Concordia College Alabama head coach Stanley Conner thought it would take his team three games to get up to speed. If Saturday’s season opener was any indication, the Hornets have a lot of work to do.

Concordia (0-1) turned the ball over six times and committed 25 penalties for 221 yards Saturday in a 34-3 loss to Warner University. After taking a 3-0 lead on a Pablo Grajales 22-yard field goal, the Hornets surrendered 34 consecutive points.

“When you turn the ball over you can’t expect to win,” Conner said. “With what we do you have to get in rhythm, you’ve got to control the ball and not put the defense in a bad situation and that’s not what we did today.”

Warner took the lead on a 2-yard rushing score by D.J. Davis with 14:09 left in the second quarter and didn’t look back. A 35-yard field goal by Angel Puente extended the Royals lead to 10-3 at the break.

In the second half, Warner started strong.

The Royals scored three touchdowns in the third quarter to take a commanding 31-3 lead.  Jeff Suarez scored on a 36-yard reception, Traven Phillips found the end zone on a 5-yard run and Raheem Phillips caught a 23-yard touchdown for Warner.

Puente added the final points with 12:08 remaining in the game on a 34-yard field goal.

Conner said going into the game that he wanted to get a better look at his younger players, in particular his quarterbacks.

Both James Crosby and Jarvis Chambers threw two interceptions and neither completed more than 50 percent of their passes. Crosby was 6-of-14 for 51 yards and Chambers was 5-of-10 for 43 yards.

“We are going to find our rhythm,” Conner said. “We have to get quarterbacks going and we’ll be fine.”

Concordia was held to just 134 total yards on 59 plays. Although the passing game wasn’t up to speed, the lack of a run threat really hurt the Hornets. Concordia ran 35 times for only 40 yards.

There was a bright spot though.

The Hornets’ defense held Warner to just 12 first downs and only 219 total yards, but was put into bad situations by the offense all day.

“We put them in a bind several times but with what we do, the name of the game is not to put them in a bind. Keep the field long,” Conner said.

Concordia hosts Lane College Saturday at 2 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.