* - please note: final game statistics have been adjusted since this recap was published, please revert to the box score for game statistics

DULUTH, Minn. – The Golden Bears were unable to complete a 30-point comeback, falling just short 44-32 in their final road game of 2023 at Minnesota Duluth (8-2, 7-2 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at Malosky Stadium.
 
Concordia, now 3-7 overall (2-7 NSIC) will host Wayne State (7-3, 6-3 NSIC) next Saturday for senior day at Sea Foam Stadium with a noon kickoff in the season finale.
 
It was a long road back, as the Golden Bears fell into a 24-0 deficit in the first quarter, and fell behind 38-8 when the Bulldogs scored a pair of touchdowns in the last four minutes of the second quarter, the second coming with 18 seconds to play before halftime.
 
But sophomore running back Daniel Hornacek brought some life to the CSP sideline, breaking free for a 58-yard run to set up a short field goal by senior Payton Eue.
 
Hornacek had a strong day on the road, combining for 97 yards from scrimmage on nine touches, rushing for 65 yards on six carries while adding three catches for 32 yards including 38 yards after the catch.
 
Concordia's first half touchdown was an 8-yard strike from Conner Cordts to Peter Udoibok early in the second quarter, set-up by a 48-yard completion from Cordts to Troy Ellison. It was the first of two touchdowns between Cordts and Udoibok.
 
Cordts had a big day, producing his third career 300-yard passing game as he completed 21-37 for 302 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
 
He found Ellison four times for 119 yards and a touchdown, his third career 100-yard receiving day. Combined with his rushing (1-20) and kickoff returns (4-52), Ellison had 191 all-purpose yards.
 
Udoibok also had a big day receiving with season-highs five catches for 73 yards including a long of 27 to go with his two touchdowns.
 
While Hornacek led the team's ground game with 65 rushing yards, Jaylin Richardson turned in another solid effort with 12-42 rushing and 5-45 receiving with 50 yards after the catch, combining for 87 yards from scrimmage. Concordia topped 100 rushing yards in hostile territory once again, averaging 4.6 per carry with 26-119 as a team, including topping the 100-yard mark in the first half.
 
Down 17 at the half, Concordia's defense started to pick up stops in the second half, limiting UMD's opening drive of the third quarter to a field goal, a key as UMD was 5-for-5 in converting its possessions to touchdowns in the first half.
 
From there, CSP forced UMD to punt three times in a row as the Bulldogs combined for 22 yards on its next 11 plays, with the third punt being blocked and returned for a touchdown by Emmitt Peterson, narrowing the game to a two-score margin, 41-26, with plenty of time remaining (13:12).
 
Concordia's defense was led by linebackers Brayden Hilgemann and Richard Wauer with six tackles apiece, with Ben Rehl adding five more.
 
With the ball back, UMD's offense looked to drain as much clock – and momentum – as possible, and did just that by picking up a pair of third downs on a drive that would take nearly eight and a half minutes away from Concordia's comeback, as UMD made a 20-yard field goal to cap off a 14-play, 68-yard drive over 8:18 to extend it to a 3-score game, 44-26, with 4:48 to play.
 
Cordts would engineer another scoring drive, connecting with Udoibok for the second time in the red zone, this time from four yards out with 1:31 to go. CSP would then recover the onside kick, but with only 91 seconds to play and trailing by two scores, the comeback ran out of time despite the strong late game execution by the special teams unit.
 
Although unofficial, CSP matched UMD with 20 first downs and 7-14 third down conversions and both teams were perfect in the red zone overall, with CSP scoring on all four trips with one field goal while UMD scored on its three trips with one field goal.
 
The Golden Bears picked up 421 yards of total offense to UMD's 428 as both teams had 63 plays from scrimmage and CSP punted one less time (2, 40.5) than the Bulldogs (3, 21.3).
 
UMD was led by its quarterback, Kyle Walljasper, who completed 21-29 for 207 yards and three touchdowns, added team-highs 12-55 rushing and a 34-yard touchdown catch.