ST. PAUL, Minn. – Winona State football used a balanced attack and capitalized on four rushing touchdowns to earn a 31-14 victory at Concordia-St. Paul, giving the Warriors their first win of the 2024 season and moving to 1-0 in the NSIC.
Winona State passed for 257 yards and ran for another 165, including four rushing touchdowns, to outgain the Golden Bears 422-302 in total yards. The Warriors held CSP to just 91 yards passing, most of which came in the final minutes of the game.
Cole Stenstrom put together one of his most complete performances as the Winona State quarterback, throwing for 257 yards on an efficient 21-27 passing. Eight of those completions were to
Sylvere Campbell, who had his second straight 100-yard game and totaled 136 yards.
Ty Gavin and fellow backfield teammate,
Cair'ron Hendred, split the running duties for the Warriors. Gavin was featured heavily in the first half, notching the first two WSU scores with a final line of 12 carries for 54 yards. Hendred eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark, going for 101 yards on 15 carries and found the endzone twice.
After WSU won the coin toss and elected to defer, Concordia-St. Paul opened the game with a 75-yard scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead 3:50 into the game. The Warriors bounced right back, driving 80 yards in eight minutes as Gavin found paydirt on a five-yard rush.
WSU forced a quick three-and-out and then strung together a strong drive converting several third downs, including a third-down touchdown run by Gavin put the Warriors in front 14-7.
The Golden Bears marched down the field to tie it back up, but after getting the ball back with less than two minutes to go in the second quarter, Winona State entered field goal position and
Jacob Scott punched one through the goal post from 38 yards out to give Winona State a 17-14 lead heading into halftime.
The Winona State defense put on the clamps in the second half, holding CSP to zero points. The tone was set right away as WSU had their backs against the wall and was able to force the Golden Bears into a turnover on downs and a punt on CSP's first two possessions in the third quarter.
Hendred scored his first touchdown of the evening on a three-yard rush up the middle capping off a nine-play, 80-yard drive in the third quarter. The Warriors added on the final points of the game as Hendred broke loose for a 32-yard touchdown rush with 5:08 remaining in the game. The Winona State defense held Concordia-St. Paul out of the endzone on the last drive of the game to claim the 31-14 victory.
With the win, Winona State moves to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC. The Warriors will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 21st as they host Wayne State at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00pm.
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