Slow Start, Game-Winning Finish At Macalester

ST. PAUL, Minn. (11/08/25)---The Cobbers proved that the old sports cliché of, "it's not how you start the race, it's how you finish" is still true to this day.

Concordia was held scoreless for three quarters of play at Macalester and trailed the Scots 14-3 with 9-minutes left in the tough MIAC match-up but then came up with their first touchdown of the day, a huge interception and then a game-winning drive in the final minutes of play.

All those ingredients led to a 17-14 "edge of your seat" win for Concordia as they posted their third straight road win of the year.

The Cobbers are now 6-3 in all games and 5-3 in MIAC play as they get ready for the final week of the 2025 season. Macalester, one of the surprise teams in the conference this season, is now 3-6 in all games and 2-6 against MIAC opponents.

Concordia had four different drives of six or more plays in the first half but could never come up with the big play to get on the scoreboard.

CC held the advantage in first downs (8-6) and total offensive yards (171-98) through the first quarters, but the only score belonged to Macalester as they used 10-play, 74-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead at the halftime break.

The Cobbers only had the ball four times in the second half but made three of those count as they scored on their final three possessions of the game.

A 10-play, 78-yard drive led to a 28-yard Mitchell Druley field goal that got CC on the board.

The ensuing kickoff gave Macalester the ball at the Concordia 28-yard line and the Scots upped their lead to 14-3 after six plays.

Cobber quarterback Jersey Selzler answered the Scots' TD by driving CC 55 yards and then finishing the drive with a 20-yard touchdown run that put Concordia within four at 14-10 with 8:16 left in the fourth quarter.

Macalester was able to push the ball all the way to the Cobber 20-yard line and it looked like they would seal the victory before Troy Hansen and Kyle Mages combined to come up with the defensive play of the game.

The Scots had a 4th-and-13 situation from the CC 20-yard line and elected to go for it. Hansen was able to bull rush his way past a pair of blockers and put pressure on the Scots' quarterback which forced him to throw in a hurry and his "jump ball" pass was picked off by Mages at the 2-yard line. Mages returned the INT to the 26-yard line which set the stage for the game-winning drive.

The first play of the drive was the biggest with Selzler connecting with Alejandro Sanchez on a go route down the right sideline that went for 63 yards and put the ball on the Macalester 11-yard line. It took CC three plays to take the lead for the first time in the game. The Cobbers spread the field with their formation from the 2-yard line and Selzler was able to run the ball up the middle to get the touchdown.

The Scots still had 32 seconds left on the clock and were able to drive the ball down to the Cobber 35-yard line, but a pair of incomplete passes ended the game.

Concordia held a 419-262 advantage in total offensive yards which included 247 rushing yards for the Cobbers.

Concordia is now 6-0 on the year when they rush for over 100 yards in a game.   

Mason Hughes led the CC ground attack. He carried the ball 26 times and gained a career-high 148 yards. He now has 603 rushing yards in conference play this season which leads all players in the MIAC.

Selzler was 9-for-16 for 147 yards through the air and also rushed for a career-high 30 yards.

Sanchez caught two passes for a career-high 103 yards.  

Mages came away with 11 total tackles to go along with his key interception. He has 66 total tackles on the season which is tops on the team and No.8 in the conference.

JD Cea was second in tackles with 7.0 and Derek Dorsey had 6.0 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss.    

Concordia will finish off the 2025 season when they play at Carleton on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 12 p.m.