Sparkling Senior Day - Mside rolls past Concordia

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – A five-touchdown second-quarter explosion proved to be the difference at Elwood Olsen Stadium Saturday, Nov. 9.

After the visiting Concordia University Bulldogs' defense stopped top-ranked National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Morningside College's offense on downs and registered a takeaway in the first 13 minutes and 53 seconds, it was all Maroon and White to the appreciation of a large Senior Day 2019 crowd in attendance. Reasons for the pre-halftime scoreboard tilt were numerous.

Senior Bo Els (SR/Erie, CO) (Erie, Colo.), who has been a thorn in the side of opposing special teams' units all season, produced back-to-back 30-plus-yard returns to set up head coach Steve Ryan's offense at the CU 24 and 31. Junior running back Arnjiae "AP" Ponder (Griffin, Ga.) was more than happy to acquiesce, punching in short scoring carries of two and three yards to give the hosts a 14-0 lead. As the defense started to pile up three and outs on successive Bulldog offensive possessions, Morningside kept adding to their lead. Ponder found the end zone for a third time in the first half after sophomore quarterback Joe Dolincheck (SO/Bellevue, NE) (Bellevue, Neb.) hit junior wide receiver Reid Jurgensmeier (JR/Wahoo, NE) (Wahoo, Neb.) on a 54-yard pass play that put the Mustangs on the two-yard-line. Dolincheck stretched out the Concordia defense more on the next two drives, finding sophomore wide receiver Austin Johnson (SO/Sioux Falls, SD) (Sioux Falls, S.D.) for a 16-yard scoring strike and then hitting Els in the flat and the senior turning on the afterburners for a 38-yard touchdown. Right before halftime, it was the defense's turn as senior linebacker Chase Nelson (SR/Beatrice, NE) (Beatrice, Neb.) stripped a Bulldog rusher and put Mside on CU's five-yard-line. Junior running back Anthony Sims (JR/Fort Lauderdale, FL) (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) closed the blitzkrieg with a one-yard dive for six.

The second 30 minutes settled down to the tune of a 10-7 Maroon edge, as Morningside ran its record to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in the conference with a 52-7 victory. Dolincheck upped his run of successive 200-yards-or-more passing contests to nine with a sublime 20-of-28, 339-yard, two-score outcome. Four Mustangs' receivers, Jurgensmeier, Johnson, Els and senior Addison Ross (SR/Carroll, Iowa) (Carroll, Iowa) reaped the rewards, as Jurgensmeier tallied four catches for 98 yards; Johnson turned in four catches for 81 yards; Ross had four catches for 83 yards, and Els corralled six catches for 59 yards. On the ground, Ponder had another strong afternoon with his three touchdowns and 70 yards on 17 carries. Defensively, senior linebacker Jacob Katzer (SR/Baldwin City, KS) (Baldwin City, Kan.) topped the tackle charts (nine), while the Mustangs hassled the CU backfield for four sacks (two by junior defensive lineman Niklas Gustav (JR/Hamburg, Germany) of Hamburg, Germany), 15 tackles for losses (three from Gustav and two each from junior defensive lineman Seth Maitlen (JR/Creston, IA) of Hamburg, Germany and fellow junior defensive lineman Dominick Barrett (JR/Baltimore, MD) of Baltimore, Md.); Nelson's ninth career forced fumble which set a new program standard; and freshman defensive back Josh Miller (Lincoln, Neb.) recorded an interception.

The Mustangs conclude the regular season with a clash at fellow GPAC unbeaten Northwestern College Saturday, Nov. 16. Kickoff at DeValois Stadium in Orange City is 1 p.m.