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Box Score

CROOKSTON, Minn. – In what was a tale of two halves, Concordia University-St. Paul used 31 second-half points to upend the University of Minnesota, Crookston's hopes of its first conference win since Sept. 27, 2008 after being ahead 16-3 at the half. The final score was Concordia-St. Paul 34, University of Minnesota, Crookston 24. The Golden Eagles fall to 0-2 (0-2 NSIC), while Concordia-St. Paul improved to 1-1 (1-1 NSIC).
 
UMC rebounded offensively Saturday after a struggle in the first game against Winona State University. The Golden Eagles finished with 406 total offensive yards including 317 on the ground. 2011 All-Northern Sun
Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) First Team selection Richard Haley (Sr., RB, Detroit, Mich.) showed why he earned that honor last season as he rushed for 186 yards on 24 carries. The total was Haley's highest since rushing for 237 yards on 43 carries against Minnesota State University, Moorhead Sept. 24, 2011. Haley's performance was matched on the other sideline by Tre Spears, who rushed for 177 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown.
 
Concordia-St. Paul got on the scoreboard first on a windy afternoon at Ed Widseth Field in Crookston. The Golden Bears went ahead 3-0 on a 28-yard field goal from Tom Obarski.
 
Early in the second quarter, Stephen Henderson matched Obarski with a 37-yard field goal to knot the game 3-3. The play of the first half came mid-way through the second quarter as the Golden Eagles had Concordia-St. Paul pinned deep. James Peterson threw a ball that was tipped and then intercepted by junior Ricky Jacobs (LB, Junction City, Kan.) who scampered 10 yards to the end zone to put UMC up 10-3. The score was the second on the season from the defense as Marcus Galan (Sr., DB, Pico Rivera, Calif.) returned an 85 yard interception versus Winona State University last weekend.
 
The Golden Eagles added to the lead as they capitalized on a nine play, 57 yard drive that culminated in an A.J. Barge (So., QB, Carrollton, Ga.) touchdown pass to freshman Josh Ross (WR, Palmdale, Calif.). The touchdown was the first offensive score of the year for UMC and the first of his career for Ross.
 
The Golden Bears came out of the locker room with a different intensity as they quickly marched 68 yards early in the third quarter and dwindled the UMC lead to 16-10 as Peterson picked up a one yard rushing touchdown.
 
The Golden Eagles looked like they would match the score as they took the ball down to the five yard line but stalled and turned the ball over on downs. UMC was set up with good field position on the drive as Talo Pascal (Fr., WR, Arlington, Texas) returned the kickoff 30 yards to midfield.
 
The Golden Eagles got the ball back after a three-and-out from Golden Bears and again drove the ball into the red zone but a major miscue as Barge sent the pitch on the option play wide of Haley and Denzell Blackmon recovered the fumble for Concordia-St. Paul. Blackmon returned the ball to the end zone but the socre was negated by an illegal block.
 
However, the Golden Bears were able to get points off the turnover as Peterson threw a perfect ball into the 35 mile per hour gusts and hit Tre Mason for a 32-yard touchdown to give Concordia-St. Paul the 17-16 lead.
 
Concordia-St. Paul made it 21 unanswered points as they went in for another score early in the fourth quarter when Peterson hit Cordell Smith for a seven yard score.
 
UMC did strike back on the next drive as they went 75 yards for the score capped by a 32-yard touchdown run from Barge. A two-point conversion in which Barge scrambled into the end zone knotted the score at 24-24.
 
The key play of the game came with 3:16 remaining in the fourth quarter on a vital fourth-and-one opportunity for the Golden Bears. Spears took the ball 31 yards on the play into end zone to give Concordia-St. Paul a 31-24 lead.
 
The Golden Bears were able to add to the lead with a 31 yard field goal from Obarski and the University of Minnesota, Crookston was unable to answer.
 
In addition to Haley's productive day on the ground, Keith McBride (Sr., RB, Lodi, Wis.) rushed for 66 yards on eight carries while Barge went 59 yards on 10 carries.
 
Haley also led the team in receiving with six catches for 28 yards.
 
Peterson was 12-of-20 for 127 with two touchdowns and one interception for the Golden Bears while Barge was 14-of-28 for 89 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
 
Jordan Halverson led the Concordia-St. Paul defense with 14 tackle while Jay Moten added 10. Cecil Brown, Jr. (Sr., DB, Edison, Ga.) paced UMC with 11 tackles while Brody Davidson (So., LB, Crookston, Minn.) added eight.
 
The Golden Eagles will return to the field next Saturday, Sept. 15 as they travel to Augustana College (S.D.) to face the Vikings at 1 p.m.
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

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