COLLEGE FOOTBALL / UMD 32, CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 3
About a half-dozen boisterous high school buddies mobbed Minnesota Duluth safety Sam Lynch on Saturday afternoon.
While they were from the Twin Cities area, they had the bulldog bark down just fine (think "Who Let the Dogs Out" ... then repeat over and over).
"We try to have fun out there, because when we're having fun, that's usually when we're at our best," Lynch said.
And the No. 8 Bulldogs are having lots of fun, as evidenced by their 32-3 NSIC football victory over Concordia-St. Paul before 3,169 at Malosky Stadium.
ADVERTISEMENT
UMD quarterback John Larson threw for 238 yards and a touchdown and ran for 69 yards and another score in just over three quarters as the Bulldogs (5-0) stayed unbeaten.
Despite the lopsided score, Larson felt UMD could have done even better. The teams combined for 18 penalties, with the Golden Bears (2-3) having 10 for 98 yards and the Bulldogs eight for 78 yards.
Larson's lone mistake was a first-half interception on a miscommunication with receiver Nick Eliason which he said would be corrected.
"You can't complain about a 32-3 win, and Concordia is very much improved, but I felt we could have stuck it to them," Larson said. "It's repetitive, but our defense is playing well every week. They were great again."
It was a bend-but-not-break performance for the UMD defense. Normally the Bulldogs leave their corners on islands, mano a mano with the receiver, but with the likes of 6-foot-5 junior Marcus Gustaveson lining up for the Golden Bears, UMD often rolled over safety help.
"We have to play a lot better to beat them, no doubt," Concordia coach Shannon Currier said. "They shut us out, essentially. We saw video where they played a lot of man coverage, but we didn't see that as much this game. You'd like to run the ball against that, but you're not going to get the big chunks. You have to be patient and avoid the penalties and convert third downs, things like that. They just eliminated big plays. That's the one thing they did really well."
Concordia's best play ended up being a fumble that got kicked forward and recovered for a 53-yard gain.
Lynch and Tareq Abulebbeh had interceptions and Dre Greer had a fumble recovery for the Bulldogs. Lynch simply played a deep centerfield in intercepting Concordia senior quarterback Dom McKinzy, who finished 10-for-23 passing for 85 yards and the two interceptions.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I'll take what I can get," Lynch said. "We were getting good pressure up front and making it easy for us in the defensive backfield. We knew it'd be a challenge coming in, but we responded well and held them. So far, so good. We're 5-0 and want to keep the ball rolling."
Dain Hudson had six catches for 66 yards for UMD, which was playing without injured 1,000-yard wide receiver Jason Balts. Wade Sullivan, another redshirt freshman, added 72 combined rushing and receiving yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs.
Concordia came in averaging 356 yards per game. UMD held the Golden Bears to 242 yards, including just 108 through the air - 88 below their average- while forcing three turnovers.
The Bulldogs will need to cut down on penalties and shore up their special teams after a missed chip-shot field goal and extra point, but coach Curt Wiese is pleased with the progress.
"I thought we played a complete football game," Wiese said. "We have some things we need to continue to work on, but Concordia is a good football team. I'm pleased with the way we came out of this game. Our defense played exceptional, and I like the way John Larson is dispersing the football to our tight ends, running backs and wide receivers. Those guys are playing at a high level."
Larson had some visible scrapes on his arms after this one. He runs hard.
At 6-1 and 215 pounds, he's built more like a linebacker, but as the No. 1 rushing threat so far this season for the Bulldogs, he's taken his share of hits.
But the sophomore signal-caller from Braham, Minn., keeps a good perspective on things. He knows the Bulldogs have no time to rest with a tough game at Augustana (3-2) next week.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I feel good. I feel like we're going into Week 6," Larson said. "Our trainer, Mike Wendinger, said just before the season, 'Remember how you feel, because it's going to be the best you feel for the next three months.' So yeah, I feel it, but when that first whistle blows, I feel 100 percent, ready to roll."
Concordia-SP 0-3-0-0-3
Minn. Duluth 8-11-6-7-32
First Quarter
UMD - Tyler Lattery 10 pass from John Larson (Nate Ricci run), 3:59
Second Quarter
CSP - Jonas Schenderlein 34 field goal, 12:02
UMD - Zach Ojile 1 run (Ricci run), 8:53
UMD - Dan Branger 33 field goal, :02
Third Quarter
UMD - Larson 9 run (Branger kick), 12:09
ADVERTISEMENT
Fourth Quarter
UMD - Wade Sullivan 6 run (Branger kick), 12:08
CSP UMD
First downs..................................15 27
Rushes-yards.......................30-134 37-165
Passing....................................108 250
Comp-Att-Int......................13-29-2 21-35-1
Kick returns-yards.................5-42 1-26
Punts-yards..........................4-34.5 1-46.0
Fumbles-lost..............................2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards........................10-98 8-78
Time of possession................26:33 33:27
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - CSP, Lajuan Preston 13-110, Maxon Hutton 7-19, Garrett Gardner 1-9, Emanuel Jones 3-8, Dom McKinzy 4-5, Keyon Walters 1-1, Team 1-1. UMD, Larson 15-69, Sullivan 8-48, Mike Rybarczyk 2-34, Griffin Hill 4-12, Bryce Heim 3-11, Ojile 2-0, Tory Adams 2-(-4), Alex Lasinski 1-(-5).
PASSING - CSP, McKinzy 10-23-85-2, Hutton 3-6-23-0. UMD, Larson 20-32-238-1, Rybarczyk 1-3-12-0.
RECEIVING - CSP, M.J. Williams 5-61, Marcus Gustaveson 2-30, Jake Tanner 2-(-2), Preston 1-8, John Damrow 1-5, Gabe Steed 1-4, Keyon Walters 1-2. UMD, Dain Hudson 6-66, Ricci 3-46, Obi Ibeneme 3-34, Sullivan 2-24, Latter 2-22, Nick Eliason 2-15, Johnny McCormick 1-21, Kyle Webb 1-12, Ojile 1-10.
ADVERTISEMENT
