FORT WAYNE — Concord rallied from a halftime deficit for a 35-21 Class 4A regional football victory Friday against Fort Wayne Dwenger.

The Minutemen (11-2) bested the Saints (6-7) and will host Mishawaka (10-3) in a semistate contest next Friday at Jake Field.

If Concord coming back to beat Dwenger seems like a familiar tale, it’s because the Minutemen did just that in 2006.

The last time Concord came to Zollner Stadium to play Dwenger, the Minutemen fell behind 13-0 and went on to rout the Saints 48-21 for a semistate title.

In the latest meeting, the Saints got three first-half touchdowns from Ryan Cinadr (4- and 13-yard option runs and 37 yards on the end of a “hitch and pitch” pass from Cody Miller to Ryan Watercutter) and led Concord 21-14 at halftime.

Dallas Maynard, the Minutemen’s middle linebacker, was one of the players to address the team in the dressing room.

Maynard said some of the Concord defensive linemen expressed disgust over what they considered holding in the first half.

“I said, ‘that’s only one half and we can’t control what the officials are calling,” recalled Maynard after the contest. “We can only control how we act. We need to play ‘Minutemen football’ and get the ‘W.’”

Concord coach Tim Dawson said it was a matter of desire.

“We had more want-to,” said Dawson. “We just played harder and we were able to keep the momentum (in the second half). We believed in each other.

“We get to fight for another week.”

The Minutemen’s first-half touchdowns came on a 78-yard run by quarterback Trevor Wilmore and a 5-yard blast from running back DuWhan Alford.

The second half featured two more TDs by Wilmore — a 1-yarder in the third quarter and 28-yarder in the fourth quarter — followed by a 4-yard scoring dash by Alford.

“(Wilmore) is a great play maker,” said Dwenger coach Chris Svarczkopf of the Concord signal caller who gained 166 rushing yards with the three touchdowns (plus a two-point conversion run). “He is able to keep plays alive. That’s what hurt us.”

Wilmore credited his success to his blockers (center Ethan Beabout, guards Steven Gattman and Brody Brown, tackles Michael McQueen and Tyler Hoffman and tight end Franko House).

“We set it up with our runs inside with DuWhan,” said Wilmore. “Our offensive line did a great job tonight. They gave us plenty of holes to run through.”

Wilmore also described the team’s mood at intermission.

“We weren’t down,” said Wilmore. “We had all the confidence in the world.”



Concord 35, FW Dwenger 21

Scoring by Quarters

Concord 7 7 6 15 — 35

Dwenger 7 14 0 0 — 21

School — Scoring Play

First Quarter

D — Ryan Cinadr 4 run; Trey Casaburo kick, 8:16.

C — Trevor Wilmore 78 run; Ryan Tepe kick, 7:22.

Second Quarter

D — Cinadr 13 run; Casaburo kickm 6:05.

C — DuWhan Alford 5 run; Tepe kick, 2:39.

D — Cinadr 37 run after 10 pass Ryan Watercutter from Cody Miller; Casaburo kick, 1:30.

Third Quarter

C — Wilmore 1 run; kick failed, 7:30.

Fourth Quarter

C — Wilmore 28 run; Wilmore run, 11:25.

C — Alford 4 run; Tepe kick.

Officials: Michael Naspinski, James Snyder, Eric Snyder, James Caughron, Terry Kreider



Team Statistics Co Dw

Net yards rushing 302 140

Net yards passing 103 148

Total Yards 405 288

First Downs 17 16

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-1

Penalties 4-30 4-32

Individual Leaders

Concord: Rushing — Trevor Wilmore 18-166, DuWhan Alford 22-115, Jackson Marlow 6-25. Passing — Wilmore 8-15-103 (0 int.). Receiving — Franko House 3-56, Dakota Simon 2-25, Adam Glanders 3-22. Fumble recovery — Michael McQueen. Interception — Kevin Moreno.

Dwenger: Rushing — Ryan Cindar 18-96, Kyle Hartzog 5-24, Cody Miller 13-17. Passing — Miller 13-28-148 (1 int.), Marcus Stepp 0-1-0 (0 int.). Receiving — Ryan Watercutter 8-116, Keenan Centilivre 2-13.