ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul (1-4 NSIC, 0-1 South) entered Saturday looking to slow down the nation's second ranked rushing attack as #6 Minnesota State (5-0 NSIC, 1-0 South) came to Sea Foam Stadium on homecoming. The Golden Bears will play their first NSIC South Division road game of the year next Saturday with a 5 p.m. kickoff in Fayette against Upper Iowa.

The Mavericks entered the game averaging over 300 yards per game on the ground, and the Golden Bears were prepared to hang with the undefeated Mavericks, slowing the ground attack to 64 yards in the first quarter - a solid number for most teams but well off their season pace.

Concordia was also aided by a big play in the pass defense as junior cornerback Dion Wallisch intercepted Maverick backup quarterback JD Ekowa in the back of the end zone to end MSU's third drive of the game. Through the first three drives, the Mavericks had just three points which spanned the first quarter.

The Golden Bear offense was similarly stymied, however in gaining just 33 yards. But a 39-yard kickoff return by Wallisch gave CSP strong field position to help tilt the field in the early going in what looked like a low scoring affair.

MSU finally got going early in the second quarter on a three play, 80 yard drive but failed to convert a two point conversion as the score remained tight at 9-0.

Concordia's offense received a spark at the same time as MSU's, but instead of sprinting three plays down the field, Concordia looked to keep MSU off balance by sucking nearly six and a half minutes off the clock with a methodical 15 play, 61 yard march deep into Maverick territory. On the drive, CSP picked up a pair of third downs on manageable distances (2 & 1) and also converted a 4th and 1 to keep the chains moving. The drive would stall, but junior Jonas Schenderlein made a 29 yard field goal, 12th staight field goal made inside of 50 yards dating back to the middle of his freshman year against Minnesota State.

Trailing 9-3 with 6:42 to play in the half, the Mavericks stole CSP's gameplan and drained six and a half minutes off the clock themselves on a 15 play, 75 yard drive. With time running low and the clock moving, the Mavericks were finally able to punch it in the end zone on a 3rd and goal from the one yard line on a play that required a brief discussion amongst the officials to confirm the result.

The late second quarter score gave MSU a 16-3 lead at the break as the Maverick offense rushed for nearly 150 yards in the quarter for 209 in the half.

The touchdown was also crucial as MSU started with the ball in the second half, and after scoring on its opening drive the Mavericks special teams were able to catch the short kickoff in the air for what was essentially a third straight offensive possession.

The defense held strong, forcing a punt, and the Golden Bear offense was finally able to get back to work in what amounted to its first drive since the field goal drive that started at 6:42 of the second quarter. The Bears didn't waste the opportunity, going on another 14 play, 75 yard march in taking over five minutes off the clock. Once again, the drive featured two third down conversions and a fourth down pickup including a 3rd and 20 strike from senior Ron Johnson to Elias Arlington for 22 yards to the MSU 10 yard line. Johnson had also connected on a 14 yard pass to junior Jake Tanner earlier in the drive on 4th and 2 to move the ball from the 50 to the MSU 36.

But like their first trip to the MSU red zone, CSP would throw three incomplete passes with the third picked off by MSU's Corey Brent, accompanied by a 31-yard return.

Three plays later, MSU scored to put the game out of reach at 30-3.

Concordia fought back using deception as head coach Shannon Currier elected to fake punt after MSU held the Bears on a three-and-out. Senior Sam Maedke threw a strike over the middle to a wide open Justin Axelson, with the senior tight end rumbling 35 yards before being hauled down. Following an MSU timeout, Johnson found senior Deceon Schumann for a 25 yard touchdown to make it a 30-10 game with 3:31 to play in the third quarter.

But the Maverick run game was too much by this point and by quarter's end, MSU had tallied 376 yards on the ground, adding another score for a 37-10 lead.

By the end, MSU would total 479 yards on the ground at 9.8 yards per carry as Gunn, Ekowa and Justin Taormina each had a pair of rushing touchdowns. Concordia held the MSU passing game to just 146 yards on 11-19 passing with an interception and no touchdowns.

For Concordia, four different players threw passes with Johnson completing 15-34 for 171 yards and a touchdown. Junior backup Trevor Tillett was 1-2 and also had a 16 yard completion wiped off the board on an MSU penalty. Maedke had the 35-yard strike to Axelson and Tanner attempted a deep pass down the right sideline in the first half on a double-pass.

Tanner led the receiving corps with six catches going for 57 yards while Arlington had a team-high 68 receiving yards on five grabs. Schumann added 3-34 with a touchdown while Marcus Gustaveson caught a pair for 16 yards. Schumann also had a team-high 70 all-purpose yards, adding 36 yards on two kickoff returns.

Freshman linebacker Blake Evans led Concordia's defense with a season high 10 tackles.

Aside from a 35-yard completion, Maedke added a strong punting day with a 42.0 average on six punts and a long of 59 while MSU accumulated just 16 total punt return yards for a 39.3 net.

Coming off its first 200-yard rushing game of the year at MSU Moorhead, the Golden Bears weren't able to establish the run against MSU with 24 team attempts for 34 yards. Darnell Rolle led the team with nine carries for 19 yards.