The Tomball Concordia Lutheran Crusaders fought through a slow start and came out of halftime fired up, rolling off 21 third quarter points, en route to a 41-7 victory over Houston Christian on Sept. 16. The victory was Concordia’s first over Houston Christian since 2008.

Play started off ugly for both sidelines as numerous penalties were called and neither team could maintain a drive. Concordia would finally break through with just seconds left in the first quarter, as Chance Gray ran the ball in from six yards out to put the Crusaders up 6-0.

Neither team would score the rest of the first half.

Photo: Tomball Concordia Lutheran junior running back Tyler Lawrence runs around the defense during the Crusaders 41-7 victory over Houston Christian on Sept. 16.

Concordia seemed to have a fire lit under them after halftime, turning what looked like a defensive battle into a rout.

Gray found the end zone again early in the third, this time from 11 yards out and the two point conversion pass from Nathan Potter to Gray put the Crusaders up 14-0.

Eddie Brucculeri got in on the action next, as he ran it in from 16 yards out to put Concordia up 20-0 midway through the third period.

Gray continued his outstanding night with seconds to play in the third quarter as he streaked downfield 43 yards for the score. The extra-point from Mark Schroeder put the Crusaders up 27-0 and the rout was on.

Josh Amelunke finished off Concordia’s first drive of the final quarter with a 42-yard touchdown run, giving the Crusaders a 34-0 lead.

The defense also got into the scoring fun, after Cody Huffmeister ran an interception back 33 yards for a touchdown. The pick-six gave Concordia Lutheran a 41-0 lead before Houston Christian was finally able to put up some points.

Stephen Consoli caught a 16-yard pass from Alex Roys midway through the fourth quarter, for the final score of the game and a 41-7 Crusader victory.

The win pushed Concordia to a 4-0 ranking so far this season. As of press time the Crusaders were ranked second in the state in TAPPS Division 2, according to maxpreps.com.

Gray led all Concordia rushers with 88 yards on nine carries, while Amelunke added 83 yards on six carries.

Concordia Lutheran played at Lutheran North on Sept. 23. Results were not available as of press time.

Photo by Caleb Harris

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