Dowling twins reflect on life, faith and football

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

Gabe and Will Dowling went from Oak Harbor to Concordia University to play football.
And the twins have earned all-league status a combined five times in a great conference, the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) — better known as the SEC of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. They battled through multiple surgeries and injuries to their upper and lower bodies while playing for a program that has won over 70% of its games in the last four seasons, but it is their Christian faith that has truly blossomed during their time in Ann Arbor at the Lutheran college that is home to just over 1,000 students.
The Dowlings have enjoyed their time on the gridiron, even with all the hardships they’ve endured, but hearing them talk about their faith is special.
“Actually, when I first came to Concordia, I was a Christian, but I didn’t know who God and Jesus really were,” said Gabe. “We’d always have team meetings and talk about God, but I didn’t have a relationship with Him. I got a Bible, and then it hit me. The things we have, I love going to chapel on Wednesday, just being able to bring players in, coming in from all kinds of backgrounds. On Sundays, I lead a youth group at church.”
Gabe, a 6 foot 3, 285-poind tackle, missed this season due to a shoulder surgery.
“I’ve grown in my faith, and the coaches have been awesome,” he said.
Will, a 6 foot 3, 295-pound guard, feels the same way.
“When I was in high school, I wasn’t very caught up to God and Jesus as I should’ve been,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of good coaches that put us on the right path. These people would read their Bible and go to Mass, and that helped me to connect with God and Jesus, also.
“Coming here was definitely more football-based. We fell in love with the coaches … The players and these coaches are some of the most genuine people I’ve met. Faith was a bonus -- we went to Concordia because of football.”
As good as the journey's been, it’s not over yet.
Both of them have one year of eligibility remaining due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the last four seasons, the Cardinals have gone 27-11 overall (.711) and 18-7 in the MSFA, winning two league championships and winning two playoff games. This year, Concordia went 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the conference. (At press time, the Cardinals are currently waiting to hear if they qualified for postseason play.) In 2020, Concordia lost in the second round to Lindsey Wilson (KY) College, which went on to win the national championship. One year later, the Cardinals lost to Grand View (IA) in the second round of the playoffs and the Vikings finished as the national runner-up.
“You go up against some of the best players in the country. We lost to teams that won or made it to the national championship game in the second round,” said Gabe. “There are a ton of players that play at the next level. The competition is so high. Will and I had a bunch of Division II offers. Division II is better than NAIA is what people said. Will and I didn’t care where we went, We just wanted to play.”
The football program at Concordia has only been in existence for a little over a decade.
“Of the last 12-13 years or so, the first eight years or so were really bad,” said Will. “For the last five years or so, we’ve been ranked in the Top 25 except for one season.”
The twins should be treated like royalty in Oak Harbor. The duo, who transferred to the school after attending Clyde for three years, led the Rockets to a 13-1 season that saw them win the program’s third regional championship and a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division title. The crowning achievement was a 35-28 win over reigning state champion Orrville in a Division V regional final. Had the twins not joined Oak Harbor, the team likely wouldn’t have won the regional championship.
And the twins helped the basketball team win its first conference championship in 19 years.
"It was definitely special. The coaches at Oak Harbor, Will and I are really close to," said Gabe. "The culture, the friends we met when we first got there, guys like Clay (Schulte), Jac (Alexander) and Tyler (May), we're still really, really close. Our group of seniors were really close."