9/18/99 Concordia Tops Bethel 17-15 in MIAC Opener Here
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The News 1999 Concordia Football vs Bethel at Concordia Sept. 18, 1999, 1:00 Kickoff.  Family Weekend | 9/18  Game Story: Cobbers win 17-15 | by Jerry Pyle, SID Bethel Preview | Bethel Starters | Bethel's 59-21 Week 1 win over Trinity| Box | Summary | 9/17 The Concordian: Hertel to start at quarterback for Cobbers in Family Weekend game | by Tim Hanson, The Concordian | 9/14 Starters named for Cobber game vs Bethel here Sat. | Jeff Hertel named starting quarterback and Jeff Hartquist returns from injury to his strong safety position.  | Last Year Bethel 34-20 | '98 box | '98 Play by Play | | Series Record: Concordia leads  17-4 | | Listen to games on Real Audio Live | '98 | '97 |

The Teams Athletics CC | Opp | FB CC | Opp | School Facts CC | Opp | Team Facts CC | Opp | Rosters CC | Opp | Depth Chart CC | Opp | Series CC 18-4 | Last Year Bethel 34-20 | '99 Schedule CC | Bet | '98 Rec CC 4-6, 4-5 | '98 Bet  7-2, 8-2 | Coaches CC | Opp | '98 Stats CC | Opp | '99 Stats CC | Opp | '99 Starters CC | Opp | History CC | Opp | | MIAC Race '99 | '98 | Box Scores |  | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | | 1996 | 1995 | | 1994 | 1993 | | 1992 | 1991 | | 1990 | 1989 |

The Setting Sept. 18 1999,  at Concordia, 1:00  | Stadium | | Tickets | | Press Box | | Related Events | | Weather | Broadcast Info: - KPHT FM 92.7 Radio Larry Knutson play by play |  - Live on Net     - Media - Links | Contact: | Cord SID Jerry Pyle 218 299-3194| Bethel SID Greg Peterson 651-638-6394

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Mark Hankel  Defensive End  6-2,  235  Mapleton ND  Fargo Oak Grove HS  Class of 2001 Seven tackles and two sacks vs Bethel

Cobbers pull off 17-15 upset of Bethel in MIAC opener
9/18/99 by Jerry Pyle, Concordia Sports Information Director
See also | Box Score | Play by Play | Drive Chart |

Inspired defensive play and a solid rushing game gave Concordia-Moorhead a 17-15 win over favored Bethel College in both teams' MIAC opener today at Jake Christiansen Stadium in Moorhead.  Both teams are 1-1 on the year.

Bethel came into the game with 18 of 22 starters back from last year's 8-2 team that finished second in the MIAC. They had beaten Trinity of Illinois 59-21 in their non-conference home opener. Concordia came in with a 4-6 1998 season to their credit, a 44-7 loss to Moorhead State in their home opener, a sophomore quarterback making his first start and their best running back sidelined with a knee injury.

The main task for the Cobber defense was to slow down Bethel's junior lefty quarterback Joe Persuitti and senior wide out Jeremy Belisle. Though Persuitti completed 20 of 35 passes for 183 yards, with Belisle catching 8 for 84 yards, the heavy Cobber defensive pressure on Persuitti, including 3 sacks, proved decisive. And Bethel's rushing game was limited to just 73 yards.

After a scoreless first quarter the Cobbers gained some confidence by taking a 3-0 lead with 8:37 left in the second quarter on a 25 yard field goal by Clayton Horgen, completing a 16 play, 72 yard drive.

Bethel came back with an 8 yard Belisle TD reception with 5:38 left in the half to give Bethel their only lead at 7-3. Concordia replied with a Jon Doebler 2 yard TD run with 1:11 left in the first half to make it 10-7 Cobbers at the break.

Doebler scored again with 7:34 left in the third, capping a 10 play 71 yard drive, to make it a 17-7 Cobber lead. But Bethel's Gary Stone took the ensuing kickoff 68 yards to the Cobber 12. That led to a  Ryan Ruisch 3-yard TD run with 5:59 left in the third.  Bethel went for two on the conversion with a wild spread formation and Kirk Midthun dove over the line to make it 17-15 Cobbers.

Bethel made it to the Cobber 26 on their next drive. But Cobber linebacker Jordan Nesvig got to Persutti as he tried to deliver a pass on 4th and 3.  Though Bethel's explosive offense continued to provide Concordia's 3,500 Family Weekend fans with some scary moments, the Royals never crossed midfield the rest of the game.

The final three plays of the game included (fittingly as far as the Cobber defense was concerned) two sacks of Persuitti by Cobber defensive end Mark Hankel and an incomplete Hail Mary by a pressured Persuitti as time expired.

