Concordia University (9-3, 6-1 NSIC) ended their season with a loss in the 2005 Mineral Water Bowl to Missouri Western State University, 35-23, at Tiger Stadium in Excelsior Springs, Mo. The Griffons defeated the Bears at the Mineral Water Bowl for the second time in three years.

Senior quarterback James McNear, who needed 285 yards of total offense to surpass Glenville State quarterback Joey Conrad for the NCAA DII career total offense record, gained exactly the 285 yards of total offense needed, but when his rushing yards lost were factored in, he finished the game with 240 yards, 45 yards shy of breaking the record that was set only a few weeks ago. He finished the day with 19 rushing attempts for 86 yards and completed 14-26 for 154 yards. He had one rushing and one passing TD in the game.

McNear concludes his career with 12,447 yards (9,420 passing/3,027 rushing). He was the only player in NCAA DII history to eclipse 8,000 passing and 2,500 career rushing yards, and he is now the only player in the 9,000/3,000 club.

Concordia took the first lead, 7-0, in the first quarter following a defensive stand near midfield that resulted in a 21-yard loss on 4th down for the Griffons, setting the Golden Bears up with the ball on the Griffon 27-yard line. On 3rd down with six yards to go, McNear dashed his way to the end zone for a 23-yard score.

But the Griffons stormed back in the 2nd quarter after missing a 23-yard field goal in the first quarter. On their second possession in the second quarter, the Griffons needed just three plays to reach the end zone, sparked by a 46-yard completion from Michael Burton to Jarrett Brooks that set up a 10-yard Jeremiah White rushing score with just under nine minutes remaining in the half.

The Concordia offense couldn't respond, going three and out. Sophomore punter Miles Coffin's 33-yard punt was downed at the Griffon 48-yard line, and Western took over with 7:05 left in the half with a 7-7 tie score.

The Griffons, needing just 52 yards to score, took 6:37 off the clock as they ran 11 plays to travel to the end zone. The drive was capped off by a touchdown strike from Burton to Gijon Robinson from 11 yards out. It was the first of four touchdown passes on the afternoon for Burton.

Junior runningback Aaron Cawthorn couldn't handle the ensuing kickoff, and he fumbled the ball on the 22-yard line. The Griffons fell on the ball at the 27-yard line, setting up a third 2nd-quarter touchdown. Burton hit Brandon Hale twice on the drive, the first time for a 12-yard pick up that set up their second connection from 15 yards to the end zone, giving the Griffons a commanding 21-7 halftime lead

The Bears rallied in the quarter, starting when sophomore safety Chuck Miesbauer intercepted Burton on the CU 25-yard line and returned it to the 30. The interception set up an eight play, 70-yard drive that took just 2:50 off the clock. On 2nd and 22, McNear hit Cawthorn for a 23-yard pick up across midfield, setting up a 32-yard touchdown strike from sophomore receiver Antwon Williams to freshman receiver Tyrone Ruffin, cutting the score to 21-14 with 9:17 to play in the third.

The Griffons couldn't get their offense going once again, as the Bears shut down Western to a five-play, five-yard drive, sparked by junior defensive back Adrian Mitchell, who recorded a tackle and broke up a 2nd-and-15 pass, setting up a sack for a loss of six by junior defensive tackle Eric Power.

The Griffons punted the ball back to Concordia, who started their drive on their own 39-yard line with 6:52 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The Bears took the ball down to the Griffon three-yard line, but they were forced to settle for a 20-yard field goal by junior kicker Brody Johnson, cutting the Griffon lead to four points, 21-17, with 3:16 to play in the 3rd.

The Griffons answered, snapping a run of 10 consecutive 3rd-quarter points by Concordia when they went on a nine-play, 71-yard drive, taking 4:29 off the clock. Burton hit Brooks for a four-yard TD, extending the lead to 28-17.

The Golden Bears started on their own 33-yard line and were forced to punt after just three plays. On 4th and seven, following a delay of game penalty, the Bears attempted a fake punt with Miesbauer's pass falling incomplete intended for longsnapper Nick Weiler, giving the ball back to Western at CU's 36-yard line.

The Griffons needed seven plays to reach the end zone when Burton hit hale from eight yards out, giving the Griffons a commanding 35-17 lead with just under eight minutes to play.

Trailing by 18 points, Concordia once again attempted to go for a 4th down. Despite a 60% (15-25) success rate on 4th downs this season, the Bears misfired, McNear's pass to senior tight end/quarterback Nate Harrington came up nine yards short. The play went for just one yard, turning the ball over with just under two and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Concordia did find the end zone one more time when McNear hit Harrington for a nine-yard scoring strike. On the drive, McNear ran and passed for 35 yards, accounting for 70 more yards of offense. The Bears two-point conversion attempt was intercepted, leaving Concordia trailing 35-23 with 1:37 to play.

The Griffons recovered Johnson's onside kick on the CU 45, and ran out the clock on the Bears.

The Bears, who were 8-0 this year when rushing for at least 200 yards, only managed 111 team rushing yards on 35 attempts, just a 3.2 yard average. Cawthorn supplemented McNear's 86 yards with 55 yards on 10 attempts and added two receptions for 25 yards. CU had -43 team rushing yards on two team attempts.

The Golden Bears averaged 447.9 yards of total offense per game this year, but they only managed 297 yards this afternoon. They passed for 186 yards as a team and didn't throw an interception. The Bears were led by Ruffin's four catches for 77 yards and a TD. Williams had 40 receiving yards on three receptions to go with his 32-yard TD pass.

Senior linebacker Travis Johansen was a monster on the defensive side of the ball, recording 12 tackles, 2.5 for loss. Miesbauer added nine tackles to go with his interception. Senior linebacker Doug Cox contributed eight tackles, while junior linebacker Brad Scherer added seven. Each had 1.5 tackles for a loss and a sack.

Concordia's season ends with a 9-3 overall record. The Golden Bears were NSIC co-champions with a 6-1 record in the NSIC, splitting the title with Winona State, whom Concordia defeated 35-21 in the final conference game of the year at the Metrodome.