CROOKSTON, Minn. – Junior quarterback Ron Johnson completed 14 of his first 15 passes including a string of 13 in a row in building a 31-7 halftime lead en route to a 41-18 Concordia (2-0, 0-0 South) victory at Minnesota Crookston (0-2, 0-0 North) on Saturday afternoon at Ed Widseth Field.
 
The Golden Bears come back home next Saturday, September 17 for a 6 p.m. kickoff against Minnesota Duluth.
 
Johnson finished the day 18-27 for 239 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also had a first half rushing touchdown, finishing with 14 on the ground in the game. In the first half, he was spectacular, completing 15-18 for 207 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for a touchdown as well.
 
Late in the second quarter with a fourth and one at the UMC 46, Concordia drew the Golden Eagles offside. It was the third time in the first half that Concordia drew UMC offsides to extend a possession on either a third or a fourth down.
 
On the next play, Johnson found senior tight end Bruce Russell for his second touchdown of the quarter from 41 yards out to give CSP a 24-7 lead with 2:57 to play in the half. Russell had four catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns, all coming in the first half.
 
Johnson distributed his 18 completions to eight different targets with DeCeon Schumann picking up two catches for 49 yards and Marcus Gustaveson catching two passes for 39 yards.
 
Alquawn Vickers led the team in receptions with five, gaining 21 yards while adding an 11 yard run to go with his 70 kickoff return yards for 102 all-purpose yards in the game.
 
UMC moved the ball into CSP territory on the ensuing drive before senior Dominic Nabak picked off a deflected pass and returned it 70 yard for a touchdown, extending the lead to 31-7 with five seconds left in the half. Nabak had just been flagged on the previous play for a defensive pass interference to put UMC in Concordia territory and finished the day with six tackles.
 
At halftime, head coach Shannon Currier commented on the sequence on KROX AM 1260, "That's what we teach, to respond to bad plays. Dom's interception following the pass interference defines having that short memory."
 
The Golden Bears continued the momentum into the second half, as senior Damon George recovered UMC's onside kick to start the third quarter. Seven plays and 48 yards later, Johnson had his third touchdown strike as senior Darius Chapes scored from 10 yards out on a reception for a 38-7 lead.
 
Chapes had another big day, nearly going for 100 yards rushing for the second time in a row to start the year. He finished with 11 carries for 97 yards and added two catches for 21 yards and the score. He led a rushing attack that compiled 147 yards, even factoring in a big loss (-38) on a botched snap later in the game.
 
The Golden Eagles found themselves in Concordia's territory regularly through a big kickoff return game, going for 208 yards on eight attempts. But Concordia's defense held strong, limiting UMC to 4-12 on third downs and 0-3 on fourth downs with Ryan McKee adding a blocked field goal as UMC's field goal unit converted just one of three tries on the day.
 
Minnesota Crookston fought back in the third quarter following the Chapes touchdown on the opening drive of the second half.
 
The Golden Eagles converted a field goal and picked up a safety on a botched snap on a Concordia punt to cut the margin to 38-12 with four minutes to play in the third quarter.
 
But Concordia's defense prevented the Golden Eagles from making the big comeback and sophomore kicker Jonas Schenderlein gave Concordia a 41-12 lead with 6:55 in the fourth quarter with a career long 52-yard field goal.
 
Schenderlein's blast is the fourth longest in team history and the seventh 50-plus yard field goal in team history. He's the third player to hit a 50-plus yard field goal, joining Steven King (51, 2010) and Tom Obarski (five occasions).
 
Junior linebacker JJ Przybylka, making the start at middle linebacker in place of senior captain Sam Johnson, made a career-high 17 tackles, tied for fourth most in a game in team history. He added a half sack and half tackle for loss in the game.
 
Freshman Dylan Wood made an impact up front with 1.5 sacks and tackles for loss on his two tackles and senior Ryan McKee had a sack to go with his blocked field goal.
 
Concordia compiled 386 yards of total offense on 58 plays while UMC picked up 335 yards on 72 plays. The teams had similar first down totals, with CSP picking up 20 to UMC's 23.