PHOTO GALLERY  ||  HIGHLIGHTS

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul football team opened the 2013 season with a shutout victory, blanking Minot State 29-0 at Sea Foam Stadium on campus. It was the team's first shutout since the season finale of 2007, a 48-0 win over Minnesota Crookston.

In the shutout, Concordia's defense racked up four sacks led by Nick Jauch with 1.5 while All-American Zach Moore and linebacker Chris Sesson each had a sack as well. Concordia held Minot State to 11 first downs and 191 yards of total offense including 1-13 on third downs.

Junior quarterback Jared Russo completed 14-22 for 223 yards and three long touchdowns of at least 26-yards each (46, 66, 26).

Concordia's scoring started on the ground on its first drive of the game after the defense held Minot State to a 3-and-out on the game's opening drive.

The solid defensive stand allowed the Golden Bears to start with excellent field position at their own 47 yard line, something that would be a trend in the game.

Nearly six minutes later, junior running back Tre Spears bowled through the Minot State defense for a one yard touchdown run on third and goal. It capped an 11-play, 53 yard drive. Concordia added intrigue on the point after attempt with kicker Tom Obarski in position, but holder James Peterson lined up as a quarterback. Peterson took the snap and rushed through the right side for two points for an 8-0 lead.

Spears rushed for 123 yards on 22 attempts (5.6) with a touchdown to lead the offense.

The opening sequences on all three phases set the tone for the contest. On special teams, Concordia's kickoff coverage held Minot State to the 18-yard line to start their opening drive, and then started with the ball on their own 47 yard line for their first drive after Minot's punt.

The defense held strong by forcing punts on each of Minot State's first five possessions and 10 of 12 total for the game. Concordia held the Beavers to 1-13 on third downs on the day.

On offense, Concordia was efficient from the start, converting a 3rd-and-6 from the Minot 49 with a nine yard pass from Russo to Corey Cole. They went 2-2 on third downs on the opening drive and 7-14 for the game. Cole had four catches for 35 yards.

But the score remained within reach early for the Beavers despite the seemingly dominant statistical margins caused mostly by the Concordia defense.

Early in the second quarter, Russo started to change the tide in that gap.

On 3rd-and-6 from the Minot 46, he hit Gabe Boyce in stride on a slant over the middle. Boyce did the rest, sprinting on a line from his slant route to the sideline before turning it up field and racing past the Minot State secondary for the touchdown. It was just a three play drive as the Golden Bears went ahead by two scores.

Boyce finished with four receptions for 75 yards and the long touchdown.

The game remained 15-0 to the break with Concordia poised to pounce in the second half with the offense getting the ball first.

Three plays later, on 3rd-and-4 from their own 34, Russo scrambled out of the pocked to evade the pass rush and found Cordell Smith deep downfield. Smith broke his route to adjust to the ball downfield before the catch and sprint to the end zone. It was a 66-yard touchdown from Russo to Smith for a 22-0 lead just under two minutes into the second half.

Concordia's defense continued to clamp down, getting two more stops before Russo hit Ronald Zollicoffer for a 26 yard touchdown out of the backfield as Zollicoffer used his shifty cut-back ability and breakaway speed to dart through Minot's secondary.

Zollicoffer had a nice day with 56 rushing yards on eight attempts (7.0) and 27 yards on two receptions with the touchdown. Adding a 14-yard kickoff return, he finished with 97 all-purpose yards.

With a 29-0 lead, Concordia was able to grind out the rest of the contest while keeping Minot State from making any late offensive surges.

While junior kicker Tom Obarski misfired on his two long field goal attempts (49, 48), he delivered touchbacks on three of his five kickoffs and put two of his three punts inside the 20. Minot State's average field position was their own 22 yard line for the game, while Concordia had an average start at their own 36. Minot State's best field position of the game was when they started on their own 32 yard line early in the second quarter after Obarski's first missed field goal. The only other time they'd start past the 30 was Obarski's second miss in the third quarter, starting at the 31.

Defensively, Jordan Nieuwsma led the team with seven tackles (five solo) while Josh Trifunov had six stops.

Concordia improves to 2-1 in season openers and 2-1 in home openers under third year head coach Ryan Williams. The Golden Bears are now 4-1 against Minot State in five meetings dating back to 2008, winning all four games by at least 12 points.

The Golden Bears hit the road next week travelling to Bemidji State for a 6 p.m. kickoff.