Quick Start Leads To Tension-Filled Second Half

MOORHEAD, Minn.  (9/24/11)—Concordia scored on the third play of the game against No.3-ranked St. Thomas but was unable to slow down the Tommie offense and wound up losing 48-30.

St. Thomas scored on their first three possessions of the game and seven of their first eight as they used their team speed to get into the seams of the CC defense. The Cobbers made the final score close by tacking on TD's on their final two possessions of the game.

The loss is the second straight for Concordia who falls to 2-2 in all games. CC starts the MIAC conference slate with a 0-2 mark for the second straight year. St. Thomas remains unbeaten on the year, upping their overall mark to 4-0 and their MIAC record to 2-0.       

The annual Family Weekend game started with a bang for the Cobbers as wideout Chris  Gilson took a short pass from Michael Dunham on third-and-two from CC's own 24-yard line and raced 76 yards to put Concordia up 7-0. The lead would be short-lived as St. Thomas took the very next possession, marching 73 yards in nine plays to tie the game at the 9:23 mark. From there the Tommies would tack on 14 more points before the end of the first quarter. UST was given "short" fields on those possessions after a shanked punt and an interception. UST was able to convert the great field position into two TD's on a combined total of eight plays.

The game slowed down in the middle of the second quarter with three straight scoreless possessions. UST ended the scoring drought on a TD strike from Dakota Tracy to Dan Noehring which capped a three-play drive. Trailing 28-7, Concordia was able to cut the lead to 14 points before the break when Dunham hit fullback Brett Baune for the first of his two TD's on a 17-yard scoring strike. The scoring drive went for 10 plays, all of which were passes, and covered 75 yards.  

At the end of the first half Concordia had a total of 241 offensive yards but had turned the ball over two times and was just 2-of-7 on third down plays. St. Thomas had 269 offensive yards and scored on four of their five possessions in the half.

The second half turned into a tension packed 30 minutes with the Tommies jumping out to a 48-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter before the Cobbers were able to get to within 18 points on a pair of touchdown runs.

The third quarter ignited the tension when St. Thomas took the kickoff and then marched 64 yards in 11 plays to widen the margin to 20 points at 34-14. The tension began to build on the scoring play when the Tommie running back dove over the goal line and then made an unsportsmanlike point of placing the ball down on the Cobber insignia in the end zone. It grew to a boiling point on the extra point when, in the most arrogant decision at Jake Christiansen Stadium since the 2007 season when MSU Moorhead chose to call three straight passing plays in the final minutes of play and then forgo a punt which would have sealed the win, the UST coaching staff decided to go for two points. The decision came despite the fact that they were leading by 20 and had their first four PAT's sail through the uprights without having a snap mishandled or having any kick coming close to being blocked. It then finally boiled over on the kickoff when the Tommie coaches called for an onside kick with a 20-point lead. St. Thomas recovered the ball with the Cobbers in regular kick coverage and then marched 59 yards for another score while the CC sideline stared on in disbelief.

To the Cobbers' credit they did let the tension get out of hand or turn the game into one big statement play after another.       

The third quarter settled down and neither team was able to score for the rest of period. St. Thomas finished off their seven TD day by scoring on the very first play of the fourth quarter on a four-yard run.

Concordia then countered on the very next possession on a 15-yard Dunham scoring scramble and then capped off the day by getting a 1-yard run from Baune. CC was successful on two-point conversions after both TD's to make the final score 48-30. Both conversions came via the pass as Dunham hit Todd Bergeson after the first touchdown and then Bronson Shepherd after the final TD.

For the game, St. Thomas had 509 total offensive yards as compared to 381 for the Cobbers. The CC rush offense came away with a season-low 52 yards. Concordia was forced to abandon the ground game in the first quarter after falling behind 21-7. The Cobbers then unleashed their passing attack, throwing the ball 42 times in the final three-plus quarters of play. The 42 pass attempts is fourth most in a single game since the 2000 season. The Tommies ground out the win by rushing the ball 50 times for 217 yards. They also 292 passing yards on 21 attempts for the game.

The other big statistic came in third-down conversions where UST was successful on 9-of-12 of their third down plays while CC was just 5-of-14.

Individually the Cobbers were led by Dunham who threw for a career-high 329 yards. That total is the third highest in program history. Shepherd caught a game-high nine passes for 77 yards and Gilson totaled four catches for a career-high 115 yards.

St. Thomas had a pair of running backs gain 75 yards and a 100-yard receiver but the catalyst for the offense was senior quarterback Dakota Tracy. Tracy was 11-for-18 for 263 yards and two TD's through the air and also ran the ball six times and scored one of the five rushing TD's. Colin Tobin added to his league-leading touchdown total as he rushed for 75 yards and two scores. Aaron Terrell-Byrd did most of the ground work in the second half, carrying the ball 11 times and also gaining 75 yards. Dan Noehring caught four passes for a game-high 117 yards and reigning MIAC MVP Fritz Waldvogel had 74 receiving yards and made a key TD reception in the first quarter.

Concordia inside linebacker Matt Moenkedick led all players with 11 total tackles. He had 6.0 solo tackles, 5.0 assists and 2.0 tackles for a loss. The Cobbers were averaging 5.0 sacks coming into the game but only had 1.0 on the day. Senior defensive end Robin Wisner was credited with the team's only sack in the fourth quarter.

The Tommies had 4.0 sacks on the day and continually put pressure on Dunham. Harry Pitera, Willy Baregi and Blake Brix all had 1.0 sacks. Chinni Oti and Winter Cullen came up with clutch interceptions that stopped would-be Concordia scoring drives.

Concordia will look to rebound next Saturday when they play at Gustavus at 1:30 p.m. in St. Peter, Minn.