ABERDEEN, S.D. - On a windy Saturday afternoon at Clark Swisher Field, it was host Northern State (2-2) and its ground game that prevailed 31-7 over visiting Concordia-St. Paul (2-2).

Concordia looks to rebound next Saturday, returning home for homecoming (You Betcha!) at noon at Sea Foam Stadium. Register online for admission to the game, Comet's Carnival (unlimited food & rides!) and admission to volleyball. The Golden Bears open up NSIC South Division play against Wayne State (1-3).

Entering the game, Concordia knew it would have to limit turnovers, force Northern State to rely on the passing game and continue to execute in the red zone to pull off a tough road win.

But playing on its home field in front of nearly 4,000 fans, Northern State was able to run the ball effectively with 322 rushing yards, won the turnover battle 2-1 which led to a 14-0 deficit in points off turnovers and held CSP scoreless on its first red zone trip.

Additionally, and perhaps the biggest factor of the day was Northern State's dominance on third downs, converting 9-of-16 while limiting Concordia to 1-of-10.

The Golden Bears won the coin toss and the visitors knew the wind would play a role, especially during pregame kicking drills, executing 60-plus yard field goals with the wind and struggling to make practice kicks into it.

Concordia deferred, electing to have the wind at its back to start and finish the game. Things started promising for Concordia, forcing a 3-and-out on NSU's opening drive but Concordia's offense couldn't take advantage of the wind, also going 3-and-out.

That's when the host Wolves changed the course of the contest. Using nine running plays and with the benefit of two CSP personal fouls, the Wolves marched 63 yards on nine plays in four and a half minutes for the first score, punching it in for a 7-0 lead.

Concordia would go 3-and-out for the second time in a row, and the Wolves would run the ball four times on a 5-play, 65 yard drive  capped by a 46-yard rushing touchdown for a 14-0 lead late in the first.

With just over two and a half minutes to play with the wind, Concordia got things rolling on its third possession with Ron Johnson connecting with freshman Gabe Steed for a 23-yard second down completion for a first down, the first of the game for CSP. Concordia picked up three first downs on the drive, getting to the NSU 11 yard line where they stalled out, misfiring on a 4th and 8 from the NSU 11 yard line early in the second quarter.

It was Concordia's first time not converting in the red zone all season, breaking a streak of nine red zone trips with nine touchdowns scored.

Trailing 14-0, the Golden Bears would now be playing comeback football for two straight quarters into the stiff Aberdeen wind.

After successfully running the ball for 13 of the previous 14 plays resulting in two scoring drives, the Wolves kept pounding the ground game.

Six consecutive rushing plays resulted in a pair of first downs before NSU converted a 3rd and 8 from its own 35 yard line on a 12 yard pass play, before Concordia eventually held strong to force a punt with 8:40 to play in the half.

On the NSU punt, the snap went over the head of NSU punter Jacob Wiedrich, but a favorable bounce allowed him to turn and get the punt off as he sent it bouncing deep into CSP territory with the ball downed on the one yard line.

Into the wind and backed up against their own end zone, Concordia opted to run the ball three times and punt, with NSU gaining possession on the CSP 33 yard line with nearly seven minutes to play in the half with a 14-0 lead.

Once again, the Wolves marched towards the CSP end zone with five running plays to the three yard line. On 2nd and goal, NSU's pass was complete as Christian McAlvain found tight end Eric Peterson in the flat. As he barrelled towards the end zone, CSP corner Jamie Fore delivered a punshing hit on the one yard line that jarred the ball loose. The ball bounced out of the end zone, resulting in a turnover and touchback for Concordia.

McAlvain had a big day for NSU, completing 11-16 for 117 yards and two touchdowns through the air and adding 157 rushing yards on 17 attempts with a 46-yard TD scamper.

On the ensuing drive, Johnson connected with Steed again, this time for a 20-yard first down on the first play of the drive as Concordia looked to capitalize on the momentum from the turnover.

