Football team defeats Concordia Chicago, 52-25, in home-opener

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College football team piled up 579 yards of offense and blocked three kicks (two PATs and one punt) to post a 52-25 win over Concordia University Chicago (Ill.) this afternoon in its home-opener at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet.

Final score: Olivet 52, Concordia Chicago 25
Location: Cutler Athletic Complex; Olivet, Mich.
Records: Olivet 1-1, Concordia Chicago 1-1

• Neither team scored on its first drive of the game.
• The Comets put seven points on the scoreboard on their second drive. On a fourth down play, senior Nick Thomas caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from senior Lane Porter. Junior Douglas Pollard made the PAT kick.
• The Comets stretched their lead to 17-0 lead on a 24-yard field goal by Pollard with 1:42 left in the opening quarter and then a 15-yard touchdown pass from Porter to Thomas at the 10:52 mark of the second quarter.
• The Cougars seemed to get the momentum back with back-to-back touchdown runs by Lance Moise that made the score 17-13.
• Following the second score, Olivet quickly got seven points back when Porter threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to senior Jacob Jodway on the first play from scrimmage.
• Concordia added a touchdown in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter to make the score 24-19 at halftime.
• That would be as close as the Cougars would get for the rest of the game, as Olivet outscored them 28-6 in the second half.
• Senior Jamaul Martin had four- and three-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter.
• Sophomore Matthew Ellis scored from nine and six yards out in the fourth quarter.

• Olivet totaled 329 rushing and 250 passing yards for its 579 yards of offense, and did not commit a turnover.
• Ellis had 20 carries for 181 yards.
• Martin needed 26 rushes to gain his 151 yards.
• Porter completed 20-of-25 passes for 250 yards.
• Sophomore Anthony Higginbotham caught a team-best seven passes for 50 yards.
• Jodway hauled in four passes for 99 yards.
• Senior Chase Cavric topped the defense with 12 tackles, including seven solo stops.
• Senior Jacob Jordan had eight tackles.
• Senior Brandon Mitchell recorded four tackles, with two quarterback sacks for minus eight yards.

• Concordia finished with 393 yards.
• Lance Moise had 147 rushing yards on 19 carries.
• Three quarterbacks combined to 12-of-29 passes for 109 yards.
• On defense, Rodolfo Payan registered a game-high 14 tackles.

• Pollard's 10 points scored ties for third all-time the most points scored by a kicker in a game in school history.
• Olivet's 579 total yards is the most in a game since Oct. 24, 2015, when Olivet rolled up 598 yards against Kalamazoo College.

• Olivet travels to play Benedictine (Ill.) University next Saturday, Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. ET.