Box Score ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minot State University football never found any rhythm Saturday.

That led to short fields and Concordia University St. Paul took full advantage.

The Golden Bears used three big plays, a 4th-and-goal TD and never allowed the Beavers into the red zone in a 29-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football win Saturday in front of a 1,089 fans at Sea Foam Stadium.

"We just looked really out of whack on offense," said MISU head coach Paul Rudolph. "We weren't very good on the offensive line and Zac (MISU starting quarterback Zac Cunha, So., Rocklin, Calif.) wasn't very good in the first half. We had too many 3-and-outs."

The Beavers (0-1 NSIC, 0-1 overall) mustered just 182 yards of total offense and 11 first downs. Minot State was outgained on the ground 215-45.

"We didn't run the ball much and really didn't get much going when we did," Rudolph said. "Plus, we weren't able to get much going in the possession passing game. I thought it was a combination of things. Zac wasn't sharp early, but he settled in and was better in the second half and then we couldn't catch the football."

The first offensive series of the game for each team mirrored much of the game. The Beavers were forced to punt after a 3-and-out and CSP pushed down a short field for a score with a mix of run short passes. The Golden Bears went up 8-0 after a 4th-and-goal, 1-yard run by Tre Spears and a two-point conversion seven minutes into the game.

The Beavers settled in a bit from there, especially on defense and trailed just 15-0 at halftime, thank in part to an interception late in the half by Cooper Helm (So., DB, Wenatchee, Wash.).

But the Golden Bears (1-0, 1-0) struck their biggest blow on the first possession of the second half. Quarterback Jared Russo scrambled out of the pocket and hit Cordell Smith on a pass that the Beavers had pretty solid coverage on until Smith broke free.

"We thought we had them figured out, what they were trying to do to us for the most part at half and we thought we had the right defense called on that play," Rudolph said. "But we made the wrong call in the secondary and then lost containment at the line. That big play hurt us, no doubt."

The TD made the score 22-0 and sucked the wind out of the Beavers. It was also indicative of what went wrong on the defensive side of the ball - MISU had decent coverage and decent containment, but missed a tackle and the Golden Bears took advantage of it.

"Outside of four or five plays, the defense played well enough for us to be successful," Rudolph said. "They didn't play too bad, but we missed a tackle here and there and they made us pay for that."

CSP finished with 438 total yards compared to just 137 for Minot State. Russo was 14-21 for 223 yards, three TDs and the one interception. Spears had an unassuming, but impressive 151 yards on 23 carries and the one score, while Gabe Boyce finished with 75 yards receiving on four catches for the Golden Bears.

Cunha was 16-for-32 for 137 yards passing with no TDs or interceptions. Wayne Peters (Sr., WR, Carson, Calif.) caught eight passes for 58 yards and Porter Sturm finished with three receptions for 35 yards. Jared Mustipher (R-Fr., RB, Melbourne, Fla.) and Randel Barber (So., RB, Maricopa, Ariz.) split time in the backfield as Mustipher led the Beavers rushing attack with 24 yards on five carries, while Barber had 19 yards on seven carries.

The Beavers defense was paced by Levi Freidt's (Jr., DB, Minot, N.D.) nine tackles, while Kewon Tapp (Sr., DB, San Pedro, Calif.), Casey Weinmann (Jr., LB, Selz, N.D.), and Luke Artz (Sr., DL, Bottineau, N.D.) finished with seven apiece.

Minot State will try to rebound next week as they take on Augustana College in the Beavers 2013 home opener under the lights (6 p.m.) at Herb Parker Stadium.