Concordia-St. Paul stays unbeaten with win at Upper Iowa

FAYETTE, Iowa – For the first time since 2013, the Concordia-St. Paul football team (2-0) was victorious in a road night game as they held off Upper Iowa for a 28-23 victory on Saturday night to remain unbeaten on the season.

One week after snapping a 12-game losing streak against the Cougars of Sioux Falls, the Golden Bears snapped another lengthy streak as they picked up their first road night win in 10 tries dating back to a 17-14 win at Bemidji State five years ago to the day.

The Golden Bears looked to have the game comfortably in hand after an early second half score gave them a 28-10, but the scrappy Peacocks responded with a pair of touchdowns and had a couple of chances to take the lead late. The defense took care of business from there as they picked up fourth down stops on two straight possessions to seal the win.

While the offense finished with exactly 400 yards of total offense on the day, it was the running game that shined as CSP picked up 306 yards on the ground. It was the first time the Golden Bears have eclipsed 300 yards rushing since putting up over 300 yards in back-to-back games all the way back in November 2014.

Shaq Johnson played a big role in the running game as he led the team with 118 yards on just 12 carries while also reaching the end zone for a first half touchdown. Johnson added a 36 yard catch to finish the day with 152 scrimmage yards. He was one of four Concordia pairs to score on the ground as Lajuan Preston, Darios Crawley-Reid and Cole Kirchoff all crossed the plane as well. Preston finished with 72 yards on 12 attempts while Crawley-Reid added 45 yards on seven rushes.

While he was called on to attempt just 16 passes in the game, Maxon Hutton was also effective with his legs as he tacked on 68 yards on his nine carries to finish as CSP’s third leading rusher. He completed 8-16 for 94 yards in the air with Jabrill Clewis serving as the main target, leading the way with three catches for 35 yards.

On the defensive side, Jake Portz was all over the field for the Golden Bears as he shattered his career best with 18 total tackles, including a tackle-for-loss. Kelly Pierce and Chris Garrett each added solid games from the defensive line as Pierce finished with eight tackles and 0.5 sacks while Garrett tallied six stops and 1.5 sacks.

Jake Schuman to Alexander Stevens proved to be the go-to play on the night for the Peacocks as the duo combined for all three UIU touchdowns in the game. Schuman completed 27-44 for 239 and three touchdowns while Steven grabbed seven of those completions for 81 yards and all three scores. Matt McDonald added a decent game on the ground with 89 yards on 24 attempts while Brandyn Tulloch and Bralin Simon each snagged five catches in the loss.

The Peacocks marched down the field in the game’s opening possession as UIU quarterback Schuman picked up a couple big third down conversions before finding Stevens in the end zone from five yards out for the score.

Concordia wasted little time in evening up the score as they used just five plays and 1:48 of clock time to go 68 yards for the touchdown. The big play on the drive came in the form of a 46 yard scamper for Johnson to set up a three yard plunge for Cole Kirchoff to tie in at 7-7 at the 7:58 mark of the opening quarter.

Following the score, the Golden Bear defense stood their ground and forced a quick three-and-out to get the ball back in the hands of the offense.

The second drive followed a similar script as the first as Concordia took advantage of a big play from Shaq Johnson to set up a score. This time it was a 36 yard grab on a wheel route out of the backfield followed by an 18 yard run for Hutton that set up a four yard burst into the end zone for Johnson to put the Golden Bears in front 14-7.

After a few quick drives both ways, the Golden Bears added to their lead midway through the second quarter with an impressive 11-play, 70-yard drive. CSP found themselves in an early hole in the drive with a 3rd-and-16, but a 15 yard completion to Crawley-Reid followed by a one yard Kirchoff rush on fourth down kept the drive alive. Crawley-Reid picked up four of the next six touches, including a 10 yard burst past the goal line, pushed the advantage to 21-7 with 6:18 left in the half.

A late Upper Iowa field goal from 30 yards out pulled the Peacocks back within 11 at 21-10 at the break.

The Golden Bears were back on the attack early in the second half as they converted their first possession into seven points. CSP continued to dominate on the ground as they drove 52 yards on five rushing attempts for the score. Preston capped off the drive with an impressive tackle-breaking 17 yard run for the fourth rushing touchdown for the team in the game.

The 18 point lead would not last long, however, as the Peacocks responded with a scoring drive of their own. UIU used the same connection they did on their opening possession to finish off the drive as Schuman hits Stevens from 10 yards out for the score at the 2:41 mark of the third.

Upper Iowa really made things interesting midway through the fourth quarter as they tacked on another touchdown to make it a one possession game with plenty of time on the clock. For the third time of the night, Schuman found Stevens in the end zone as the duo hooked up for a 13 yard score. The Peacocks went for two but were stuffed as Concordia maintained a five point lead at 28-23.

The Peacocks were handed an opportunity to take the lead just a few minutes later as a lost fumble gave UIU the football at the CSP 24, but the Golden Bear defense came up with a huge stand to keep Concordia in front. With Upper Iowa just seven yards away from the goal line in a 2nd-and-4 situation, the defensive front came through on three straight plays to force a turnover on downs.

Upper Iowa would get the ball back one more time, this time near midfield with 2:42 left on the clock, but the defensive once again took care of business. A Dylan Wood tackle-for-loss followed by a pair of incompletions and a short gain on another attempt put the game to bed.

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