Kilat Fitzgerald/Winonan

The Winona State University football team used a 38-0 lead at halftime to its advantage, earning a 51-17 blowout victory against Concordia-St. Paul Saturday, to spoil the Golden Bears’ homecoming.

“It was nice to steal a homecoming back. If we don’t get one no one gets one,” wide receiver Justin Bergeron said.

Winona State scored on eight of its nine attempts in the red zone on the game.

The Warriors, who entered the game as the conference’s top passing team, faced the league’s worst passing team in the Golden Bears. Winona State more than doubled Concordia-St. Paul in total offensive yards, compiling 532 yards by the end of the game compared to an opposing 255.

Junior quarterback Jack Nelson posted the 11th game of his career with over 300 passing yards, completing 20 of his 31 attempts for 333 yards and a trio of touchdowns. It was also the first game of the season where he did not throw an interception or was sacked.

After starting the game with a punt, Winona State’s second possession was an 11-play, 65-yard drive culminating with a seven-yard connection from Nelson to senior Josh Mikes for the 7-0 advantage.

On the next play, senior Kyle Coon intercepted a pass from Concordia-St. Paul quarterback Ben Schramski, allowing a two-play drive where Nelson connected with senior Fritz Rock for a 40-yard catch, putting the Warriors on Concordia’s five-yard line. Redshirt first-year Eric Birth then ran the ball into the end zone on the next play to extend the lead to 14-0.

Sophomore Carter McCauley tallied a 23-yard field goal right away in the second quarter before Nelson and Mikes found each other for their second touchdown of the day, a 65-yard pass that increased the advantage to 24-0 in favor of the Warriors.

A minute later, Birth found the end zone for the second time of the afternoon, scoring on a 2-yard rush to give the Warriors a 31-0 lead halfway through the second quarter. Nelson recorded his third touchdown of the first half on a 5-yard pass into the hand of junior Cameron Johnson with 1:18 to go, giving the Warriors a 38-0 advantage heading into the locker room.

Early in the third quarter, junior Paul Preston netted his only touchdown of the game on a 3-yard rush to push the Warrior advantage to 45-0. The running back ended the afternoon with 104 rushing yards on 17 attempts. McCauley made it 48-0 with a 35-yard field goal before the Golden Bears finally scoring on a 15-yard pass at the end of the third quarter to make the score 48-7.

The final points were made by McCauley on a 19-yard kick sealing the 51-7 victory for the Warriors.

Winona State stayed away from the penalty flag for the majority of the game, committing three errors for 30 yards.

Offensively, senior Alan May hauled in six catches for 64 yards while Mikes recorded six receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior Gage Ridenour paved the way defensively for the Warriors, posting seven tackles, while senior Collin Corcoran added five tackles, two of those going for a loss to go along with a sack.

Winona State (3-2) heads to No. 4 Sioux Falls (5-0) for a contest at Bob Young Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.