> Box Score
MARSHALL, Minn. – Concordia-St. Paul rushed for season-high 345 yards and also forced three turnovers to earn a 38-20 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football on windy Saturday at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
CU running back Tre Spears rushed for a career-high 247 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries, finishing 11 yards shy of a school single-game record. CU quarterback Ben Schramski completed 12 of 17 pass attempts for 143 yards and one touchdown.
CU (3-6, 2-3 NSIC South) dominated time of possession, holding the ball for more than 42 and a half minutes, while SMSU recorded just 17:25 of time possession.
SMSU (2-7, 1-4 NSIC South) also committed three turnovers—all in the second half—and is now minus-13 in turnover margin this season.
Tyler Tonderum led SMSU with a season-high 151 yards rushing and one touchdown and in the process became the school's all-time leader for career 100-yard rushing games with 12.
Nate Huot led SMSU receivers with four receptions for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
Charlie Kern completed just 10 of 23 pass attempts for a season-low 117 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
SMSU's
Jared Twedt led the defense with a career-high 17 tackles, including eight solo stops.
Casey Hertz finished with 13 tackles.
Concordia-St. Paul ended the game with 488 total yards, its second highest output of the season, and 23 first downs, while Southwest Minnesota State finished with 340 yards and 18 first downs.
CU opened the game with an impressive 13-play, 75-yard drive—going into the wind—with Spears scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run. The drive consumed nearly seven minutes of the opening quarter.
Following punts by both teams, SMSU tied the game on the final play of the first quarter as
Charlie Kern lofted a perfect 35-yard touchdown pass to Huot to tie the game at 7-7.
CU responded to regain the lead on its next possession as Schramski, facing third-and-10, completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Cordell Smith to make the score 14-7 with 11:03 left in the second quarter.
Facing a stiff wind in the second quarter, SMSU was forced to punt on its next two possessions and CU was able to tack onto the lead using its strong rushing attack. Starting at the SMSU 40-yard line, Spears rushed four straight times, including a 2-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 21-7 with 2:20 remaining in the half.
SMSU punted less than 90 seconds later with CU taking over at its own 43-yard line with 1:02 remaining. CU picked up three first downs before settling for a Tom Obarski 41-yard field goal to build a 24-7 halftime advantage.
CU dominated the opening half, running 41 plays for 276 yards and 15 first downs, while SMSU was limited to just 17 plays, 71 yards of offense and four first downs. The Golden Bears also held a 22:26 to 7:34 time of possession edge in the opening half.
SMSU started the second half with a bang as Tonderum broke free for a 66-yard touchdown run to make the score 24-13 following a missed PAT.
CU had a huge answer on its first drive of the half with Darius Chapes ripping off a 26-yard touchdown run to make the score 31-13.
The Mustangs wouldn't go away, answering right back with another touchdown drive as Kern connected with Huot for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 9:01 left in the third, to cut the deficit to 31-20.
The SMSU defense forced a CU punt on its next drive, but facing second-and-10 from the SMSU 25-yard line, Kern was intercepted by Jordan Halverson, who returned it 28 yards for a touchdown to extend the margin to 38-20.
Kern was intercepted late in the quarter and then fumbled inside the CU 5-yard line midway through the fourth quarter to end any attempt for an SMSU rally.
Southwest Minnesota State plays at Winona State (4-5, 1-4 NSIC) next Saturday, Nov. 8, for its final road game of the season with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