The Cobber offense helped the defense stay rested all day by keeping the ball for nearly 37 minutes. Concordia's sophomore quarterback Jeff Hertel looked poised in his first start despite putting up less than gaudy numbers (5-18 passing for 60 yards and two interceptions).

But the real story of the Cobber offensive success was the ball control ground game generated by the offensive line and a backfield by committee. The Cobbers gained 257 yards rushing.  Alternating halfbacks Joel Ferrie and Jason Braaten accounted for 88 and 65 yards respectively. Fullback Nathan Reiff, getting just his second career start due to a midweek injury to three year starter Len Crouse, was the most consistent  runner on the field.  The Cobber wrestling All-American racked up 84 yards on 22 carries while usually dragging three Royal defenders along for the ride. And Reiff's backup, Doebler, was nothing if not effective, three carries for two touchdowns and six yards.

The Cobbers will try to move to 2-0 in the MIAC when they travel to Carleton next Saturday. The Knights, 1-1 on the year, were 38-0 victims of Gustavus today in St. Peter. Bethel goes home to face Hamline next week.  Hamline lost 15-10 to Augsburg today.

See also | Box Score | Play by Play | Drive Chart |

Concordia vs Bethel
MIAC Football, Sept. 18, 1999

Welcome to today's MIAC football opener and Concordia's Family Weekend.

Concordia hosts the Bethel College Royals today, one of the preseason picks to contend for the MIAC title. The Royals opened their season last Saturday with a 59-21 win over Trinity University (IL) in St. Paul.  Bethel was 8-2 last year, 7-2 in the MIAC, tying for second place in the MIAC.  The Royals are  59-29-1 over the past 10 seasons under their highly respected head coach, Steve Johnson.

The Cobbers, hoping to rebound from their season opening 44-7 loss to Moorhead State, want to launch their MIAC campaign with a win over a conference favorite.

Probable Starters
Royals - Offense
QB  8 Joe Persuitti 6-4 212 Jr Arden Hills
HB  2 Scott Ylkanen 5-7 154 So Shoreview
FB  45 Ryan Ruisch 6-2 223 Jr Johnston
SE  80 Jeremy Belisle WR 6-3 198 Sr Elk River
FL  88 Eric Carlson WR 6-2 189 Jr Wadena
LT  59 Jeramie Burgoon OT 6-1 288 Sr Circle Pines
LG  58 Matt Shirkey OT 6-4 242 Sr Glenwood
C  64 Ryan Lindaman OC 5-9 223 Sr Maple Grove
RG  75 Shawn Hamilton OG 6-3 276 Sr Bemidji
RT  79 Chico Rowland OT 6-4 286 Sr Minneapolis
TE  82 Dan Richards TE 6-3 230 So Bloomington
 Defense
DE  94 Rick Meyer 6-4 243 So Dodge Center
DT  55 Ryan Kooy 6-2 251 Jr Willmar
DT  87 Mike Hendel 6-3 221 Jr Eau Claire, WI
DE  89 Luke Carlson 6-5 237 Sr St. Paul
SLB  23 Gary Stone 6-1 217 Sr Conrad, MT
MLB 95 Josh Scheuter 5-10 255 Sr Hutchinson
WLB  7 Jason Holm 6-0 213 So Northfield
LCB  3 Ben Matthews 6-1 190 Jr Milaca
RCB  27 Kris Collins 6-1 195 Jr Alexandria
SS  5 Kirk Midthun 6-0 199 Sr Dodge Center
FS  20 Hans Bengtson 6-2 210 So Northfield
Kicking
P   23 Gary Stone LB 6-1 217 Sr Conrad, MT
K  1 Seth Olson 6-3 208 Jr Bloomington
H 5 Kirk Midthun 6-0 199 Sr Dodge Center
SN  52 Erik Brodt 6-2 242 Jr Chippewa Falls, WI
PR  5 Kirk Midthun 6-0 199 Sr Dodge Center
PR  2 Scott Ylkanen 5-7 154 So Shoreview
KR  23 Gary Stone LB 6-1 217 Sr Conrad, MT
KR  5 Kirk Midthun 6-0 199 Sr Dodge Center

Cobber - Offense
QB 1 Jeff Hertel Jr. 6-2 180 Fargo ND
HB  2 Jason Braaten Jr. 5-10 180 Dent MN
FB  36 Len Crouse Jr. 6-3 210 Hazen ND
SB  20 Greg Voss Jr. 5-11 185 Waubun MN
WR  81 Adam Strainer Jr. 6-3 190 Helena MT
TE  87 Brian Martodam So. 6-4 225 Hawley
LT  79 Mark Haugen So. 6-4 280 Moorhead
LG  63 Joel Nelson Jr. 6-1 250 Fargo ND
C  52 Chad Quamme Jr. 6-0 250 Fargo ND
RG  61 Josh Thompson So. 6-2 270 West Fargo
RT  75 Jake Estenson Sr. 6-5 280 Rice Lake WI

