College football: Big game for Concordia Cobbers coach/Willmar grad

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Oct. 16—COLLEGEVILLE — coach Terry Horan was on a podcast with Moorhead Spuds coach Kevin Feeney earlier this week. The two are friends.

Feeney's son, Trey Feeney, is the starting quarterback for St. John's University and was coming off a game where he tied a school record with seven touchdown passes, completing 37 of 42 passes for 483 yards. That came immediately after a game when he threw six TDs, going 38 of 43 for 355 yards.

That adds up to 75 of 85 for 838 yards and 13 touchdowns with no interceptions. And that's just two games.

"I had to tell Kevin I'm not going to be talking about your son this week," said Horan, a 1985 Willmar High School graduate.

There's a reason.

The Cobbers play the Johnnies at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. John's Clemens Stadium. Both teams are 5-0. St. John's is ranked second in the nation in NCAA Division III. It's also the Johnnies' homecoming. The Cobbers, who average more than 4,000 fans at their home games, travel well. Expect Collegeville to be packed with perhaps 10,000 fans.

"St. John's is a different beast," Horan said. "They do a lot of things really well. …

"It's a program that we have a lot of respect for."

It's the first time both teams in the rivalry are undefeated entering their annual game since 2015. That year the Johnnies won 24-16 in Week 3. Concordia's last victory over St. John's was in 2019. Concordia won that one 19-18 in overtime when the Johnnies missed a PAT after a touchdown and the Cobbers made theirs.

"And the thing with Trey, he's got all these 6-6, 300-pound guys blocking for him and he has six different receivers who can all catch the ball," Horan said. "We've got our work cut for us."

Horan's been the Cobbers' head coach for 26 years. He's the longest-tenured college coach in the state with a 162-122 record. He's only the second Concordia coach to win 150 games and is second to Jim Christopherson on the school's all-time list. Horan was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2021.

Horan wound up in Moorhead after he played for Willmar High School Hall of Fame football coach Deryl Ramey. He became an All-American at Concordia, graduating in 1989.

His coaching resume includes stops at Ridgewater (then Willmar Community College), two stints at Breckenridge High School sandwiched between two years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Concordia. He became the Cobbers' head coach in 2001 and has twice been named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.

This year's team has averaged 45.8 points per game and allowed 4.4. They are 4-0 in the MIAC, as is St. John's.

And while he's from Willmar, he's been a Moorhead guy for a long time. His wife Michelle is a Concordia graduate, as is daughter Meghan and son Thomas. Son Tate is a senior at Concordia. His daughter Annie is a sophomore.

"My parents moved to Moorhead in the early 2000s," said Horan, who lost his mother Marcia to Alzheimer's Disease in 2014. "My dad (Thomas) passed away a year ago (at age 87)."

The Cobbers have six West Central Tribune area athletes on their roster: New London-Spicer's Griffin Thompson, Matthew Gehrke and Eli Bazaldua, Litchfield's Alex Medina, Renville County West's Braylon Hinderks and BOLD's Owen Flann.

Horan had plenty to say about all of them.

"We take a lot of pride going to the ol' stomping grounds for players," Horan said. "We've had a lot of players from the west central area over the years."

Thompson is a 6-foot-4, 235-pound freshman kicker/punter. He's planning on majoring in accounting and finance with a minor in business.

"He's helped us a bit on the d-line," Horan said.

Gehrke is a 5-11, 215-pound linebacker who plays on special teams.

He has four tackles, including three solos and one tackle for loss. He's a finance major and business minor.

"He's been traveling with us as a freshman, playing special teams," Horan said.

Bazaldua is a 5-10, 345-pound offensive lineman planning to be an exercise science major.

"He's done well, too," Horan said. "He's on our scout team. He's pretty quiet."

Medina is a 5-10, 170-pound freshman defensive back. He's planning on being an accounting major.

"He's a pretty good athlete," Horan said. "And he's an even better person."

Hinderks is a 6-3, 205-pound sophomore tight end. He's a health care administration major.

"I coached his dad (Jeremy, a Concordia College Athletic Hall of Fame inductee)," Horan said. "He's a real strong kid."

Flann is a 5-10, 255-pound sophomore defensive lineman. His father is BOLD head football coach and activities director Derek Flann.

"He's a hall-of-famer too," Horan said. "Derek was as good as we've had. We were overjoyed to get Owen."

Owen Flann is a social studies education major with a minor in coaching.

The Johnnies have three area athletes on their roster: Minnewaska freshman defensive back Braylen Scharmer, NLS freshman lineman Garret Leenstra and Paynesville freshman lineman Brice Messer.

Scharmer is listed at 6-0, 185 and plans to be an exercise and health science major. Leenstra is 6-1, 250 and also majoring and exercise and health science. Messer is 6-2 and 275. He's an environmental studies major.

Horan and Kevin Feeney have had a long relationship in the football world, which led to the podcast.

"I've known the Feeneys a long, long time," Horan said. "Kevin coached my boy.

"I've known Trey a long time as well. He went to UND (the University of North Dakota) for two years."

Horan said the Cobbers were in the conversation when Trey Feeney decided to transfer. He ultimately chose St. John's and is off to an impressive start.

"Unfortunately," Horan quipped.

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