But just like that, Northern State thwarted Concordia's positive energy with an interception. It was Concordia's first interception in nearly three and a half games to start the 2016 season, snapping a string of 90 consecutive passes without an INT to start the year.

Following the INT, Northern State continue to apply pressure, with a fake field goal completed pass on 4th and 8 from the CSP 26 yard line resulting in a 1st and goal at the five as McAlvain found Chad Stoterau for a 21 yard connection.

This time, the Wolves put the ball in the end zone via the pass, McAlvain to Conner Doherty and a 21-0 lead with 20 seconds to play before the break.

In the opening half, Northern State out-gained CSP 226 to 97 in offense including a 14-5 edge in first downs.

In the second half, Concordia picked up a big defensive stop by holding NSU on a 4th and goal from the two yard line, with freshman Brian Lanier making the stop on the one yard line.

This time backed up to its own end zone, Concordia would look to be agressive with the 21-0 deficit and it paid off as freshman Marcus Gustaveson drew a pass interference against NSU for a 15-yard first down. But on third and nine, Northern State would force its second turnover of the day, knocking the ball loose on a sack, recovering at the CSP 12 yard line.

The defense held NSU to a field goal, but the Golden Bears would fall into a 24-0 hole with 6:34 to play in the third.

Still facing the double-digit and consistently blowing wind, Concordia started to move the ball. Johnson found DeCeon Schumann for a 30-yard catch and run on the first play of the drive, and using the no huddle Concordia moved into the NSU red zone using a balanced attack.

On 4th and 1 from the NSU 15, Johnson connected with Joseph Tarwai in the flat for a five yard pickup to keep the drive alive. Following a penalty, he was flushed out of the pocket and threw on the run to Gustaveson for a 15-yard score to put Concordia on the board with just under two minutes left in the quarter.

The Wolves struck back, quickly. Following the short kickoff into the wind, McAlvain found Zach Barber for a 35-yard pass on the opening play to the CSP 28 yard line. A few plays later, he connected with Taylor Houchin for a 15-yard touchdown to push the lead back to 24 on the final play of the third quarter.

With the wind switching back to Concordia's side, the Wolves were able to force a 3-and-out to start the fourth quarter.

From there, the NSU ground game effectively drained the clock. Northern State sucked nearly seven minutes off the clock on its first drive of the fourth quarter, with Concordia's defense holding on a 4th down and 12 from the CSP 31. NSU only gained 39 yards on the drive that spanned 6:44, using 11 plays.

The Golden Bears once again were unable to get a drive going, and NSU took over with 5:13 to play on the CSP 35 yard line.

From there, the Wolves drained the rest of the game clock, running the ball eight times for 29 yards to consume the remaining 5:13 of play to end the game. The Wolves had the ball for 11:55 of the 15 minutes in the fourth quarter and didn't score, but held Concordia out of the end zone as well.

In the final tally, Northern State controlled over 39 minutes of game clock to Concordia's 20-plus minutes, a nearly 20-minute advantage. NSU had 25 first downs to Concordia's 11 and a 439-195 edge in total offense including a 322-32 edge on the ground game.

Darius Chapes led Concordia on the ground with 32 yards on nine attempts including a long of 11. Steed led the receivers with three catches for 51 yards.

Johnson was 11-23 for 163 yards and a touchdown, connecting twice with Gustaveson in the game for 26 yards including the 15-yard score. He was sacked four times, leading to a -14 yard rushing day with a long run of eight.

Elias Arlington was Concordia's top all-purpose leader with 71 in the game, including eight on the ground, 12 through the air and 51 on kickoffs.

Concordia's defense was led by senior David Reed, making his 2016 debut with 14 tackles, one for loss and a pass breakup. Senior Sam Johnson added eight tackles and junior Billy Brown had seven as CSP was led by three linebackers in tackles. All three had a tackle for loss.