St. Paul, Minn. – The Northern State University football team spoiled the Concordia-St. Paul homecoming festivities with a 35-28 win over the Golden Bears. The Wolves scored in all four quarters, improving to 2-4 overall this season.
Alex Gray got the Wolves on the board early with an 82-yard pick six at the 11-minute mark in the first quarter. The interception was the seniors second of the season. CSP tied things up five minutes later with a touchdown of their own, however the Wolves quickly answered back.
Hunter Trautman hit
Dakota Larson for a 44-yard receiving touchdown, and the duos first of the contest.
The Golden Bears evened the score in the second, followed by the second Trautman-Larson connection of the game. The 35-yard touchdown pass gave the Wolves the 21-14 lead. Concordia notched the first touchdown of the second half and the two teams traded scores in the final 30 minutes of action, as the Wolves 7-point halftime lead held.
Chaka Kelly recording a 27-yard reception, and
Spencer Johnson notching a 6-yard reception.
Northern combined for 100 yards rushing and 252 yards passing in the victory. The Wolves were strong defensively with a season high four interceptions. The defense also added two sacks for a total loss of 20 yards, and forced a fourth down turnover by the Golden Bears.
Trautman threw for 235 yards and four touchdowns, while completing 16-of-27 attempts without giving up an interception. Larson added the final 17 passing yards for the Wolves, while Kelly led the Northern State rushers with 87 yards and a 15 yard long, while Larson led the receivers with 141 yards total yards, averaging 20.1 yards per catch.
Alex Gray led the Wolves defense with 12 total tackles, including five solo stops, and an 82-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Preston Droessler,
Josh Coyle, and
Noah MacPherson each tallied ten tackles of their own sitting second on the team. Droessler and Coyle each recorded an interception, with Droessler notching a 30-yard return. Macpherson, as well as
Joe Gorghuber notched the two team sacks for the Wolves, while
Etienne Ezeff grabbed the final interception.
Jacob Wiedrich punted for 194 total yards, averaging 32.3 yards with a 41-yard long. The senior added 308 yards kicking off with two touchbacks and a 51-yard long.
Zech Culbreath notched the two kickoff returns for the Wolves, totaling 29 yards.
Northern returns to action next Saturday from Swisher Field for the annual Blackout Cancer Game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. between the Wolves and Augustana.
