Concordia College was stung by the same problem it has suffered from all season in a 45-27 loss to FCS (formerly Division 1-AA) opponent Texas Southern on Saturday in Houston.

“We didn’t play two halves of football,” said Concordia coach Shepherd Skanes. “We played the first half. We couldn’t move the ball in the third and fourth quarters. We had no answer.”

The Hornets hung with the Tigers for the first half, and entered the locker room trailing 25-21.

“The first half, we played like I expected we would,” said Skanes. “But I thought we were going to come out and play a complete game.”

Concordia quarterback Ken Johnson found wide receiver John Halman for a 74-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to cut into a 10-0 lead Texas Southern built via a 2-yard touchdown run by Bobby Reid and 28-yard Robert Hirsch field goal.

The Tigers (3-2) extended the lead to 17-8 on a 6-yard Reid touchdown run in the second quarter.

But the Hornets (4-2) answered with a 20-yard Johnson-to-Halman touchdown pass to cut the lead to 17-14.

“Texas Southern had no answer for Ken Johnson and John Halman,” said Skanes.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, every time they answered a Texas Southern score, the Tigers returned fire.

They extended their lead to 25-14 when Reid hit William Osborne for a 20-yard touchdown. The Hornets closed the gap to 25-21 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Ken Johnson.

The Concordia passing game got off to a good start, but the Tigers shut down the Hornet rushing attack, limiting running back A.J. Ward to 36 yards on the night.

“They shut down the running game,” said Skanes. “We were one-dimensional in the second half, and they started double and even triple-teaming John (Halman).”

The Tigers put up 20 points in the third quarter and blanked the Hornets, who had three second half touchdowns called back.

By the time Concordia scored in the fourth quarter, the game was out of reach.

“They’re a well-coached football team,” said Skanes. “It’s like a moral victory for us. We came out and played and stuck with them.”