From Tomball Potpourri
Late St. John’s drive falls short as Concordia wins opener
    |
By JACK MARRION
Concordia Lutheran waited almost two months for its first victory last season. It took one night to accomplish that feat.Senior quarterback Nathan Potter scored a long, fourth-quarter touchdown and the Crusaders fought off one last drive by St. John’s to secure a 28-25 season-opening triumph at home. Concordia, which lost its first six games of 2009, played more like the team that won five of six including a playoff game down the stretch.
“It’s a huge weight off of our shoulders that’s for sure,” senior defensive tackle Ryan Bell said.
The Crusaders led most of the game against a team that handed them a 33-14 defeat in the last season opener. They ran their T-formation offense to perfection early and totaled 280 yards on 41 rushing attempts, with junior Chance Gray rushing 14 times for 91 yards.
“Our offense played better than I ever anticipated this early in the season,” Crusaders coach Bobby Lindquist said. “To me that’s what made the difference. We were able to score points, control the football and give our young defense an opportunity to grow up a little bit. I think that happened.”
Junior Eddie Brucculeri pounded his way to two first-quarter touchdown runs. Concordia capitalized on a fumble by St. John’s on the first play from scrimmage, marching 27 yards to take the early lead. The Crusaders answered a quick strike by the Mavericks with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that produced a 14-7 lead.
Concordia held a 14-13 halftime lead due to a missed extra point. That lead was stretched to eight when junior Mark Schroeder scored on a 22-yard run to finish a seven-play drive.
The Mavericks were impressive on offense as well, running the option with quarterback Josh Winslow and running back Caldwell Flores, who rushed for a game-high 172 yards and consistently broke tackles.
Winslow hit Tim Otey for a 60-yard scoring pass in the first quarter and rallied St. John’s in the second half. He scored on runs of six and 16 yards, both on option keepers, to give the Mavericks a 25-21 lead with 4:53 remaining.
But Potter, whose early contributions included two key passes on the Crusaders’ first scoring drive, slipped through the St. John’s defense on his own option play and sprinted away for a 49-yard touchdown with 3:58 left.
“I was very surprised,” Potter said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen an open field like that before.”
The Mavericks marched 71 yards on their final drive but could not produce a score. Concordia stopped Flores at the 5-yard line on third down and a last-second field goal attempt was altered due to a bad snap.
St. John’s retrieved the loose ball and made a final heave at the end zone. The ball went in and out of the hands of a Mavericks player to end the game, leaving Concordia to celebrate an early victory.
SCORING SUMMARY
Concordia Lutheran 28, St. John’s 25
SJ 7-6-6-6—25
CL 14-0-7-7—28
First quarter
CL-Eddie Brucculeri 1 run (Tyler Brandenburg kick), 9:30
SJ-Tim Otey 60 pass from Josh Winslow (Dan Tweardy kick), 7:27
CL-Brucculeri 1 run (Brandenburg kick), 3:00
Second quarter
SJ-Stephen Firestone 1 run (kick failed), :29
Third quarter
CL-Mark Schroeder 22 run (Brandenburg kick), 7:54
SJ-Winslow 6 run (run failed), 4:48
Fourth quarter
SJ-Winslow 16 run (run failed), 4:53
CL-Nathan Potter 49 run (Brandenburg kick), 3:58
TEAM STATS/LEADERS
Rushing: SJ 46-316 (Caldwell Flores 19-172, Josh Winslow 18-117); CL 41-280 (Chance Gray 14-91)
Passing: SJ 2-6-71-1 (Winslow); CL 3-6-48-0 (Nathan Potter)
Receiving: SJ (Tim Otey 1-60); CL (Christian Wilke 2-39)
