Sweet Victory

Family Weekend brought crowds of Cobber moms, dads and siblings to Concordia’s campus last weekend. While the Family Weekend Committee strove to make this year’s event a memorable one, it was the football team that really put the icing on the cake, beating St. John’s in Saturday’s game—a feat they hadn’t managed at home since 1986.

“Anytime you can beat St. John’s is a great win,” head coach Terry Horan said.

Horan, who was a sophomore on the team that won in 1986, said that the victory was very sweet. Concordia has had a couple of near-wins against St. John’s in the past few years, but had not been able to conquer their long-time rival.

But that all ended Saturday.

“We were the better team on Saturday,” Horan said. “When we needed to make a big play, we were making them.”

Concordia’s rivalry with St. John’s goes back several decades. St. John’s coach John Gagliardi, who is 86 and coached his 601st game last Saturday, has been coaching against Concordia since Jake Christiansen was head football coach in the 1950s.

Concordia had a lead of 31-7 going into the last ten minutes of the game, but St. John’s made a sudden comeback, and appeared to be overtaking the Cobbers. The Concordia team was able to keep the Johnnies at bay, however, and finished the game 31-21.

“It’s a great day to be a Cobber,” noseguard Laquaveous Benning-Dillon said after the win.

Benning-Dillon said that the Cobbers “started the game with a relentless attitude” that allowed them to pull ahead of the Johnnies, who finished first in the MIAC last season. With their win this week, Concordia is currently undefeated 2-0 in conference games and ranks second in the conference. The team now has a week off, and will face Bethel, also undefeated, on Oct. 6.

Saturday’s game saw over 6000 fans, many of them visiting family members of Concordia students.

Kari Jacobson, mother of Cobber Nation member Kristian Erickson, said that she enjoys the Cobber spirit, and also watching her son cheering on the field.

“They’re crazy!” Jacobson said fondly.

The game also brought out Moorhead community members, who came for the sports action.

“It’s just a nice football atmosphere,” local John Nelson said. It was his first time at a Concordia game, but Nelson said he intends to come back.