Box Score Mankato, Minn.--- The 11th ranked Minnesota State football team battled the Concordia University Golden Bears on Family Night at Blakeslee Stadium Saturday night. A crowd of 4,264 fans saw the Mavericks fourth quarter comeback fall short as Concordia escaped with a victory.
“Hats off to Concordia,” said head coach Todd Hoffner. “Their quarterback was brilliant and they kept us on our heels all game. But, however, I think this one’s on us.”
Minnesota State marched down the field on their first possession and punctuated the drive with a one-yard touchdown run by junior running back Taylor Brookins. The Maverick drive took 4:16 and consisted of nine plays for 64 yards.
Concordia answered with a scoring drive of its own with 9:56 on the clock in the second quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Zach Hovey from Spencer Ohm.
The Mavericks scored shortly after on a 55-yard burst by Brookins, marking his second touchdown of the game. The PAT was blocked by Concordia giving the Mavericks a 13-6 lead with 7:57 left in the half.
Concordia, once again, answered back with a big play scoring on a 41-yard touchdown pass, which was tipped by Maverick defensive back Andre LaGrone, to CU wideout Charles Gilbert with 4:47 in the first half. The Golden Bears captured the lead after a successful PAT attempt, 14-13.
The Golden Bears totaled 152 passing yards and 211 yards of first half total offense. The Mavericks posted 108 rushing yards and 173 yards of first half total offense. Brookins finished the first half with 90 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns.
Concordia opened up the second half with a one-yard rushing touchdown by James Peterson. The score gave the Golden Bears a 21-13 lead with 9:53 left in the third quarter.
Minnesota State cut into the Golden Bear lead with a 36-yard touchdown run by Brookins, his third of the game. After a failed two-point conversion, the Mavericks trailed 21-19 with 7:22 left in the third quarter.
Concordia scored on through the air yet again with 1:33 left in the third quarter on a six-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Vavra from Ohm. Ohm’s third passing touchdown extended the Golden Bear lead to 28-19.
The start of the fourth quarter saw the Mavericks score through the air on a 54-yard strike, thrown by sophomore Will Brogan to sophomore Cody Rose. The aerial score and successful PAT reduced the Golden Bear lead to 28-26 with 14:23 left in the game.
With just under four minutes left in the game the Mavericks took control of the ball inside their own 20-yard line. After a couple of successful Brookins rushes and a crucial third and long conversion on a screen pass to sophomore Chris Echols, the Mavericks found themselves in field goal range, setting up sophomore Sam Brockshus for a 40-yard field attempt.
Brockshus field goal fell short, giving CU the ball on its own 22-yard line with 33 seconds remaining.
Brookins finished with 170 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns. Brookins 170 yards is the seventh-best single-game effort in school history. Brogan went 19 for 26 with 221 yards and one touchdown and Thielen led the Mavericks with six receptions for 85 yards.
Defensively, Matt McQuiston led the way for the Mavericks with 11 tackles including one for a loss. It marked McQuiston’s third consecutive game with 10 or more tackles.
Ohm efficiently led the aerial for the Golden Bears going 23 for 34 with 237 yards and throwing for three touchdowns. Ohm also led Concordia on the ground with 51 yards on ten carries.
Minnesota State (3-1, 2-1 NSIC) returns to action next Saturday as it travels to Winona State for a 6 p.m., contest.
To view the game stats, click HERE
MSU Postgame press conference with Todd Hoffner with Taylor Brookins and Matt McQuiston.
