Sam Thiel/Winonan

The Winona State University football team finished its 2013 campaign with a 23-13 loss to Concordia-St. Paul in front of a crowd of 1,265 in the last collegiate football contest ever played in the Metrodome.

The running backs couldn’t provide any offense, recording only two net yards on the game, while Concordia-St. Paul ended their day with 108 yards rushing. The Warriors posted 206 passing yards, while the Golden Bears recorded 225.

Winona State had trouble lighting the offensive fuse early, and they were forced to punt on both of its possessions in the first quarter. The Warriors were held to only five yards in the opening quarter, controlling the ball for 3:21, while the Golden Bears had the ball for 11:39. Quarterback Jack Nelson saw himself get sacked seven times as the Golden Bear defense applied stifling pressure throughout the majority of the game.

Concordia-St. Paul started off the scoring with a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter to take a 3-0 advantage.

The second quarter didn’t bode much better for the Warriors, with their longest play being a 21-yard completion from Nelson to Zach Olstad with 6:30 to go in the half giving the Warriors a first down.

Concordia-St. Paul was able to increase its lead in the second quarter, scoring its first touchdown of the contest on an 8-yard completion from Jared Russo to Cordell Smith to give the Golden Bears a 10-0 lead. Concordia tacked on another field goal with just three seconds on the clock to improve their advantage to 13-0 heading into the locker room.

Winona State scored halfway through the third quarter thanks to a 19-yard strike from Nelson to Alan May to cut the deficit to 20-7. The Golden Bears answered with their third field goal of the game, this one good for 32 yards as they took a 23-7 advantage.

The Warriors started off the fourth quarter in explosive fashion, as Nelson found Tony Mueller on the first play for a 29-yard connection down to the 10-yard line. On the next play, Nelson got the ball in Alex Jensen’s hands for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the lead to within ten, 23-13. A failed two-point conversion left the difference at ten that would end up being the final score.

The Golden Bears created four Warrior turnovers. Winona State lost a trio of fumbles while Nelson threw a pick as well. Nelson bounced back from his slow start, completing 13 of his 25 passes for 206 yards as well as a pair of touchdowns.

Collin Corcoran was impressive defensively for the Warriors, netting 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Pat Lazzara finished with 13 tackles and an interception. Ryan Gerts recorded for 11 tackles and a forced fumble, while Larry Mbayu added eight, and Morgan Weaver and Mitch Lunder each chipped in seven. Turrell Foster had six tackles and also picked up a Golden Bear fumble for the Warriors.

Winona State ends its 2013 season with a 6-5 record, making it the 17th season in a row with a winning record with head coach Tom Sawyer at the helm.

Contact Sam at [email protected]