st. Paul, minn. - the concordia university football team (5-3, 4-3, 2-2 nsic south) dropped a tough 31-28 decision to winona state (5-3, 4-3 nsic, 3-1 nsic south) on saturday night at sea foam stadium. The golden bears trailed by 10 points with just under 11 minutes to play and had the ball near midfield with less than two minutes to play but were unable to complete the comeback in a pivotal loss.
box score
winona state's theo burkett snapped off a 22 yard touchdown run with 10:46 to play to give the warriors 10 unanswered points early in the fourth quarter to break a 21-21 tie. Burkett's run was part of a four run, 66 yard scoring drive that summed up the second half of winona state's offensive attack.
the warriors rushed for 145 of their 209 yards after halftime.
but the golden bears were effective offensively throughout the evening, and responded to the burkett touchdown run with an eight play, 69 yard drive that was quick and efficient consuming just 2:40 of clock time. Junior quarterback spencer ohm (blooming prairie, minn.) drilled a rifle over the middle for a three yard touchdown pass to senior tight end hayden vavra (cambridge, minn.) to cut the margin to three points with 7:57 to play.
it was vavra's second touchdown of the game, as his third quarter score with 1:25 to play was his longest career reception of 44 yards and tied the game at 21 at the time. Vavra finished with a career-high 87 receiving yards on four receptions.
with plenty of time remaining, concordia tried to figure out a way to slow down the winona state running attack, which had been effective all season and really kicked into high gear in the second half.
the warriors continued to ride their running game down the field after the vavra's touchdown. After seven running plays and 59 yards later, the warriors had the ball with a 2nd and six from the cu seven yard line, knocking on the door to seal the win.
but concordia's defense, which has been strong in 2010, especially in the last three weeks, did not back down. On 2nd and 6, the golden bears shut down rayon simmons at the line of scrimmage after the wsu toss to the left was broken up by juniors al quaye (champlin, minn.) and jake vann (plymouth, minn.) broke through the line. And although it would've been 3rd and six, the warriors were flagged for holding, backing them up 10 yards for a 2nd and 17 at the cu 18 yard line.
on the next play, wsu attempted an option pass with burkett, who was dragged down five yards behind the line for a sack by sophomore nathan maher (rockford, minn.) giving the warriors a 3rd and 22 at the 23. Already backed up, the warrior offensive line jumped for a false start penalty moving them back for a 3rd and 27 at the 28.
the warriors went back to the air with bryan bradshaw lofting a nice ball to sean hertz. But redshirt freshman cornerback jay moten (spicer, minn.) leapt and swatted the ball down in the end zone to save a wsu touchdown to keep concordia's hopes alive.
warrior kicker thomas kinney came out for a 46 yard attempt, having already easily delivered a 43 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. But this kinney attempt was blocked as senior corner jason mccalope (oakland, calif.) went untouched around the left end and blocked the kick.
but the drive drained over five minutes off the clock, giving concordia the ball at their own 28 yard line with just under three minutes to play (2:46).
after a 2nd and eight completion to junior charles gilbert (jacksonville, fla.) on the sideline, the golden bears were rolling again, with a 1st and 10 at their own 40 yard line and still plenty of time. Gilbert had five receptions for 119 yards in the game, his third 100-yard performance of the year.
a two yard scramble by ohm and a three yard shovel pass to junior running back sam campbell (cary, ill.) set up a 3rd and five at their own 45 when ohm was sacked for a nine yard loss back to their own 36 yard line.
on 4th and 14, ohm delivered a sharp pass over the middle for first down yardage, but was unable to connect with gilbert for a completion as concordia turned the ball over on downs to the warriors, ending their rally.
ohm had a nice return, throwing for a career-high 295 yards on 16 completions in 30 attempts. Ohm and the golden bears didn't commit any turnovers once again, but this week they were unable to force any turnovers which was a difference from the previous two weeks in their victories over bemidji state and wayne state.
the warriors also had the advantage on special teams, especially in the second half. After having a field goal blocked to end the first half, the golden bears added another missed field goal attempt in the middle of the third quarter.
meanwhile the warriors were able to deliver a 43 yarder early in the fourth quarter that ended up being the difference in the final score.
concordia's ground game was led by campbell who bruised his way to 93 yards on 20 attempts. Winona state received 131 yards by simmons on 19 carries while burkett contributed 51 yards on seven attempts.
while gilbert and vavra both had excellent receiving days, so did senior calvin simon (shakopee, minn.) with five catches for 87 yards and a 24 yard touchdown reception. Simon has now hauled in three touchdowns with 13 catches for nearly 180 receiving yards in the last two games.
winona state's passing game was led by derrick engel's five catches for 110 yards while bryan bradshaw got the start and passed for 202 yards on efficient 15-22 passing.
concordia's defense was led by senior safety arnold doxie (chesapeake, va.) with a career-high 13 tackles (nine solo) and 2.0 tackles for loss. Quaye added another 10 tackle performance, his fourth such performance of the year. Quaye added a sack for concordia, one of four on the night for the team. Also getting in the backfield for sacks were maher and sophomore defensive end zach moore (chicago, ill.). Maher had a pair of sacks last week while moore has at least a half sack in seven of eight games on the year.
the win for the warriors puts them in second in the nsic south division at 3-1, a game ahead of concordia at 2-2. Both teams are now part of a five way tie for fourth place in the nsic's overall standings as well with three games to play.
concordia will look to get back in the win column next saturday on the road when the play minnesota, crookston at 1:00 p.m.
