Panthers grind out 14-6 victory over Trojans

Freshman quarterback Drake Blochlinger scored two touchdowns, both on fourth down plays, and the Concordia defense did not surrender any points in a 14-6 victory over the Beloit Trojans Friday night at Harold M. Clark Stadium.
Blochlinger capped off a 15-play drive in the first quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down.
After Beloit returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown, the Panthers responded with an 80-yard drive that Blochlinger finished with a 10-yard scoring run on a fourth down and eight play.
Coming up with two turnovers, Concordia was able to shut Beloit out over the final 20 minutes of the game to pick up its second win of the season.
“I think that the fight they showed after last week’s game (53-0 loss to Clay Center) says a lot about them. And they are still motivated and hungry,” Concordia coach Jordan Echer said. “For them to be able to finish a football game is big for us going into the last district game.”
Concordia, now 2-5, will finish up the regular season with a Class 3A District 5 game at Rock Creek on Friday night.
The Panthers had to punt on its first offensive possession of the game, but got the ball back when Beloit quarterback Jackson Weston fumbled a snap and Caleb Hanson recovered it at the Trojans' 48-yard line.
Weston was filling in for starting quarterback Quinn Eilert, who was out with an injury.
It would take Concordia 15 plays to go 48 yards.
Blochlinger, who rushed for 114 yards on 17 carries, had a 9-yard carry on a fourth down and three and a 12-yard carry on a third down and 11 during the drive.
The Panthers were facing a fourth down and goal from the 1-yard line when Blochlinger dove into the end zone on a quarterback sneak.
“Credit to Drake, he did a really good job. He had to fight a little bit to get that quarterback sneak in,” Echers said.
Beloit (3-4) moved the ball into Concordia territory, but the Panther defense stopped Christian Mears short on a fourth down and three play.
“The biggest thing for us was our guys being aware of where they needed to be. Being aligned correctly, and we were able to tackle,” Echer said of the defense shutting down Beloit.
Concordia would march from its own 24-yard line to the Beloit 8-yard line.
Senior fullback Mason Eickmann carried the ball five times for 40 yards on the drive, and finished the game with 23 carries for 180 yards.
Eickmann has gone over 100 yards rushing in three of the last four games.
“He is so deserving of it because he has worked so hard and he has come a long way,” Echer said of Eickmann. “He has done a really good job. He runs the ball so hard for the entire game.”
With under 10 seconds remaining in the first half, a Blochlinger pass into the end zone was intercepted and Beloit ran out the clock.
Mears returned the second half kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown to make it a 7-6 game.
Beloit went for two, but Concordia stopped Brodie Schroeder short and maintained the one point lead.
The Panthers started their first possession of the second half from its own 20-yard line.
Eickmann burst through a big hole and raced 55 yards on first down.
“Our offensive linemen did a good job of communicating, because they did not come out in the defense they have shown on film,” Echer said.
Concordia would move the ball to the Beloit 10-yard line, but were faced with a fourth down and eight play.
Blochlinger was able to avoid Beloit defenders and scamper into the end zone with 8:39 to play in the game.
Parker Jackson booted his second extra point of the game to make it 14-6.
The two teams exchanged punts, and Beloit ended up with the ball on its own 49-yard line.
The Trojans, converting twice on fourth down, moved to the Concordia four.
Weston, on a third down and goal play, again fumbled the snap and Hanson again recovered it at the 5-yard line.
Concordia picked up two first downs, but gave the ball back to Beloit when Joel Rexroat recovered an Eickmann fumble at the Concordia 25-yard line.
One play later, Weston was hit by Kyle McFadden on a passing play, and Payton Breese was able to come up with an interception at the Panther 19-yard line.
“We have struggled all year with our defensive backs playing up. So we have tried to get them to understand the concept of playing back and then you can come up on the football. Breese did a good job of that,” Echer said.
Concordia was able to run 12 plays and burn all of the time off the clock to lock up the win.
The Panthers finished with 330 yards rushing.
Blochlinger completed three of five passes for 20 yards.
Hanson had seven tackles and two fumble recoveries for the Concordia defense.
The Panthers will play a Rock Creek team that is 4-3 overall and 2-1 in district play following a 26-12 loss to Clay Center Friday night.
Concordia is 1-2 in the district.