MEQUON, Wis. - The Rockford University football team hit the road on Saturday to play the defending NACC Champion Concordia University Wisconsin Falcons. The Regents were hoping for a fast start in order to avoid a repeat of last season when Rockford dug themselves into an early hole that they were unable to get out of. Unfortunately the Regents found themselves in a similar situation on Saturday when the Falcons scored the first 35 points of the game and took a 35-0 lead into halftime.
After regrouping at the half, Rockford played much better in the final 30 minutes as the Regents outscored the Falcons 14-7. Rockford used a combination of ball control and patience on offense to dominate the third quarter. The Rockford offense had the ball for 12:21 compared to just 2:39 for Concordia Wisconsin and outgained the Falcons 117-27. The Regents finally cashed in on their impressive third quarter performance on the final play of the quarter when senior quarterback Andrew Stochl (Lake Fox, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) connected with Kendrick Cooley (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) on 14-yard touchdown pass for Rockford's first score of the afternoon. Looking to build off that momentum, Rockford then attempted and recoved an outside kick, but the Regents were flagged for being offsides on the play giving Concordia Wisconsin the ball along with a short field. The Falcons took advantage scoring 7 plays later to extend their lead to 42-6. Despite being way behind Rockford refused to surrender and eventually would find the end zone for the second time in the half. Starting from its own 20-yard line with just over 2 minutes remaining, Stochl found fellow senior Milton Phillips Jr. (Rockford, Ill./Guilford) for 48 yards to the Concordia Wisconsin 32-yard line. The very next play Lavan Sawyer (Savannah, Ga./Benedictine Military) carried the ball for 17 yards putting the Regents back in the red zone. Four plays later, Stochl found Elijah Rios (Chicago, Ill./Foreman) on a 4-yard touchdown pass for his first collegiate score. Rockford then completed the 2-point conversion as the game ended with a final score of 42-14.
Offensively Rockford was able to move the ball but had some difficulties scoring points. The Regents' 243 yards passing and 321 yards of total offense were the most for Rockford since week one. Quarterback Andrew Stochl also had his best performance since the season opener completing 22-of-40 pass attempts for 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wide receiver Milton Phillips Jr. led Rockford in both receptions and receiving yards with 5 catches for 82 yards.
Defensively the Regents held the third ranked offense in Division III to just 379 total yards, by far the Falcons lowest output of the season. Rockford did an especially good job controlling a Falcon passing attack that entered the game ranked #1 in the country. The Falcons mustered a season-low 136 yards passing which is 250 yards below their season average. Freshman Chase Cregeen (Belvidere, Ill./North) had his best game of the season harassing the quarterback and recording a season-high 1.5 sacks. Sophomore linebacker Kendell Lee (Poplarville, Miss./Poplarville) led the Rockford defense with 7 total tackles.
The Regents football team will play its final home game of the season next Saturday, November 1 against Wisconsin Lutheran College. Kickoff is set for noon at Sam Greeley Field.
