ST. PAUL, Minn. - On a cold, windy Saturday afternoon at Sea Foam Stadium, Concordia-St. Paul (4-4 NSIC, 2-2 South) was able to run behind 283 yards on the ground to top Minnesota Crookston (1-7 NSIC, 1-3 North) with a 21-13 victory.

The win gives puts head coach Shannon Currier tied atop the program's all-time wins list with a 40-34 career record in his seventh season at the helm (2000-03 & 2016-present). Concordia is now .500 in week eight for the first time since the 2013 season when the squad finished 5-6. The Bears also secure their third .500 record against the NSIC North Division, splitting the four game slate in the first year of crossover play occurring midseason.

Concordia extends its winning streak over Minnesota Crookston to 12 and improves to 13-3 all-time against the Golden Eagles, who extended their own streak to 24-straight losses to the NSIC South Division where they hold a 1-27 all-time record in crossover games (2012-present).

The win also secures a winning home record for the third time in the Sea Foam Stadium era (2009-present), joining the 2011 (3-1) and 2014 (3-2) teams. They'll look to establish the first four win home season in the stadium's 10th year next Saturday with a noon kickoff on senior day against Augustana University (5-3 NSIC, 2-2 South).

The 283 yard performance on the ground is the fifth 200-yard rushing game for the Golden Bears, and once again was a committee effort with the strength of the committee resting up front in the offensive line who paved the way for CSP's ground game to average 6.4 per carry this week on 44 attempts and the Golden Eagles only had one tackle for loss against the CSP offense.

Like the offensive side, Concordia's defensive front also provided the key to success on Saturday as the front four piled up six sacks and nine of the team's 13 tackles for loss. Junior defensive end Jackson Dobbs was a force, with nine total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. In all, he was accountable for 28 of the 49 lost yards for the UMC offense.
 

And while the offense pushed through the UMC defensive front for nearly 300 yards on the ground, the Concordia run defense was once again effective, limiting UMC to just 1.7 yards per carry on 50 rushing attempts (50-85). It's the fourth time CSP has held an opponent to 100 yards or less on the ground, the third time in a row and each time doing so while the offense compiled over 200 yards on the ground - a recipe that has yielded a 3-1 record when doing so, with the lone loss being attributed to a -6 (6-0) turnover margin in a one touchdown loss to Northern State (35-28).

Today, the turnovers were even for the second time this year as each team gave the ball away three times. Two of Concordia's three lost fumbles eliminated strong scoring opportunities, the first coming at the UMC 2-yard line in the first quarter and the second following a big 39-yard pass play with UMC recovering on its own 21.

But, in forcing three turnovers, the Golden Bears were able to capitalize and used a 14-7 margin in points off turnovers to help aid in the victory. Each of Concordia's first two drives in the third quarter started on fumbles, with defensive linemen Kelly Pierce and Dylan Wood each forcing a fumble behind the line of scrimmage (Wood's coming on a strip-sack), and each opportunity was converted into a touchdown.

Joining Dobbs and Wood with a sack on the defensive line was sophomore Chris Garrett, who ranked third in the country in sacks per game with eight in six games entering play. He added his ninth sack of the year along with a pair of tackles for loss to give him a team-high 10.5 on the season.

The momentum shifting plays helped CSP turn a 7-3 halftime lead into a 21-3 lead in the first four minutes of the third quarter. And it helped relieve the pressure from the offense, who needed just three plays to score the two touchdowns: the first on a 5-yard run by senior Emanuel Jones that was set-up by a 22-yard keeper by senior Dom McKinzy and the second coming on the first play of the next drive, a 31-yard connection from McKinzy to junior wide receiver MJ Williams.

The McKinzy-Williams hookup was the first completed pass of the game, and one of just two on the day for McKinzy, who still managed 70 passing yards, wasn't sacked and didn't turn the ball over. More importantly, McKinzy was the team's leading rusher with 15 carries for 131 yards and a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Sophomore Lajuan Preston had his third 100-yard performance in the last four weeks, averaging 8.2 yards per carry to rush for 106 yards on 13 attempts. He's now rushed for 551 yards and averages 6.7 yards per carry. Three others, Garrett Gardner, Jones and Jeremiah Johnson combined to rush 13 times for 57 yards, primarily in the second half.

Leading the defense in tackles, an important distinction when stopping a team that rushes 50 times for just 85 yards, was sophomore Dalton Smerchek with a career-high 12, adding a half tackle for loss. Redshirt freshman linebacker Jake Portz added nine tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.

UMC had some success in the pass game despite the constant pressure from the front four as Jalin Scott completed 20-of-34 for 270 yards and a touchdown. He was not intercepted and also had 31 rushing attempts in the game, netting 54 yards (102 gained, 48 lost).

He connected with four different targets at least four times for 50-plus yards each led by Andy Groebner (6-73) and Rod Stewart (5-77, TD).