ST. PAUL, Minn. - On senior day at Sea Foam Stadium, it was true freshman running back
Shaq Johnson who helped send his veteran Concordia-St. Paul (2-9 NSIC, 1-6 South) teammates off with a 37-20 victory over Southwest Minnesota State (2-9 NSIC, 0-7 South) on Saturday afternoon.
The victory snaps a nine game skid for CSP and sends SMSU into the offseason with an eight game losing streak. It was Concordia's first NSIC South Division win since the 2014 season finale at Winona State, halting a 20 game losing streak in the division.
S.Johnson broke loose on 3rd and 1 from the CSP 20 late in the first quarter for an 80 yard touchdown to give the Bears a 10-7 lead over the Mustangs.
It was the start of four consecutive scores for the Golden Bears to turn a 7-3 deficit late in the first quarter into a 27-7 lead early in the second half.
His impact was just starting, though. on Concordia's next possession which started at the CSP 37 yard line after SMSU missed the first of four field goals, head coach
Shannon Currier threw a wrinkle at SMSU. Senior quarterback
Ron Johnson threw a backwards pass to S.Johnson in the flat, with the rookie dashing to his left looking as if he wanted to break the edge. At the last moment, he looked down field and fired on the run and the southpaw delivered a 63-yard touchdown pass to sophomore
Gabe Steed for one play scoring drive early in the second quarter.
The teams kept each other off the scoreboard for most of the rest of the quarter when the Bears struck quick again before halftime. Taking control on their own 22 yard line, the Bears looked to the senior R.Johnson for big plays. He delivered with a first down run for eight yards, and a 25 yard strike to Steed before connecting with sophomore
Marcus Gustaveson for a 45 yard touchdown and a three play drive covering 78 yards and just 39 seconds, giving Concordia a 24-7 lead at the break.
It was Gustaveson's ninth receiving touchdown of the year (3rd, NSIC) as he finished the season seventh in the league with 656 receiving yards and 12th in receptions.
S.Johnson finished the day with a team season high 175 rushing yards on just 17 carries, averaging 10.3 per run. He punched in a one yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the game away. He added the 63 yard touchdown pass for 238 yards of total offense and three combined touchdowns. He also had an eight yard reception.
Concordia only needed to complete four of its 17 pass attempts in the game to compile 141 yards, averaging 35.3 yards per completion with gains of 63, 45, 25 and 8.
As a team, Concordia ran for a team high 252 yards on 36 carries, averaging 7.0 yards per rush with sophomore
Darnell Rolle (6-38), R.Johnson (8-23) and freshman Lajuan Preston (3-19) all playing a role in the ground attack.
While Concordia was working quickly and putting points on the board with maximum efficiency by averaging 7.4 yards per play and only needing 53 plays from scrimmage and 15 first downs to mount a season-high 37 points, the Mustangs would do the opposite.
SMSU had more pass plays (55) than Concordia's total plays (53) and topped 300 yards both rushing (48-302) and receiving (37-55, 316) for 618 yards on 103 plays in the game, had 34 first downs, converted 11-of-22 on third down and 4-of-6 on fourth down to mount 37:21 of clock time in the contest.
But SMSU came up empty seven different times in trips inside CSP's 40 yard line and scored just 14 points on five trips to the red zone. SMSU was 0-4 on field goals while Concordia countered with junior
Jonas Schenderlein who made all three of his field goal attempts.
Schenderlein connected twice from 51 yards and has made five field goals of 50-plus on the year and has made six field goals of 50-plus in his career to break Tom Obarski's (2011-14) record of five. Schenderlein set a new career high with 13 points, the third most in a game in team history as he tied the single game field goals record (3) for the third time this season, a mark now hit 11 times by CSP kickers all-time.
His 18 field goals (25 attempts) ties Obarski's 2014 single season record and pushes him to 29 for his career, trailing Obarski by 15 for the career mark. He's now converted 57 PAT in a row and is 69-70 in his career. He finished the year tied for second in the Northern Sun with 18 field goals made and seventh in the NSIC with 75 total points.
He played a role in the field position game, pushing half of his eight kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks to give him 30 on the season in 51 kickoffs - a Division II best for a majority of the season.
He wasn't the only kicker on the team to etch his name into the record book as senior punter
Sam Maedke punted four times for a 39.2 average with one inside the 20. He finished his final season with a career record 41.3 season average which also led the Northern Sun. His 39.0 career average ranks second all-time and he had two of the top five single game punting averages during his senior year.
For SMSU, it was a big day for senior Nate Huot who set the Mustangs' program record for career catches (269) and single game catches (19), compiling 164 yards and a touchdown.
He was challenged by sophomore cornerback Dion Wallisch, who registered six pass breakups to finish the year with 13, tied for third most in a season. Wallisch also had a fumble recovery in the second quarter and made a season high 14 tackles.
Linebackers
Antonio Zepeda and Blake Evans were busy throughout the contest, racking up 17 and 13 tackles, respectively as SMSU used the ground game and short passing game to attempt to keep the Golden Bear linebackers off balance. Zepeda's 17 tackles are tied for fourth most in a game, matching senior
JJ Przybylka's 2016 effort at UM Crookston.
For Evans, it's the end of a strong rookie year for the true freshman, as he had double-digit tackles in six of the final seven games as he racked up 76 of his team best 97 tackles down the stretch. The linebackers each had a half tackle for loss and a pass breakup, as well.
Sophomore
Brian Szutkowski gave Concordia four players with 10-plus tackles as he finished the game with 10 for his fourth double-digit tackle game to give him 88 on the year.
SMSU quarterback Boyer Bouman completed 37-55 for 316 yards and a touchdown, adding 54 rushing yards on seven attempts including a pair of sacks. Of his 18 incomplete passes, Concordia's defensive backs were productive in making plays by compiling 10 pass breakups and five quarterback hurries led by freshman Chris Garrett's three. Garrett also had a half tackle for loss among his four tackles, giving him at least a half TFL in all seven games this season.
Shawn Griffin led the SMSU rushing attack with 93 yards on 15 attempts while Max Simmons had 12 carries for 82 yards and two touchdowns along with 5-50 receiving.
The Golden Bears improve to 11-10 all-time against SMSU including a 5-1 record against the Mustangs under coach Currier. It's CSP's first win at Sea Foam Stadium over SMSU as the Mustangs were making just their second trip to CSP's stadium that opened in 2009.
Currier now has 36 career wins, just four behind Mark Mauer's program record of 40 (40-39, 2004-10). The 2003 NSIC Coach of the Year has compiled a 36-30 record in six seasons leading CSP (2000-03, 2016-present).
Currier honored 19 seniors in the program prior to kickoff today:
Elias Arlington,
Breon Hoosier,
Deceon Schumann,
Frantz Polimice,
Ron Johnson,
Andrew Capirchio,
Billy Brown,
Joseph Tarwai,
DeAnthony McKinley,
Sam Maedke,
Matt Bjork,
JJ Przybylka,
Willie Ross,
Justin Axelson and
Chazz Roberts along with student coach
Blair Griffith and graduating juniors
Ben Lawrence,
Matt Liewen and
Brock Baumgarn.
