GOLDEN BEARS COME UP SHORT ON THE ROAD AT MINOT STATE

Concordia University nearly erased a 17 point deficit with under seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but in the end were edged by Minot State, 24-21 at Herb Parker Stadium in front of 1,500 fans on a hot Saturday afternoon in the northern part of the state.

With 6:49 to play, senior quarterback Mitch Brecke (Maple Grove, Minn.) delivered a nine yard touchdown pass to sophomore Jerry Shaw (Milwaukee, Wis.) out of the backfield. That strike snapped a string of three straight Minot State touchdown passes - all to Johnny Lester - and cut the score to 24-14 with time dwindling down on the visitors.

The Golden Bears misfired on the ensuing onside kick, giving Minot excellent field position near midfield. But back-to-back stuffs for losses of five and two backed Minot up and they failed to gain a first down on third and 17.

Starting from their own 31 with 4:15 to play, Concordia turned to sophomore quarterback Spencer Ohm (Blooming Prairie, Minn.) trailing by 10 points.

Ohm engineered a six play, 69 yard drive in a quick one minute, 18 second span capped by a 19 yard touchdown strike to junior Zach Hovey (Champlin, Minn.) who produced a career-high 92 yards receiving on seven receptions. Hovey's touchdown from Ohm came with just under three minutes to play, cutting ino Minot's once 17 point lead, narrowing it to a 24-21 margin.

The Golden Bears opted to forgo the onside kick, forcing Minot to a fair catch inside their own 35.

On third and six with time ticking, Tyson Schatz turned a carry around left tackle up field for a seven yard rush and a Beaver first down, essentially ending the game.

Concordia started out slow offensively as Minot State held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter of play.

In the second quarter, CU called on Brecke to revive the offense. Late in the half, he came through, hitting senior Jordan Schultenover (Minnetonka, Minn.) over the middle with Schultenover using legs for the majority of a 66 yard touchdown connection. Schultenover finished with five catches for 102 yard, his first 100 yard game for CU.

Minot responded with a touchdown late in the half to go on top, 10-7, Lester's first of three touchdowns from Jon Meier. The score from 23 yards out not only gave Minot the lead, but came with just 11 seconds until the intermission.

In the third quarter, senior Christian Even (Little Falls, Minn.) sparked Concordia with a 39 yard punt return to set up CU at the Minot 31, poised to reclaim the lead.

Ohm delivered a 14 yard completion to Schultenover to give Concordia a 1st and 10 from the 12 yard line.

But a holding penalty and a pair of incompletions forced a 3rd and 20 from the 22. Ohm delivered a laser over the middle that was intercepted by Jeremy Kessler at the nine yard line, ending CU's threat.

This would prove to be the turning point. Minot State would convert a 4th and 2 from the 16 when Meier hit Lester in the back of the end zone. The connection gave Minot a 17-7 lead late in the third quarter and capped off a punishing 14 play, 83 yard drive that spanned 7:18.

Concordia would again drive into Minot territory but stalled at the 42 yard line where junior T.G. Schoenberg (Woodbury, Minn.) pinned the Beavers at their own eight yard line.

But Minot marched 92 yards on 10 plays, taking up nearly five minutes of clock to take a 24-7 lead. They converted three 3rd downs on the drive with Lester hauling in his third touchdown from 23 yards out. Lester finished with nine catches for 155 yards in the game.

The final Minot score came with just under eight minutes to play, leaving CU with a narrow window to complete their comeback attempt.

Concordia had an issue with their rushing attack, finishing with just 18 yards on as many attempts. Sophomore Sam Campbell led the ground attack with 32 yards on six carries and added 19 yards on two receptions. Shaw added 20 rushing yards on four attempts while adding the nine yard TD reception.

The quarterbacks split reps under center, with Ohm getting the start and commanding the first quarter while Brecke played in the second quarter. In the second half, the Golden Bears were much less predictable, mixing and matching Ohm and Brecke the rest of the way.

Brecke finished the game completing 8-14 for 155 yards and two touchdowns without any interceptions. He was sacked twice for losses of 22 yards. Ohm nearly matched his yardage, with 154, while completing 14-22 with an interception. He was sacked once for a 12 yard loss.

The two signal callers completed at least two passes to six different targets and combined to pass for 309 yards on 22 completions.

Defensively, Concordia's unit wore down Minot State late in the game with senior Will Brown (Shoreview, Minn.) providing three tackles for loss and a sack with seven tackles. The unit was led by senior corner Joe Butler (Kansas City, Mo.) with nine tackles (six solo) including a pass breakup. Junior linebacker Trevor Glomski also added nine tackles with a half for loss.

Minot State was able to amass 417 yards of offense in the game with Concordia compiling 327. The Beavers were balanced, rushing for 143 while hurling 274. They rushed 47 times while attempting only 29 passes.

The Beavers also dominated the clock on their slow home turf with nearly 37 minutes of time of possession while winning that battle all four quarters.

Minot State converted 10-20 on third down and were a perfect 3-3 on fourth. CU was 4-10 on thirds and did not go for a fourth down.

The Golden Bears close out their season opening three game road stand next Saturday at MSU Moorhead at 2:00 p.m. at Alex Nemzek Field before returning home to open Sea Foam Stadium on Saturday, September 19 against Winona State at 6:00 p.m.

NOTES:

R-Fr. Shane Biggs recorded his first career reception and had a career-long 35 yard kick return.

R-Fr. Paah Zeah also had his first career catch, a 13 yard first down in the fourth quarter

Jr. Calvin Simon has caught a pass in 23 straight games, catching a pass in every game he has played collegiately.

http://cugoldenbears.com/football/stats/2009%20Stats/02minot.htm