MINOT, N.D. --Concordia-Saint Paul got a 32-yard touchdown reception from to with 3:24 left in the ballgame, as Minot State lost 27-21 in heartbreaking fashion to the Golden Bears on Saturday afternoon at Herb Parker Stadium.
The Golden Bears improved to 1-2 on the year and 1-1 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while the Beavers fell to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in conference matchups.
Devan Daniels led all Beavers rushers with 166 yards in the contest, picking up 7.9 yards per carry. Evan Lovett also added 89 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, averaging 4.7 yards per carry.
Tyler Johnson pulled in two catches for 45 yards.
Minot State put together a powerful performance on the ground, gaining 317 rushing yards while averaging 5.5 yards per carry and out-rushing Concordia-Saint Paul by 271 yards. Minot State converted on 75 percent of third-down attempts on the day.
Defensively, Minot State held up fairly well against the Concordia-Saint Paul offensive attack, holding the Golden Bears to 321 total yards.
Head Coach Ian Shields provided his thoughts on both the Beavers offensive and defensive performances:
"There were definitely some good things out there. We had guys step up and make plays in all phases. Offensively, we converted a lot of third downs and kept drives alive — I think we were around 80 percent on third down conversions. That was encouraging. But again, the yardage feels hollow when you're turning the ball over and not capitalizing with points. That's ultimately the difference. The positive defensively was that it was hard to run the ball against us today. We did a good job bottling up their ground game. But conversely, we had problems with blown coverages, we couldn't get off the field on third down, and again, we forced zero takeaways. Those are things we have to get corrected."
How It Happened
After falling behind 7-0, Minot State responded with a touchdown with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7.Concordia-Saint Paul scored to go ahead 14-7 before the Beavers got on the scoreboard again to tie the game at 14-14.
After Concordia-Saint Paul scored to take a 21-14 lead, Minot State responded with a touchdown to even the game at 21-21. Minot State didn't score again in the game and Concordia-Saint Paul added six more points to finish off the scoring.
Head Coach Ian Shields gave comments on his team heading into week 4 against Winona State:
"We've got a lot of guys who care. We're being tested right now, and it's creating leadership opportunities for this team. We've got to go back to work — back in the weight room, back to the process of what it takes to win football games. We're playing a lot of young guys, some of them for the first time this season, and there are lessons to be learned. I do believe we'll respond. Our guys care, and if we circle the wagons and stick together, we'll be okay."
Game Notes
» Minot State outgained Concordia-Saint Paul 391-321, including a 317-46 advantage on the ground.
» Minot State converted 9 of 12 third downs while Concordia-Saint Paul was successful on 6 of 11.
» Minot State won the time of possession battle 34:39 to 25:21.
» Lincoln Graf led the Golden Bears passing attack, completing 18 of his 24 attempts for 275 yards and three touchdowns.
» Troy Ellison was Concordia-Saint Paul's leading receiver with 139 yards and one touchdown.
This story created through content automation technology from Data Skrive.
