ST. CLOUD, Minn. – In a clash of two teams carrying winning streaks into the 2015 season, it was host St. Cloud State (1-0) who prevailed with a 28-10 win over Concordia-St. Paul (0-1) on a steamy Thursday evening at Husky Stadium.
 
St. Cloud State moves its win streak to four games while Concordia's is halted at four. The Golden Bears will play host to MSU Moorhead (1-0) next Saturday, September 12 with a noon kickoff at Sea Foam Stadium.
 
The visiting Golden Bears moved the ball well against the Huskies, including more yards of total offense (358-295), first downs (20-13) and time of possession (31:40 to 28:20).
 
But turnovers and missed opportunities proved to be costly as Concordia turned the ball over three times, didn't convert a pair of fourth downs deep inside the SCSU red zone and were just 4-13 on third downs.
 
Meanwhile, SCSU was efficient in those situations, playing turnover free football, converting 7-14 on third downs and putting the ball in the end zone on all four of their trips.
 
Junior running back Alex Carr provided the offensive firepower for Concordia, rushing 16 times for 144 yards while junior Darius Chapes added 43 yards on 12 attempts as the Golden Bears bruised the Huskies inside for 188 yards on 40 team attempts.
 
St. Cloud State opened up a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter before Concordia put its first points on the scoreboard with a 43-yard field goal by freshman Jonas Schenderlein in his first career attempt.
 
The Huskies added another touchdown in the second quarter for their third rushing score of the contest and the second by Jaden Huff.
 
In the second half, Concordia's offense was sparked by three big plays spanning 80 yards starting when junior Corey Cole hit Alquawn Vickers for 35 yards before Carr ripped off runs of 25 and 20 yards to push the ball to the SCSU 10 yard line.
 
Vickers, a redshirt freshman, had a strong debut with four catches for 70 yards while Cole completed 10-21 for 132 yards and a touchdown. Vickers also had four kickoff returns for 91 yards including a long of 34, leading the team with 161 all-purpose yards.
 
A few players later, Cole found junior Bruce Russell for a 17 yard touchdown over the middle to cut into the margin, 21-10 with 8:47 to play in the third quarter.
 
The Huskies responded by using good field position to their advantage on a 10-play, 57-yard drive capped by Ledell White's second rushing touchdown of the day, this from 17 yards out for a 28-10 Husky lead with 3:22 to play in the third. White rushed for 107 yards on 19 attempts on the evening while Huff added eight for 51.
 
Concordia would move the ball again in the fourth under backup quarterback Ben Schramski, but he was tackled on a 4^th and goal from the 11 yard line at the SCSU 2 yard line, turning a second scoring opportunity into a loss on downs.
 
Schramski was effective in relief, completing 4-9 for 38 yards, completing his first three passes. Of his five incompletions, Schramski showed impressive poise in making strong throws on the run including multiple drops that were on target. Together, Cole and Schramski completed 14 passes to nine different targets.
 
Defensively, Jordan Halverson led the team with 11 tackles followed by Breon Hoosier with 10 (seven solo). Chazz Roberts disrupted the middle with a sack and a blocked field.

On special teams, Sam Maedke delivered his first four career punts including a long of 48 while Jamie Fore handled punt return duties with four for 31 yards including a long of 17.