The Concordia football team, under new coach Mark Mauer, won the season opener 17-16 at Augustana College. Brody Johnson hit a 23-yard field goal with 1:12 to play in the fourth quarter to cap a 14 play, 80-yard drive to give the Bears the win.

Augustana took the lead in the with 2:40 remaining in the first quarter on a 15-yard run by Josh Fulton, but the Bears countered quickly with a 22-yard run by junior James McNear at 13:09 of the second quarter. Concordia went into halftime leading 14-7 after junior Montez Bridgeforth caught a 22-yard pass from McNear with 7:01 remaining in the half.

Augustana tied the game in the third quarter on a 28-yard catch by Ryan Degraff at 12:01. They took the lead when the Vikings defense was able to sack McNear for a safety at 10:55 of the fourth quarter.

For the game, McNear completed 15-22 passes for 176 yards and one touchdown. Wesley Hill was his leading target catching 6 passes for 93 yards, while Bridgeforth had 3 catches for 38 yards and the touchdown.

The Bears had 334 yards of total offense, while the defense limited Augustana to 204 yards. Brian Doyle led the defense with six tackles, including two for losses and a sack. Matt Ledbetter also had six tackles, and Travis Johansen had five tackles, including two for losses and two sacks.

Concordia held the ball for nearly nine minutes longer than the Vikings, with a 33:55 time of possession, compared to 24:53 for AC. There were no turnovers in the game for either team.

Concordia will host UM Duluth next Saturday at Griffin Stadium. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m.