Defense
LDE  55 Travis Boyd Jr. 6-2 245 Lake Isabella CA
LDT  90 Ben Holm So. 6-5 245 Gillette WY
RDE  99 Mark Hankel Jr. 6-2 235 Mapleton ND
RDT  94 Jeff Westrum Jr. 6-2 265 Clearbrook MN
MLB  49 Joel Vettleson Jr. 6-1 215 Richmond MN
WLB  57 Nels Paulson Sr. 6-3 210 Cambridge MN
SLB  3 Jordan Nesvig Sr. 6-2 220 Fargo ND
SCB  22 Eric Wold Jr. 5-11 190 Fargo ND
WCB  42 Dan Tollefson Jr. 5-10 170 Madison MN
FS  7 Travis Olson So. 6-2 200 Hawley MN
SS Jeff Hartquist Jr. 6-1 195 Pipestone MN
Kicking
K/P  35 Clayton Horgen Sr. 6-2 215 Fergus Falls
H  7 Travis Olson So. 6-2 200 Hawley
SNFG 52 Chad Quamme Jr. 6-0 250 Fargo ND
SNPNT 49 Joel Vettleson Jr. 6-1 215 Richmond
PR  39 Todd Ferguson So. 5-11 190 Alexandria
PR  7 Travis Olson So. 6-2 200 Hawley MN
KR  2 Jason Braaten Jr. 5-10 180 Dent MN

Quick Stats from
Cobber Opener
44-7 Los to Moorhead St

Concordia Stat Leaders
Rushing       No Net TD Lg  Avg
Jason Braaten 10  31  0  9  3.1
Jon Doebler    3  13  0  6  4.3
Josh Oien      2  11  0  7  5.5
Joel Ferrie    6   7  0  5  1.2
Jeff Hertel    7   7  0 19  1.0
Nate Reiff     2   7  0  6  3.5
Totals...     36  73  0 19  2.0

Passing   Att-Cmp-Int Yd TD Long
Rob Szymanski 17-4-1   68  1   38
Jeff Hertel   15-6-0   93  0   39
Totals...     33-10-2 161  1   39

Receiving      No  Yds TD Long
Adam Strainer   3  50  0   32
Raleigh Schmidt 2  47  0   39
Totals...      10 161  1   39

Punting        No Yds  Avg Long
Clayton Horgen  6 276 46.0   55
Field goal attempts

Defensive leaders
## Player         UT AT Tot F-Loss
49 Joel Vettleson  8  2  10    .
39 Todd Ferguson   7  2   9    .
42 Dan Tollefson   2  5   7    .
55 Travis Boyd     3  3   6   2-7
3  Jordan Nesvig   .  6   6    .
7  Travis Olson    3  2   5   1-3

Quick Stats from
Bethel Opener
59-21 Win over Trinity IL

Bethel Stat Leaders
Rushing
Bethel        Car Net  YPA TD LP
Josh Savageau 12   76  6.3  1 20
Scott Ylkanen  9   54  6.0  0 15
Dave Dickman   5   24  4.8  0  8
Bethel        39  192  4.9  3 20
Trinity Int.  64  324  5.1  2 63

Passing
Bethel       Cmp Att Int Yds TD LP
Joe Persuitti 14  29  0  179  2 64

Pass Receiving
Bethel         Rec Yds  YPC TD LP
Eric Carlson    8  127 15.9  3 36
Jeremy Belisle  5   89 17.8  0 64
Ryan Ruisch     2    5  2.5  0  3
Bethel         17  228 13.4  3 64

Defense        T  A Tot TFL-Yds
Hans Bengtson  6  4  10  1  1
Rick Meyer     5  4   9  2 11
Jason Holm     5  4   9  0  0
Josh Scheuter  5  1   6  1  1
Jeff Eklund    5  1   6  0  0
Tim Adams      5  1   6  1 17

The series
Year  CC Beth
1978 W 31    5
1979 W 55    7
1980 W 49    3
1981 W 30   17
1982 W 28    0
1983 W 23   14
1984 W 40    8
1985 W 17    0
1986 W 33    0
1987 W 63    6
1988 W 48   12
1989 W 31   13
1990 L 32   34
1991 W 10    3
1992 W 33    7
1993 W 19   15
1994 L 17   20
1995 W 32   14
1996 L  7   41
1997 W 22   14
1998 L 20   34
Total CC leads 17-4
 
 

1999 MIAC Race
            MIAC Season
Augsburg     0-0   1-0
Bethel       0-0   1-0
Carleton     0-0   1-0
Gustavus     0-0   1-0
Hamline      0-0   1-0
Macalester   0-0   1-0
St. John's   0-0   1-0
Concordia    0-0   0-1
St. Olaf     0-0   0-1
St. Thomas   0-0   0-1

