CALEDONIA, Mich. - It was not the kind of debut that head coach Sparky McEwen and the Panthers imagined as Davenport fell 25-6 to Concordia University at Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex on Thursday night. The Panthers got off to a slow start and could not muster enough offense in the season opener. Concordia took advantage of Davenport's defense early in the game scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions. The Panthers took the kickoff and drove all the way into the red zone facing a 4th-and-1 at the five-yard line. William Gist was stopped and lost three yards giving the ball to the Cardinals. They took advantage driving 92 yards in nine plays capped off by a Joe Conner two-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead with 7:12 left in the first quarter.

After a three-and-out, Concordia got the ball at their own 38 yard line and marched 62 yards in nine plays with a 10-yard TD run by Conner breaking tackles before going into the end zone for a 15-0 lead with 46 seconds left in the first after a botched hold on the extra point and instead threw a two-point conversion. The second quarter saw the Cardinals score again at 12:07 as Conner broke off an incredible 60-yard TD run for his third score of the first half and a 22-0 lead.

Davenport then played tough defense for the rest of the game allowing just 128 yards on the final 11 drives for the Cardinals. DU got on the scoreboard late in the second quarter on a six-play, 77-yard drive lasting 1:35. Hunter Krause connected with Keion Powers down the home sideline on a 29-yard TD but the extra point attempt was fumbled to make it 22-6. Concordia's defense had seven tackles for loss and three sacks for the night and allowed just 32 yards in the third quarter and 38 yards in the fourth quarter to secure the win.

Davenport could not sustain drives going 3-of-13 on third down and were also 0-for-2 on fourth down. Krause went 8-for-11 for 104 yards through the air. Marcus Jester led the rushers with 24 yards on eight carries. Jerred McGuire averaged 43 yards per boot on three tries for Davenport. Kye Black led the defense with 10 tackles and also forced a fumble. Brent Showers also chipped in with eight tackles. The Panthers (0-1) will play their first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game on Saturday, Sept. 9 at Grand Valley State (0-1) beginning at 7 p.m.