Christopherson wins 200th in Cobber shutout
Concordia’s 28-0 victory over Macalester in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action made Christopherson only the 31st member of the 200-win club and only the 18th to win that many at one school.
How did the Cobbers react to the milestone? The responses were mixed.
"It is not a big deal right now," said Cobber running back Dan Steinbeisser, who caught a touchdown pass and ran for two other scores against the Scots. "We’ve got a tough one next week against Bethel. That is what is on everyone’s mind right now."
Cobbers defensive end Jon Jasken, who recovered two Macalester fumbles, was thrilled to be part of Cobber history.
"It is nice to get a milestone for a coach like Jim Christopherson," Jasken said. "He is a great guy. This is something that we will all remember."
And Christopherson? He is just glad to have No. 200 behind him so his club can concentrate solely on the MIAC title chase.
"It (No. 200) was going to come sometime," said Christopherson, who is now 200-82-7 in 29 seasons. "And, like I’ve said all along, I didn’t win 200 games. It was all the wonderful athletes and assistant coaches who did all the work. This will mean more to me after I’m out of coaching – to look back a see that I was a part of that many wins."
For the most part, Concordia dominated this game. But a handful a miscues by the Cobbers offense helped keep things interesting until the fourth quarter.
The Cobbers, who finished with a 22-2 edge in first downs and a 332-97 advantage in total yards, led 14-0 at halftime as a result of two touchdown runs by Steinbeisser. Only a pair a interceptions tossed by Concordia quarterback Ethan Pole and a failed fourth-and-2 attempt by the Cobbers at the Macalester 6 kept the score from getting out of hand in the first half.
The Scots’ only offensive threat came early in the third quarter when running back Sam Randel broke loose for a 49-yard run to the Cobbers’ 6. Three plays later – on third-and-goal from the two – running back Todd Murray fumbled and Jasken recovered for the Cobbers in the end zone.
"It is good to get into those tough situations," Jasken said. "We haven’t had a chance to work on our goal-line defense. But you don’t want to work on that too often."
The next test for the Cobbers defense came quickly. Following Jasken’s recovery, Pole fumbled the ball right back to the Scots at the Concordia 16.
Macalester came up empty again, however, when kicker Matt Kessler missed a 30-yard field goal try.
From that point on, it was all Cobbers. While Concordia’s defense wasn’t allowing a first down in the final 25 minutes of the game, the Cobbers offense avoided mistakes and added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to sew it up.
Linebacker Ryan Sannes led the Cobbers defense with 12 tackles. Linebacker Cory Polzine added seven, while Jasken had five.
"Our defense bailed us out big time," said Steinbeisser, who ran 31 times for 123 yards. "We made some mistakes offensively and Macalester played us tough."
The Cobbers, who have outscored their first four opponents 111-14 and have two straight shutouts, now face the toughest part of their schedule. Bethel is next, followed by St. Thomas, St. John’s and Augsburg. Christopherson’s 201st victory won’t come easy.
"It is nice to have (No. 200) out of the way," said Christopherson, who has won two national championships and 11 MIAC titles at Concordia. "Now the whole focus of this week will be on the Bethel game."
Bethel failed to do its part, however, in making next Saturday’s matchup in Moorhead a battle of unbeatens. The Royals were upset 31-21 by visiting Gustavus Saturday.