MIAC Schedule
9/18 Carleton @ Gustavus 1:00
Bethel @ Concordia 1:00
Macalester @ St. John's 1:00
Augsburg @ Hamline 1:00
St. Thomas @ St. Olaf 1:00

9/25 Concordia @ Carleton 1:00
Gustavus @ Macalester 1:00
Hamline @ Bethel 1:00
St. John's @ St. Thomas 1:00
St. Olaf @ Augsburg 7:00
 
 
 

Bethel 2-deep Depth chart

OFFENSE
QB
# 8 Joe Persuitti, Jr.
# 16 Bart Becker, Jr.
IB
# 2 Scott Ylkanan, So.
# 33 Josh Savageau, Jr.
FB
# 45 Ryan Ruisch, Jr.
# 44 Brett Brodeen, Jr.
SE
# 80 Jeremy Belisle, Sr.
# 19 Joel Olson, Fr.
FL
# 88 Eric Carlson, Jr.
# 11 Paul Olson, Jr.
T
# 59 Jeramie Burgoon, Sr.
# 70 Neal Bachman, So.
G
# 58 Matt Shirkey, Sr.
# 57 Josh Shropa, Fr.
C
# 64 Ryan Lindaman, Sr.
# 52 Eric Brodt, Jr.
G
# 75 Shawn Hamilton, Sr.
# 60 Mike Widen, Jr.
T
# 79 Chico Rowland, Sr.
# 78 Jason Shirkey, So.
TE
# 82 Dan Richards, So.
# 86 Hugh Brown, Jr.

DEFENSE
DE
# 94 Rick Meyer, So.
# 90 Dan Porta, So.
DT
# 55 Ryan Kooy, Jr.
# 66 Don Bergeson, Sr.
DT
# 87 Mike Hendel, So.
# 46 Brett Schendel, Fr.
DE
# 89 Luke Carlson, Sr.
# 39 Tim Adams, So
LB
# 23 Gary Stone, Sr.
# 25 Jeff Bormes, Jr.
LB
# 95 Josh Schlueter, Sr.
# 43 Ben Kidd, So.
LB
# 7 Jason Holm, So.
# 21 Jeff Eklund, Sr.
SS
# 5 Kirk Midthun, Sr.
# 49 Eric Bjorklund, Fr.
FS
# 20 Hans Bengtson, So.
# 15 Harrison Hanson, Jr.
CB
# 3 Ben Matthews, Jr.
# 28 Pete Corniea, Fr.
CB
# 27 Kris Collins, Jr.
# 13 Jon Nuss, So.

Bethel Probable Starters

OFFENSE
QB 8 Joe Persuitti 6-4 212 Jr Arden Hills
HB 2 Scott Ylkanen 5-7 154 So Shoreview
FB 45 Ryan Ruisch 6-2 223 Jr Johnston
SE 80 Jeremy Belisle WR 6-3 198 Sr Elk River
FL 88 Eric Carlson WR 6-2 189 Jr Wadena
LT 59 Jeramie Burgoon OT 6-1 288 Sr Circle Pines
LG 58 Matt Shirkey OT 6-4 242 Sr Glenwood
C 64 Ryan Lindaman OC 5-9 223 Sr Maple Grove
RG 75 Shawn Hamilton OG 6-3 276 Sr Bemidji
RT 79 Chico Rowland OT 6-4 286 Sr Minneapolis
TE 82 Dan Richards TE 6-3 230 So Bloomington

DEFENSE
DE 94 Rick Meyer 6-4 243 So Dodge Center
DT 55 Ryan Kooy 6-2 251 Jr Willmar
DT 87 Mike Hendel 6-3 221 Jr Eau Claire, WI
DE 89 Luke Carlson 6-5 237 Sr St. Paul
SLB 23 Gary Stone 6-1 217 Sr Conrad, MT
MLB 95 Josh Scheuter 5-10 255 Sr Hutchinson
WLB 7 Jason Holm 6-0 213 So Northfield
LCB 3 Ben Matthews 6-1 190 Jr Milaca
RCB 27 Kris Collins 6-1 195 Jr Alexandria
SS 5 Kirk Midthun 6-0 199 Sr Dodge Center
FS 20 Hans Bengtson 6-2 210 So Northfield

Kicking
P  23 Gary Stone LB 6-1 217 Sr Conrad, MT
K 1 Seth Olson 6-3 208 Jr Bloomington
Holder 5 Kirk Midthun 6-0 199 Sr Dodge Center
SN 52 Erik Brodt 6-2 242 Jr Chippewa Falls, WI
KR 23 Gary Stone LB 6-1 217 Sr Conrad, MT
KR 5 Kirk Midthun 6-0 199 Sr Dodge Center
PR 5 Kirk Midthun 6-0 199 Sr Dodge Center
PR 2 Scott Ylkanen 5-7 154 So Shoreview

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