Black and Washington help football team beat Concordia, 56-42

MEQUON, Wis. – Junior Braden Black threw for four touchdowns to break the single-season school record, as the Olivet College football team stepped out of conference play for a day and defeated Concordia University, 56-42, today at Tomasini Stadium in Mequon, Wisconsin. In addition, sophomore Jerome Washington rushed for four touchdowns. With the win, the Comets improve their overall record to 8-1. The last time Olivet had eight wins in a season was 2004.

Black completed 18-of-26 passes for 232 yards and the four touchdowns. He also carried the ball 11 times for 54 yards. Washington had 17 carries for 59 yards. Senior Dominik Givens caught four passes for 98 yards, while sophomore Travis Lankerd also hauled in four passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, senior Trevor Haas recorded a game-high nine total tackles, with five solo stops. Senior Curtis French and junior Zechariah Jenkins each had seven tackles. Sophomore Kornelius Saxton finished with 220 all-purpose yards – 19 rushing, 40 receiving and 161 on kickoff returns. Sophomore Gunnar Aper was a perfect 8-of-8 on PAT kicks.

Olivet received the ball to start the game. Black capped the 11-play, 69-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Givens. The Comet defense forced the Falcons to a three-and-out on their first series. Sophomore Alex Archambeau blocked the punt, giving Olivet the ball at the Concordia 20. On the fourth play of the drive, Washington scored a touchdown from a yard out.

Concordia scored a touchdown but the PAT kick was blocked by senior Andrew Pabst to make the score 14-6 with 4:45 left in the opening quarter. The Comets got those points back on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Black to senior Kyle Bryson. The Falcons responded with a touchdown on their first play of the second quarter.

Like the previous time, Olivet answered with another touchdown to go back up 15 points, 28-13. This time, Washington rumbled into the end zone from 15 yards out. Concordia trimmed its deficit back to eight points, 28-20, on a 6-yard touchdown pass.

Saxton returned the ensuing kickoff back 61 yards to the Falcon 37-yard line. The Comets took advantage of the short field, as Washington snuck in from two yards out for a 35-20 score. Haas intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop Concordia's next drive.

Olivet punted the ball for the first time in the game on its next possession. The Falcons drove the ball deep into the Comet half of the field right before halftime but turned the ball over on downs at the 12-yard line to keep the score 35-20 at the break.

Concordia took the second-half kickoff and marched down the field on 10 plays to go only down by eight points, 35-27, with 10:56 left in the third stanza. After the teams traded punts, Olivet put together a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive to go back up by 15 points, 42-27. Black ended the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Lankerd.

The Falcons battled back and made the score 42-33 with 13:11 remaining in the game. Black answered with another 10-play scoring drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass to Lankerd midway through the fourth quarter.

The defense forced Concordia to punt the ball back to the Comets. On a third and 6 play, Black completed a 51-yard pass and catch to Givens down to the one-yard line. Washington waltzed into the end zone on the next play for a 56-34 Olivet lead.

The Falcons quickly answered with a 65-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage of their drive. The two-point conversion was good and Concordia trailed 56-42. Lankerd recovered the ball on the Falcons' on-side kick attempt. Olivet was not able to get a first down, giving the ball back to Concordia. Freshman Jalen Ewing intercepted a pass to snuff out the Falcons' final drive.

Aaron Nixon was Concordia's leader on offense. He threw for 370 yards on 26-of-45 passing, and had 18 carries for 112 yards. Andrew Gatz rushed 10 times for 102 yards. Dante Edwards the leading receiver, as he caught six passes for 135 yards. Four player each registered seven tackles.

The Comets close out their regular season schedule next Saturday, Nov. 14, when they play a 1 p.m. game at Alma College. With a win, Olivet would secure a share of the 2015 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship.

NOTES: Black has 22 passing touchdowns this season. He now owns the top three single-season marks after throwing for 21 in 2014 and 20 in 2013. Washington is the second running back this season to rush for four touchdowns in one game.