McNear racks up yards

Minnesota State Moorhead said goodbye Saturday to its seven seniors playing their last game at Alex Nemzek Stadium.

The Dragons also bid farewell to James McNear. And good riddance!

The four-year starter at quarterback for Concordia-St. Paul had 336 yards in the first half to spark the Golden Bears to a 48-20 victory Saturday in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football.

"He can throw the ball, he's dangerous in the open field, he's the best player in our conference," said Dragons senior defensive end Kirk Peterson from Pelican Rapids, Minn.

In the first two quarters, the 6-foot-1, 178-pound senior from Des Moines, Iowa, rushed for 115 yards on nine attempts. He also completed 13 of 17 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown.

"He's really a big part of what we do offensively," said Bears coach Mark Mauer, a former North Dakota State assistant coach. "We executed well with him in the first half."

Powered by McNear, Concordia-St. Paul scored five unanswered touchdowns in the first half, building a 35-7 halftime lead. The Bears had scoring drives of 82, 93, 33, 83 and 70 yards in the first two quarters.

"It probably ranks as our best half this year," McNear said of the offense.

"We haven't played that well on the road. To have that big a half, it helped with our confidence."

MSUM started strong, forcing the Golden Bears to a three plays-and-out their first possession.

The Dragons followed that with a nine-play, 82-yard scoring drive. Freshman fullback Dennis Oswald, from Detroit Lakes, Minn., capped the march with a 1-yard run and MSUM led 7-0 with 9 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

With the score tied 7-7, the Golden Bears defense, delivered a key play on MSUM's next drive.

Set up by Jim Baumann's 78-yard kickoff return, the Dragons faced a third down-and-goal from the Concordia 6. Linebacker Travis Johnson popped Oswald at the line of scrimmage, forcing a fumble that Bears linebacker Doug Cox recovered at the 7.

"We get momentum and one thing goes against us and we die and don't get that momentum back," Peterson said. "We can't keep our heads down like that."

Concordia-St. Paul took the turnover and drove 93 yards on four plays to score and take a 14-7 lead. McNear hit 3 of 3 passes on the drive for 82 yards, adding 11 yards on one rush.

"Any time you turn over the ball, it's a change of attitude," Dragons coach Chad Eisele said. "It's not only the fumble, it's letting them score after the fumble that brings the whole team down."

Concordia-SP 21 14 0 13-48

MSUM 7 0 7 6-20

MSUM-Oswald 1 run (Bonkoski kick)

CSP-Cawthorn 5 run (Johnson kick)

CSP-Bridgefourth 17 pass from McNear (Johnson kick)

CSP-Holmes 3 run (Johnson kick)

CSP-Holmes 2 run (Johnson kick)

CSP-Cawthorn 2 run (Johnson kick)

MSUM-Frost 3 run (Bonkoski kick)

MSUM-Oswald 1 run (kick failed)

CSP-Johnson 29 FG

CSP-Holmes 1 run (Johnson kick)

CSP-Johnson 25 FG

TEAM STATISTICS

CSP MSUM

First downs 27 14

Rushes-yards 48-247 38-85

Passing 262 168

Comp-Att-Int 18-29-1 11-24-1

Punts-Avg. 1-34.0 3-36.3

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 10-86 2-23

Time of Possession 33:58 26:02

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: CSP, McNear 15-129, Holmes 19-62, Cawthorn 13-57, Williams 1-2, Sonntag 1-(-3). MSUM, Frost 9-42, Oswald 15-34, Zupke 1-15, Mickolichek 1-0, Salazar 11-(-1), Baumann 1-(-5).

PASSING: CSP, McNear 18-29-1 262 yards. MSUM, Frost 11-21-1 168.

RECEIVING: CSP, Bridgefourth 5-46, Williams 4-72, Ruffin 3-55, Simmons 2-52, Harrington 2-22, Bashier 1-12, Cawthorn 1-3. MSUM, Sessions 5-74, Salem 3-62, Holloway 2-12, Schlenner 1-20.

A-521

Readers can reach Forum reporter Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513