MANKATO, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul (2-4 NSIC, 0-2 South) dropped its first NSIC South Division road game, falling 45-10 at Minnesota State (4-2 NSIC, 1-1 South) on Saturday afternoon in front of 6,123 at Blakeslee Stadium for MSU's homecoming game.

Concordia returns home next Saturday for a noon kickoff against Upper Iowa (1-5 NSIC, 0-2 South) at Sea Foam Stadium.

Senior running back Darius Chapes led Concordia with 126 combined yards, rushing 19 times for 89 yards and a 14-yard touchdown to start the second half and he also had a 37-yard reception on Concordia's opening drive to set-up a field goal and a 3-0 early lead. He helped the Golden Bears win the time of possession in the game, 31:18 to 28:42.

The NSIC leader in tackles entering play, senior linebacker Sam Johnson led the Concordia defense with nine tackles including a half for loss and now has 53 tackles in five games.

Minnesota State passed for 291 yards (27-37) and rushed for 193 yards in the homecoming win. Quarterback Nick Pieruccini led three MSU quarterbacks by completing 18-24 for 197 yards and two scores and rushed for 15 yards. Virgil Hammond rushed for 115 yards on eight carries and added 18 receiving yards on two targets.

The Golden Bears started strong, forcing a three-and-out on MSU's opening drive as senior David Reed and freshman Brian Lanier teamed up to halt Virgil Hammond two yards short of the first down on a third and four. Reed had six tackles and Lanier had seven in his first career start.

Following MSU's 41-yard punt to the CSP 26 yard line, Concordia moved the ball well against a strong MSU defense. Chapes sparked the drive with a seven yard run and a 37 yard reception out of the backfield from junior Ron Johnson. The drive was converted into a 32-yard field goal by sophomore Jonas Schenderlein for a 3-0 lead, capping a 10-play, 59-yard drive that spanned over four minutes.

The Mavericks countered with long, plotting drive of their own sparked by a fourth down conversion with Hammond rushing for three yards on fourth and two from the CSP 22. But Concordia's defense held on a third and three from the CSP 12, forcing a 29-yard field goal as the Mavericks tied the game following a 13-play, 63-yard drive that drained 5:32 off the clock.

After Concordia's next possession stalled, junior Sam Maedke's punt was blocked and returned for a Maverick touchdown and a 10-3 lead late in the first quarter.

Concordia continued to find early success in hostile territory as sophomore Alquawn Vickers returned the kickoff 43 yards to the CSP 45, and the Golden Bears moved into MSU territory on an 11-yard keeper by R.Johnson. The drive stalled and Schenderlein's 55-yard field goal would be his first miss of the season in six attempts.

The Mavericks would capitalize as Hammond's 45 yard run set up a one yard rush by Isaac Rodriguez and a 17-3 lead after CSP nearly pushed the game to a 10-6 margin moments earlier.

Concordia once again moved into MSU territory with a 13-play, 42-yard drive taking over five minutes off the clock but misfired on a fourth and 13 from the MSU 38 with 1:49 to play in the half.

Minnesota State would again capitalize, scoring on a 20 yard pass over the middle with 40 seconds left to take a 24-3 lead into the break.

Despite the 24-3 margin at the half, Concordia was able to lead the time of possession spar 16:29 to 13:31 as Chapes had 96 combined yards, rushing for 59 and adding the 37 yard reception to help the offense control the ball for large chunks of time.

That continued as Concordia received the opening possession of the second half. CSP converted big third downs as R.Johnson found Sammy Baucham for eight yards on a third and seven, rushed for nine yards on a third and nine and connected with Baucham on a fourth and three before Chapes had a 14-yard touchdown on a third and three. Chapes had five carries for 31 yards on the drive that took 7:27 off the clock as CSP used 15 plays to drive 76 yards to cut the MSU lead to 24-10.

Johnson was clutch on the drive and finished the day completing 11-27 for 126 yards and rushed for 20 yards.

The Maverick offense wouldn't be denied at home, though as MSU responded with a touchdown drive to push the margin back to 21 points (31-10) with 3:09 to play in the quarter. Another blocked punt helped MSU score a quick touchdown to put the game away.

Following CSP's seven and a half minute drive to open the second half, the Golden Bear offense wasn't able to convert a first down the rest of the way.