carroll rushed for 37 yards, but Concordia-Moorhead scored 28 unanswered points to pull away from Nebraska Wesleyan for a 28-0 victory Saturday at Abel Stadium. Concordia-Moorhead improves to 1-0 on the season, while Nebraska Wesleyan drops to 0-1.
Concordia-Moorhead now leads the all-time series with Nebraska Wesleyan, 3-0. The Cobbers also earned victories over the Prairie Wolves in 2017 and 2018.
Erdmann completed 11-of-24 passes for 81 yards, while Carroll led the Prairie Wolves on the ground with 37 yards on six carries. Hezekiah Johnson added 17 rushing yards and eight receiving yards, while Corbin Horner hauled in five passes for 56 yards. Jalen Pickens added three receptions for 17 yards.
Concordia-Moorhead quarterback Nick Walter completed 12-of-19 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns while adding 26 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Jax Mattern rushed for 93 yards on 10 carries, including a 51-yard run, while Mason Hughes added 82 rushing yards on 16 carries. Ron Gallegos caught one pass for 52 yards, Davion Henderson had two receptions for 50 yards and Alejandro Sanchez hauled in a 28-yard touchdown.
Defensively, Kyle Mages led Concordia-Moorhead with nine tackles, while Lane Dilly recorded seven and Jace Springer had six. For Nebraska Wesleyan, Caleb Warmsley recorded 13 tackles, while Ivan Eloume added six tackles, including a sack, and Lance Binder finished with seven tackles.
Nebraska Wesleyan opened the game with a promising drive, moving 49 yards on eight plays and reaching the Concordia-Moorhead 26-yard line. Erdmann connected with Horner for a 35-yard gain to move the Prairie Wolves into Cobber territory, but three straight incompletions ended the drive, and Jace Winkler's 43-yard field goal attempt went wide with 12:34 remaining in the first quarter.
Concordia-Moorhead answered with a 15-play, 60-yard drive that lasted more than nine minutes. The Cobbers moved inside the Nebraska Wesleyan 15-yard line, but Mitchell Druley's 31-yard field goal attempt also missed, keeping the game scoreless.
The Cobbers broke through with 1:12 remaining in the second quarter. After Mattern ripped off a 51-yard run to the Nebraska Wesleyan 8-yard line, Walter found Jed Klang for an eight-yard touchdown pass to cap a seven-play, 91-yard drive and give Concordia-Moorhead a 7-0 lead at halftime.
Concordia-Moorhead took control early in the second half. After the Cobbers forced a Nebraska Wesleyan punt on the opening possession of the third quarter, Walter connected with Sanchez for a 28-yard touchdown with 10:04 remaining in the quarter. Walter then added touchdown runs of two yards and one yard later in the quarter, giving Concordia-Moorhead three touchdowns in a span of 9:49 and a 28-0 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Nebraska Wesleyan continued to battle in the fourth quarter, putting together a 19-play, 63-yard drive that consumed 5:43. The Prairie Wolves converted three fourth downs during the drive and moved to the Concordia-Moorhead 14-yard line, but Casen Carroll's fourth-down pass intended for Joseph Urrutia was broken up by Ethan Anderson, ending the threat with 1:53 remaining.
The Prairie Wolves finished the afternoon with 164 yards of total offense, including 118 through the air and 46 on the ground. Concordia-Moorhead totaled 435 yards, with 229 rushing and 206 passing. The Cobbers held a 19-13 advantage in first downs and controlled possession for 35:46 compared to 24:14 for Nebraska Wesleyan.
Nebraska Wesleyan travels to Madison, South Dakota, on Saturday, September 12, to face NAIA No. 25 Dakota State at 6 p.m.
