WINONA, Minn. -
Tom Sawyer and his team had been waiting for nearly 22 months for a chance to compete together again and the Warriors wasted no time in delivering a signature win to kick off the 2021 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) campaign.
Winona State steamrolled the Golden Bears 47-6 with a dominant performance in all phases of the game, providing over 3,500 fans in attendance a Thursday night under the lights to remember.
Several tremendous first half plays, including an outstanding
Sawyer Maly special team's effort on punt coverage, set the tone early in the contest for Winona State and they never looked back, cruising to the programs fifth-straight opening week win.
Maly outran everybody to push a
Tristan Root punt out of bounds at the one-yard line, one of many hustle plays that were a part of the Warrior effort on the evening. Running back
Javian Roebuck had set the scoring tempo early for Winona State, notching touchdowns on a two-yard dive at 2:35 in the first quarter and with a 64-yard run in the second quarter to double the Warrior lead.
Shortly thereafter, Maly's massive effort pinned the Golden Bears in the shadow of their own goalposts on the one-yard line. One snap later, Winona State delivered a safety, tackling the CSP ball carrier in the end zone in front of a raucous student section happy to be back in the friendly confines of Maxwell Field. On the scoreboard the play was only worth two points, but the momentum generated effectively decided the outcome of the game.
Roebuck rambled to 131 total yards on 14 carries, including three touchdowns. The senior running back had 122 yards in the first half alone and averaged 9.4 yards per rush.
Jake Balliu delivered over 160 all-purpose yards, including a 65-yard TD catch in the first half to the delight of the Warrior faithful. Concordia had no answer for the balanced WSU offense, as coordinator
Cameron Keller combined with his signal caller
Owen Burke to keep the Golden Bears guessing all night.
The Winona State offense racked up 17 first downs on the day, accumulated 272 rushing yards and had another 281 through the air. In addition to the Roebuck and Balliu scoring tallies, Ethan Wittenberg had a touchdown catch, going 48 yards on a pinpoint pass from Burke in the third quarter. Nine different WSU receivers had catches in the game.
In addition to Roebuck,
Ty Gavin gave defensive coordinators something to think about in upcoming weeks, as he made the most of his six carries, racking up 86 yards and a touchdown, showing an ability to get to the outside in a hurry.
Defensively, Winona State was outstanding.
NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year
Cam Gavin was a big part of the success, with five tackles from the secondary while linebacker
Clay Schueffner led the Warriors by racking up eight stops, including a sack. Longtime defensive coordinator
Brian Curtin dialed up a "D" that held CSP to just 57 rushing yards in the game and only 187 yards of total offense. The Golden Bears averaged 2.2 yards a carry on the evening.
The lone highlight for CSP was a pair of field goals from Sam Henson, including an impressive 48-yard effort from the left hash. However, the WSU defense was dominant on the day, holding Concordia to 130 yards passing and just 57 on the ground.
WSU fans got a first look at the special teams play for the Warriors, as junior college transfer
Jacob Scott went 1-for-2 on field goal attempts and was a perfect 6-for-6 on PAT's.
Tristan Root handled the majority of the punting and kickoff duties.
Jake Balliu handled kick returns for the Warriors including a 40-yard effort in the second half.
With the outcome in hand by the fourth quarter, WSU got some important experience for several reserves, including
Trevor Paulsen taking over for Burke at quarterback.
Dominik London left an impression with several touches in the fourth quarter, showing some elusive moves on six carries.
Overall, Winona State could not have scripted their first game of the 2021 season any better, firing on all cylinders and moving to 1-0 on the season and look to prepare for a trip to Minnesota State – Moorhead in week two. Concordia St. Paul fell to 0-1 on the year.
For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.
