MOORHEAD — Concordia senior quarterback Cooper Mattern has a tattoo on his left wrist, an image of a cross that is paired with a printed "John 16:4."

It's one of the ways Mattern honors his grandpa, Charles "Buzz" Marvin.

"It reminds me of him," Mattern said. “He was one of those guys who never missed a game and if he did he would be sure to call me.”

The Cobbers host Bethel at 1 p.m. Saturday in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football showdown at Jake Christiansen Stadium. The winner earns a spot in the MIAC championship game the following weekend.

“Definitely grateful to be here and grateful for the guys around me, too," said Mattern, a Fargo Shanley graduate. “It definitely has a playoff-game feel to it.”

Buzz died in January of 2023 after a battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was 76.

“Cooper’s biggest cheerleader was his grandpa," said Troy Mattern, Cooper's father. “They had a very unique relationship and they lived it out daily.”

John 16:4 was a verse read at Buzz's funeral so those words have added meaning for Cooper, who always tried to find his grandpa in the stands at games. For Concordia home football games, Buzz normally sat around the 40-yard line about two-thirds of the way up the grandstand behind the Cobbers bench.

“He’d be up there," Cooper said, referring to Saturday's game.

During the offseason, Cooper also honored Buzz by partnering with "QBs vs. Cancer," a nonprofit organization to raise money to fight cancer through participating NCAA Division III quarterbacks. Alma (Mich.) College quarterback Carter St. John organized the group. Joining the cause was an easy decision for Cooper.

“When Buzz passed, Cooper wanted to do something to give back," Troy said. “It was a pretty quick decision for Cooper.”

Cooper is one of the 40-plus D-III quarterbacks who used their NIL (name, image, likeness) to raise money for cancer research. He held two one-day football camps at Shanley last spring, raising $1,900. He donated the proceeds to "Pray for Gray," a North Dakota nonprofit brain tumor organization.

Buzz is the father of Jamie Mattern, Cooper's mother.

“Jamie and I are pretty proud of what he did," said Troy, the head football coach at Shanley. “(Buzz) loved being there for Cooper, the ups and the downs.”

Cooper said he still has voice messages that Buzz left for him before events like summer baseball games or high school football games throughout Cooper's athletic career.

“He always told us just to have fun with things," Cooper said. “He was about as even-keeled as it gets.”

Cooper has set nearly every major career passing mark in Concordia history, including pass completions, pass attempts, passing yards and passing touchdowns. He's eclipsed former Cobbers QB greats like Griffin Neal and Michael Dunham in those categories. Cooper has completed 467 of 769 passes for 5,809 yards and 66 touchdowns through 28 career games heading into Saturday.

Cooper spent one season at St. John's before transferring to Concordia prior to the 2022 season.

“This is 100% where I was meant to play college football," Cooper said.

“He’s just an absolute joy to coach," Cobbers head coach Terry Horan said. “He’s getting what his work deserves. He’s put in the time. He’s broken pretty much every record.”

The Cobbers (6-2, 5-1 MIAC) need a victory against Bethel (7-1, 5-1) to position themselves for the chance to earn a spot in the D-III playoffs. The winner of the Nov. 16 MIAC championship game secures the league's automatic bid to the national tournament, which is a 40-team field.

"I think Cooper would be the first to tell you a MIAC championship would be far greater than any record," Troy said. “We’re proud of what he’s accomplished at Concordia.”

Troy said it's amazing that Cooper is even playing college football. Cooper was born at 26 weeks with twin sister Lydia in May of 2002. Cooper and Lydia were both around 2 pounds at birth and spent 90 days in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at a Minneapolis hospital.

“They truly are a miracle," Troy said. "He’s a miracle baby.”