NAIA: Dordt rolls past Concordia behind Strickfaden, 579-yard offensive outburst

The Dordt University Defenders (2-2, 2-1 GPAC) piled up 579 yards of offense and controlled the ball for more than 39 minutes Saturday, pulling away from the Concordia University Bulldogs (2-2, 2-2) for a 51-21 Great Plains Athletic Conference victory at Bulldog Stadium in Seward, Nebraska.

Quarterback Noah Strickfaden led a balanced Dordt attack, completing 21 of 26 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown while running for two more scores. The Defenders finished with 308 yards through the air and 271 on the ground.

Defenders strike first

After forcing a three-and-out on the opening possession, Dordt went straight to work. Strickfaden marched the Defenders 60 yards in nine plays before keeping the ball and racing 17 yards for the touchdown.

Tyler Mantel doubled the advantage early in the second quarter, finishing a 74-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run.

The Bulldogs answered behind Carlos Collazo, who carried the ball in from 19 yards to cut the deficit to 14-7. But Dordt responded immediately. Facing fourth-and-five at the Concordia 27, Strickfaden hit Rhett Williams for 25 yards before Zane Farney punched it in from two yards out.

Bulldogs answer with one big strike

Concordia needed only 40 seconds to get back into the game.

Gideon Stark found Adam Van Cleave for a 75-yard touchdown, slicing the Dordt lead to 21-14 with 2:40 remaining in the half. Van Cleave would finish with nine catches for 142 yards.

The Defenders, though, squeezed three more points out of the final 27 seconds. Strickfaden completed four straight passes to Kaden Harken and Stephen Leinen drilled a 50-yard field goal as time expired, sending Dordt into halftime up 24-14.

Dordt takes over after halftime

Any hopes of a Concordia comeback disappeared in the third quarter.

Strickfaden opened the half by driving the Defenders 75 yards and scoring himself from six yards. On their next possession, Dordt ate almost six minutes off the clock on an 80-yard march. Strickfaden capped it by finding Harken for a six-yard touchdown and a commanding 38-14 lead.

Harken caught eight passes for 64 yards, while Eliot Beal led the Defenders with seven receptions for 120 yards.

Defenders finish the job

Leinen added a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth before backup quarterback Ryder Eastin broke loose for a 27-yard touchdown, stretching the margin to 48-14.

Concordia got one back when Camden Jensen raced 46 yards for a score, but Leinen closed the scoring with a 29-yard field goal.

The numbers reflected Dordt’s control. The Defenders ran 80 plays, produced 33 first downs and held the ball for 39:20 compared with just 20:40 for the Bulldogs. They also converted both fourth-down attempts and scored on all eight trips into the red zone.

Collazo provided the brightest spot for Concordia, rushing for 113 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, but Dordt simply had too many answers on an afternoon when the Defenders controlled the game from start to finish.