Robbie Bowman and Adam Hunger were starting to consider Concordia University-St. Paul a lost cause.

The Batavia football seniors were intrigued by the Division II program in Minnesota but their interest appeared to be unrequited. Little did the puzzled duo know a shakeup on the program’s coaching staff was to blame.

“We were sending stuff up there, and it just kept coming back because [the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator] had been let go already, and we didn’t know that,” Bowman said. “But then the head coach and the new defensive coordinator who had just been hired came down and talked to us again, and invited us up.