MARSHALL, Minn. – On a cool, overcast fall Saturday afternoon in southwestern Minnesota, the stiff wind and cold rain out of the northwest were factors for both teams, but host Southwest Minnesota State (5-4 NSIC, 2-3 South) rushed for 312 yards to hold off Concordia-St. Paul (2-7 NSIC, 0-5 South) 28-14 at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
 
The Golden Bears will host senior day as they look to Tackle Cancer for KARE11's Randy Shaver next Saturday with a noon kickoff against Augustana in the home finale at Sea Foam Stadium.
 
Concordia held one of the top passers in the country, Blake Gimbel to just 122 yards on 9-17 passing (52.9%). He entered the day second in the country in completions, third in completion percentage and 13th in both passing yards and touchdowns.
 
But SMSU countered its off day via the air by rushing for 312 yards, picking up 23 first downs while converting 8-20 (40.0%) on third down.
 
Concordia held a strong edge in the red zone once again, converting both trips into touchdowns while forcing SMSU to turn the ball over on downs twice in the red zone as SMSU was 1-4 on the day on fourth down. But the Mustangs forced two Concordia turnovers, an interception and a fumble along with 2-15 (13.3%) on third downs to offset the fourth down and red zone edge by CSP.
 
SMSU finished the day with 434 yards of total offense and 33:03 in time of possession to CSP's 284 yards and 26:57 of clock time.
 
Junior Ron Johnson completed 16-35 for 165 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He connected with freshman Marcus Gustaveson five times for 74 yards and the score. Junior DeCeon Schumann had a team-high seven catches for 34 yards and added 22 yards on three rushing attempts while piling up 66 kickoff return yards on three attempts for 122 all-purpose yards.
 
On the ground, senior Darius Chapes carried the load with 14 rushes for 59 yards and a touchdown. Chapes now has five total touchdowns (four rushing) while Gustaveson hauled in his fourth of the year.
 
Hudson Walton led SMSU's ground attack with 26 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown while Max Simmons had 23 attempts for 138 yards and his 14th rushing touchdown of the year. Nate Huot was Gimbel's top target with five catches for 60 yards and a touchdown.
 
Junior linebacker JJ Przybylka led the CSP defense with 13 tackles while safeties Brandon Russell and Dominic Nabak each added nine tackles with a tackle for loss apiece. Defensive linemen Kelly Pierce and Re'Shon Howard each added eight tackles. Concordia had a pair of sacks, a solo by Dylan Wood and a half sack each for David Reed and Chazz Roberts.
 
On special teams, junior Sam Maedke, ranked 19th in the country entering the day with a school record 41.4 season average was able to navigate the challenging wind conditions to average 38.0 yards on his nine punts.
 
The Mustangs had the wind at their backs to start the game and used it to their advantage by scoring three first quarter touchdowns including a 14-0 lead just over 10 minutes into the contest. SMSU had 172 yards of offense with the wind at its back while CSP was also effective with 92 yards in the opening quarter into the wind.
 
Concordia's offense started to roll late in the first quarter, aided by a big kickoff return of 34 yards by Schumann to start the drive at the 35. A 25 yard run by Chapes opened up the drive and pushed Concordia into SMSU territory. A six yard run by Chapes was followed by a 31-yard connection from Johnson to Gustaveson as the freshman receiver hauled in the pass deep down the right sideline with one hand despite being interfered with by the SMSU defensive back. On the next play, Chapes plunged in from three yards for the score.
 
That kick-started things for Concordia as the defense pitched a second quarter shutout, limiting a high-powered Mustang offense to just 14 plays (12 runs, 0-2 passing) for 39 yards in the quarter with just two first downs as CSP had the ball for 9:04 of the 15 minutes, rolling up 102 more yards.
 
The Golden Bear offense put together an 11-play, 69-yard drive in late in the quarter, initially ending with a short Jonas Schenderlein field goal. But a personal foul on the play by SMSU extended the drive, giving Concordia a first and goal from the SMSU three.
 
After a holding penalty and an incomplete pass, Johnson found Gustaveson for a 13-yard touchdown in the front left corner to make it a 21-14 game at the break.
 
In the first half, SMSU had 211 yards of offense to Concordia's 194 and Concordia held a 15:52 to 14:08 time of possession edge as the game evened out in the second quarter.
 
In the third quarter, the Mustangs used the ground game to drain the clock and move the chains, pushing it into the red zone midway through the quarter. But Concordia's defense held strong, forcing an incomplete pass on fourth and four at the CSP eight yard line.
 
But Concordia's offense sputtered in the third quarter, unable to utilize the wind at its back as the teams played a scoreless quarter.
 
SMSU had an 8-1 margin in third quarter first downs and a 137 to 17 advantage in total offense leading to a staggering 11:23 to 3:37 time of possession, a key factor as SMSU kept CSP off the field to take away the wind advantage.
 
In the fourth, SMSU rumbled down the field using the ground game eight times with just one pass (16 yards) on a 9-play, 69-yard drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown run by Hudson Walton to extend the lead back to two scores, 28-14 with 13:43 to play in the game.
 
The Golden Bears, now heading directly into the wind with rain that began to fall in the third quarter had a difficult conditions in which to complete a comeback.
 
To the ground they went, with redshirt freshman Maxon Hutton entering at quarterback looking to provide a physical running presence. He rushed for 14 yards on second and long before Alquawn Vickers added an eight yard run for another first down two plays later. Concordia went to the ground with another receiver, Schumann for a 16 yard pickup into SMSU's territory at the 39.
 
But a 15-yard tripping penalty backed Concordia up into SMSU territory for a first and 25 and CSP wasn't able to convert, ending the threat despite the promising start with three first downs via the run.
 
Another fourth down stop by the defense at the CSP 21 followed, giving the offense another opportunity with 4:24 to play. A fourth and one connection for 19 yards from Johnson to Schumann kept the drive alive, with Johnson scrambling for seven yards into SMSU territory at the 44. But on the next play, he sacked and fumbled, turning the ball over with 2:48 to go.
 
Although the defense stopped SMSU's ensuing three running plays with all three timeouts to stop the clock, with 1:31 to play and trailing by two scores, it was too much to overcome as the Mustangs held on.