The 40th Anniversary Celebration concluded with Saturday afternoon's football game, a 28-21 loss to Concordia-Chicago.
The Crusaders (0-7, 0-4) were within 21-14 until midway through the fourth quarter, when the Cougars (3-4, 2-2) scored to widen the gap to 28-14. Maranatha charged back with another touchdown, a 28-yard pass from Nathan Chromy to Mike Walton, that made the score 28-21 with 3:53 to play.
Concordia was forced to punt, and Maranatha got the ball back on its 36 with 1:24 remaining. Two plays later, however, a pass interception snuffed out the Crusaders' last hope. The Cougars ran out the final 1:06 to secure the Northern Athletics Conference victory.
The Crusaders continue their season next Saturday, hosting Lakeland.