SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Concordia-St. Paul football team (2-5 NSIC, 1-2 South) dropped a 31-23 loss at the University of Sioux Falls (6-1 NSIC, 2-1 South) on Saturday night at Bob Young Field in Northern Sun South Division play.
The loss gives USF six straight wins over Concordia with tonight's meeting being the first since 1983 as it's been over 40 years since Concordia's last win against the Cougars (1971).
Concordia used their size advantage to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball but came up empty on a handful of key drives. Meanwhile, when USF found time to pass, they were able to make plays against Concordia's man coverage down field. The Cougars scored all four of their touchdowns on third down plays including three of them in the red zone.
Trailing 31-16 late in the game, Concordia quarterback
James Peterson (Blaine, Minn.) delivered a strike to
Cordell Smith (Mequon, Wis.) in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown with just under three minutes to play. Golden Bear kicker/punter
Tom Obarski (Burnsville, Minn.) executed an on-side kick as the Golden Bears recovered at their own 49 yard line with 2:53 remaining. After a pair of passes totaling 19 yards to the USF 32 yard line, Peterson was intercepted for the third time at the 6-yard line with 2:10 to play.
Concordia's defense held strong, giving the offense a chance with 27 seconds to play at their own 37 yard line. USF's prevent defense forced four straight incomplete passes to end the game including a Hail Mary as time expired.
The comeback attempt was keyed by Obarski, the most unlikely candidate to spark a fourth quarter comeback trailing by two scores. Obarski delivered a 52-yard field goal (2nd longest in the NSIC this year, 2nd longest in his career and in school history), rushed for 20 yards on a 4th down play near midfield (and was hit out of bounds for an extra 15 yards) and executed the onside kick with under three minutes to play. Obarski is a two-time NSIC Player of the Week and was recently one of nine Division II kickers honored for their September performances by the Fred Mitchell Award.
The Golden Bears were led by
Tre Mason (League City, Texas) with three receptions for 119 yards including a 75-yard touchdown on a 1-play scoring drive that made it 21-13 in the second quarter. Peterson passed for a pair of touchdowns and rushed for another while combining for 282 yards of total offense (262 passing, 20 rushing). He completed 20-of-46 but was intercepted three times and sacked twice.
Concordia dominated on the ground with 154 yards while holding USF to just 35 rushing yards for the game. The Golden Bears had 11 tackles for loss as a team.
But despite being sacked three times and hurried six more times, USF quarterback
Taylor Perkins was excellent under pressure by completing 21-of-39 for 305 yards and four touchdowns.
Carrington Hanna was his top target with eight catches for 113 yards and a touchdown while
Jeremiah Oates had four catches for 107 yards and two scores.
The Cougars' special teams also performed well all-around, averaging 37.0 yards on two punt returns, 26.0 yards on three kickoff returns while pinning Concordia inside the 20 twice on six punts with a 38.5 net punt average. They also had three kickoff touchbacks and had a 13-yard advantage for average starting field position for the game (USF-39, CU-26).
USF was also solid on third downs (7-of-17) while doing a solid job of stopping Concordia throughout the night on third downs (3-of-16).
The Cougars also won the turnover battle, getting a first quarter interception that led to a touchdown while playing turnover free on offense despite Concordia's constant pressure up front. Sioux Falls added two fourth quarter interceptions to stop a late comeback attempt by the Golden Bears as both were deep in USF territory.
Jordan Halverson (Fridley, Minn.) led Concordia's defense with 11 tackles including 4.0 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Halverson has topped 10 tackles in six of seven games this season and is sixth in the league with 73 tackles. His 13.0 tackles for loss on the year lead the conference. His 4.0 tackles for loss tonight is the second most for a single game in the NSIC this season.
Junior
Zach Moore (Chicago, Ill.) added his sixth sack of the season, blocked a first half USF field goal, had 3.0 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries. He's fifth in the league with 10.5 tackles for loss and third in the league with 6.0 sacks.
The Golden Bears return home to Sea Foam Stadium for the next two weeks. Next Saturday, October 20th they'll host Wayne State followed by Augustana on October 27th. Both games will feature 1 p.m. kickoffs. Sioux Falls and Augustana will tangle in an in-town rivalry game next Saturday before Augie comes to St. Paul in two weeks.
