Senior quarterback James McNear delivered a 32-yard touchdown strike to freshman wide receiver Tyrone Ruffin with 4:29 to play to catapult the Golden Bears (8-2, 5-1 NSIC) to a 21-17 victory over Southwest Minnesota State (4-6, 1-5 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at Mattke Field in Marshall, Minn. The Bears improve their record to 7-0 when rushing for 200 yards, as they gained 203 yards on the ground on 43 attempts.

The Concordia defense held strong as they stopped the Mustangs on downs on the six-yard line with under a minute to play. Junior cornerback Antonio Brown came up with the biggest play of Concordia's season when he broke up SMSU's fourth-down pass in the end zone.

It was a back and forth battle between the Northern Sun rivals, with the Mustangs grabbing the first lead on a 51-yard field goal by Eric Oldenkamp midway through the first quarter. The Mustangs held on to the lead for the entire quarter.

But Concordia stormed back when junior running back Aaron Cawthorn dashed for a 26-yard touchdown run to cap off a seven-play, 60-yard drive that spanned 3:06, giving CU a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter. Cawthorn, who returned to the starting lineup after missing last week's game against Wayne State, finished the day with 57 rushing yards on 12 attempts.

McNear extended the Concordia lead to 14-3 when he scrambled for a 29-yard score with just over six minutes to play in the half to close out a three-play, 41-yard scoring drive that lasted just :59. McNear closed out the afternoon with 111 rushing yards on 18 attempts while completing 20-34 for 194 yards and an interception. He scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one passing.

The Mustangs rallied before halftime, as they marched down the field, taking 5:29 off the clock on an 11-play, 80-yard drive. SMSU quarterback Josh Shudlick found Ross Demasi from 14 yards out to bring the Mustangs within four, at 14-10, leaving the Golden Bears with just :40 on the clock before halftime.

But Oldenkamp's short kickoff set the Bears up wth excellent field position at their own 48-yard line with :29 remaining. McNear went to work, finding senior tight end Nate Harrington for 27 yards. Harrington found the sideline, going out of bounds at the SMSU 25. After an incomplete pass, McNear hit Cawthorn for 14 yards to the SMSU 11, but a holding penalty nullified the gain, bringing CU back to the 35-yard line with just five seconds left. Junior kicker Brody Johnson's 52-yard attempt missed wide right. The kick would have been a career-long for Johnson, who drilled a 44-yarder earlier in the season.

After a scoreless third quarter, the final 15:00 minutes was wild, starting when senior linebacker Doug Cox intercepted Shudlick on the first play of the quarter, setting the Bears up with the ball on the SMSU 38.

Cawthorn pounded his way up the middle for two yards on a 4th and 2 for a first down at the SMSU 30. But after a sack and an incomplete pass, McNear's pass on 3rd and 18 was intercepted by Tyler Reed at the six-yard line. Reed returned the ball 29 yards back to the SMSU 35.

The Mustangs took control, driving down to the Concordia 13-yard line with the key play being a 31-yard connection from Shudlick to Ray Denson. On second down, Shudlick hit Demasi at the eight-yard line. Demasi was popped by junior defensive tackle Brandon Sullivan, who knocked the ball loose. Junior linebacker Brad Scherer fell on the ball for the Bears as the defense came up with a big play to thwart the Mustangs' scoring drive in the red zone.

But Concordia couldn't get a drive going, and sophomore punter Miles Coffin was called in to punt from his own one-yard line. Coffin couldn't get the punt off and fumbled with SMSU's John Kunelius recovering for the Mustangs on the one.

SMSU only needed two plays to pound the ball in, as Shudlick scored on a QB sneak, giving the Mustangs a 17-14 lead with 8:26 remaining.

But McNear answered, as he led the Bears on a 9-play, 69-yard scoring drive that took 3:57 off the clock. He hooked up with senior wide receiver Montez Bridgeforth three times on the drive before the game-winning 32-yard touchdown to Ruffin. Bridgeforth was McNear's go-to target all day, as he hauled in 10 receptions for 111 yards.

B. Johnson's booming kickoff forced the Mustangs to settle for a touchback as they had just 4:29 remaining, trailing 21-17. Shudlick led the Mustangs as they marched down the field. Their final drive covered 74 yards on 11 plays, but they fell short as they couldn't convert, turning the ball over on downs with 1:01 remaining and just one timeout.

The Bears outgained the Mustangs 405-254 in total offense, and the NSIC's best run defense didn't disappoint. They held SMSU to just 57 rushing yards on 22 attempts.

The defense was led by Cox, who had a team-high eight tackles with one interception, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup, and 0.5 tackles for loss. Scherer recorded one of Concordia's two sacks in addition to his fumble recovery. Junior defensive tackle Eric Power came up with a pair of big plays, as he had a sack and his first career interception. Power also had two tackles for loss in the game.

In other NSIC action, conference leader Winona State pummeled Wayne State 34-6 to remain a perfect 6-0 in NSIC play, one game ahead of the Bears. Winona State and Concordia will battle for the conference championship next Saturday in the NSIC Merchants Bank Metrodome Football Classic at 1:30 p.m.