ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul sophomore kicker Tom Obarski (Burnsville, Minn.) delivered a 59-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to spark a comeback attempt for the Golden Bears, but they were unable to recover a pair of onside kicks down the stretch in a 35-27 loss to Augustana in their home finale at Sea Foam Stadium.

Obarski broke the school record that he set last year in his first collegiate game by three yards and now owns the longest three kicks in school history and has hit the longest field goal in the NSIC in back-to-back seasons. He's made field goals of 59 and 52 yards this year, and had a 56-yarder in 2011.

Obarski also booted a pair of kickoff touchbacks, placed three of his five punts on the game inside the 20 yard line while averaging 44.0 yards per punt and had a long punt of 56 yards in a tremendous game for the second year standout.

But Concordia fell to 2-7 in the Northern Sun and 1-4 in NSIC South Division play on the season while Augustana improved to 4-5 (NSIC) and 2-3 (South).


Concordia took the lead late in the second quarter as quarterback James Peterson (Blaine, Minn.) connected with tight end Nate Thienes (Lake Elmo, Minn.) for a 20-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left until the break. It was the first of two touchdowns for the tandem, but Augustana would respond with a 24-second drive to reclaim the lead at the break, 14-10.

The touchdown right before halftime for Augustana was the first of three touchdowns between Josh Hanson and Darren Niklason and set off a 28-to-3 stretch of football as the Vikings took a 35-13 lead late into the fourth quarter.

Obarski's field goal made the game change from a 3-score (18-points) deficit to a 2-score (15-points) contest to give the Golden Bears late life.

Despite the Vikings answering the Obarski field goal with a six and a half minute drive that resulted in Hanson's third touchdown pass to Niklason, the Golden Bears stormed back with a 27-yard touchdown from Peterson to Tre Mason (League City, Texas) on 3rd and goal from the 27, and after the defense held the Vikings, the offense scored again with 2:10 to play as Peterson found Thienes from four yards out.

The back-to-back scores for Concordia in a four minute stretch gave them a realistic chance. But Obarski's second onside kick of the quarter was touched by Concordia within 10 yards and Augustana was able to run out the clock.

Peterson finished the game 16-of-33 for 266 yards and three touchdowns and was not intercepted. Mason had his third 100-yard game of the season on just three catches including a 65-yarder which set up his 27-yard touchdown. Cordell Smith (Mequon, Wis.) was solid as well with five catches for 76 yards and a long of 29.

Concordia's defense produced four sacks, nine tackles for loss and was credited with six quarterback hurries. The unit was led in the first half by Zach Moore (Chicago, Ill.) with a pair of sacks and three hurries although he left the game injured and did not return after halftime.

But despite facing constant pressure all day and taking even more direct hits than the four sacks and six hurries, Augie's quarterback Hanson was brilliant, completing 28-of-38 for 289 yards and four touchdowns. He was not intercepted in the game, and rushed for 54 yards (82 yards before the lost yardage on the sacks) on 18 attempts and kicked all five of Augustana's point after touchdown attempts. His top target, Niklason, finished with 10 catches for 125 yards and three scores.

Dajon Newell topped 100-yards on the ground, finishing with 108 yards on 17 carries including a long of 39 and a 20-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the second quarter.

Jason White (Davenport, Iowa) led Concordia's ground attack with five rushes for 43 yards including a highlight-reel 35 yard run. Tre Spears (Chicago, Ill.) carried the ball 11 times for 37 yards including a 20-yard long.

Jeremy Randle (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the Concordia defense with 11 tackles, adding 1.5 tackles for loss and forcing a fumble while Jordan Halverson (11) and Chris Sesson (10) teamed up for double-digit tackle performances as well.

The Golden Bears return to the road for their last two games of the season, starting next Saturday at Southwest Minnesota State before closing at Winona State. Both games are 1 p.m. kickoffs.