Bison rout Bears
While the rest of teams at NDSU were celebrating their entry into the Mid-Continent Conference, the Bison football team decided to throw their own party Thursday night.
In front of 15,609 fans at the Fargodome, the Bison beat Concordia-St. Paul 66-7 in the season opener.
“ I thought we had a good chance to go out and beat Concordia if we play well,” head coach Craig Bohl said. “There was some adversity at the beginning which was not planned, obviously, but I thought the team handled it well.”
Bohl was referring to the opening kickoff that put the Bison in an early bind.
On a short, low kick, junior Nick Jackson let the ball take a bounce in front of him before picking it up.
Jackson got turned around, and by the time he started heading up field, the Golden Bears were already on him and he was hit and coughed up the ball. Concordia recovered and took possession on the Bison 9.
The Bison defense held Concordia on the next three plays and it appeared they were going to take back the game’s momentum.
On 4th down, the Golden Bears lined up for a field goal but after being hiked the ball, holder Jay Schauder kept it and scampered into the end zone for an early 7-0 lead.
This would prove to be one of the only blunders for the Bison defense that night.
Led by Matt Kittelson with eight tackles, the Bison held Concordia to 42 yards of total offense, including negative 29 yards on the ground.
NDSU had five sacks; middle linebacker Joe Mays was credited with two.
“ We felt like our defense is coming around, but some of it is dictated by their style of offense. I think Coach Mauer thought he was going to be a riverboat gambler and come in with the attitude to win the game,” Bohl said, referring to Concordia head coach and former Bison assistant Mark Mauer’s aggressive offense.
“ He may have put his team in some tough situations, but certainly between the pressures and the sacks, we feel pretty solid about our defensive front.”
Coming into the game, the Bison had questions about key players on offense in quarterback Steve Walker and wide receiver Travis White.
Those issues were answered early and often.
Walker finished 15-19 for 158 yards, including two touchdowns to White.
White’s touchdowns were from four and 20 yards, in his signature fashion in the back corner of the end zone.
“ It was a definitely a great way to come back in. I was nervous about coming out and seeing what it was like again,” White said after the game. “I had the butterflies like I was playing in my first game. But after catching the first pass, it all came back.”
Senior running back Kyle Steffes, who, like most of the starters, played little in the second half, rushed over 100 yards for the 13th time in his career and added two touchdowns.
Bison fans got a peek at Steffes’ probable replacement in Symeon Cabell, as the junior took most of the carries in the second half.
Showing his speed and elusiveness, Cabell rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns, including a 60-yard dart near the end of the game.
The Bison finished 476 yards on offense, and despite the early mistake, were nearly flawless against Division II Concordia.
“ Certainly there are some (things) to work on within our football team,” Bohl said. “We will address those things, but there were some other positive signs out there.”