Concordia university (0-1) dropped their 2006 season opener at #19 north dakota state, an ncaa division i-aa squad, by a final score of 66-7 on thursday evening at the fargodome in fargo, n.d. In front of 15,609 fans.
the golden bears busted out of the gate, forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff when junior linebacker
blake schuman drilled the bison kick returner from behind at the ndsu nine yard line, knocking the ball loose. Senior linebacker
brad scherer fell on the ball immediately for cu on the eight yard line.
on their first play from scrimmage, junior quarterback
kole goodchild, playing in his first game for the bears, dashed around left end, led by solid blocking on the left side of the offensive line by junior tackle
dan buchman and junior guard
matt selling. Goodchild dove for the endzone but was forced out of bounds just shy of the goal line.
the bears couldn?t pound the ball in from the one and appeared to have to settle for a field goal. But
jay schauder, the holder and back-up quarterback for cu, took the snap and sprinted around the right side for a touchdown, putting the bears on top of the bison, 7-0 just 1:18 into the game.
the bears continued their inspired play early, stopping north dakota state to a field goal on their opening drive as they held the lead until the 4:58 mark in the first quarter when ndsu broke off a 40 yard touchdown run, taking the lead for good.
the bison, who have one of the top defensive teams in ncaa di-aa, shut the concordia offense down to record low total as the bears tied their school record for fewest first downs with four. They were in jeopardy of recording the lowest total offense in a game (78 yards is the school record) until schauder completed a 43-yard pass to
tyrone ruffin with 1:23 ramaining in the game to give the bears 100 yards of total offense. Ruffin however fumbled on the play and the bison recovered and ran out the clock.
for the game, the bears finished with 100 yards total offense on 47 plays. Concordia did hold an advantage on time of possession as they held the ball for 30:31 compared to 29:29 for the bison. The bears were held to -14 yards on 26 rushes for the game. Goodchild competed 4-of-9 with two interceptions in his concordia debut, while schuader went 6-of-11 for 95 yards .
defensively, the bears were led by
brad scherer with eight solo tackles, including two for losses, three assisted tackles and a fumble recovery.
rojeer wright also had eleven tackles in the game (six solo and five assisted) with three tackles for loss.
the bison offense was just as potent as the defense as they tallied 476 yards of total offense on 61 plays. The had 307 yards through the rushing attack including a pair of runners with over 100 yards.
the bears will return to action on sept. 9th when they host augustana of the north central conference at 6:00 at griffin stadium.
