| October 2nd, 2004 | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
Records |
| Northern State | 2-3, 1-1 NSIC | |||||
| Concordia St. Paul | 4-2, 1-0 NSIC |
Espinoza 22 Tackles against CSP
St. Paul, Minn. - Northern State walked into a bear trap as they were snagged 35-14 by Concordia St. Paul. The Wolves found themselves down 28-0 before getting on the board with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter. Wolves’ linebacker Steve Espinoza was everywhere as he brought down 22 Golden Bears on the day. His 22 tackles was the second highest total in the nation this season (23 by Bryan Diaz, Trinity (Tex.) 9-25-04).
Espinoza had 11 solo tackles and 11 assists in the game. He three tackles for seven yards lost, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had a quarterback sack in the loss.
The Golden Bears took advantage of an early Wolves fumble to go up 7-0. The Bears held the ball for over twelve minutes in the first quarter as they won the time of possession battle 37 to 23. The Wolves were 1 for 4 in the red zone while the Bears were 4 of 7.
Concordia St. Paul racked up 676 yards of total offense in the game. The Wolves could not contain Golden Bear QB James McNear, who passed for 358 yards and rushed for 107 yards for a total of 465 yards of total offense on the day.
Rudy Jones rushed for 109 yards on 20 carries to lead the Wolves. Toby Korrodi was 18 for 39 for 271 yards and a TD, but was sacked five times in the game. Travis Heitmann led the Wolves receivers with 111 yards on eight catches. TJ Johnson was second in tackles in the game as he finished with 11.
The Wolves host Wayne State on Oct. 9 th at 7:00 p.m. at Clark Swisher Field.
Espinoza 22 Tackles against CSP
Earns NSIC Defensive Player of the Week
St. Paul, Minn. - Espinoza, a 6-0, 225-pound senior from El Monte, Calif., had 22 tackles, including 11 solo stops, in a 35-14 loss at Concordia-St. Paul. Espinoza had three tackles for loss including a quarterback sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Espinoza was also a D2Football.com National Player of the Week Honorable Mention selection for his efforts.
Espinoza was the 2003 NSIC Defensive New-Comer of the Year as he was tied for second on the team in tackles with 49.5. Espinoza currently ranks second in the NSIC in tackles per game with 10.0 tpg.
Espinoza is the third Wolf to be named player of the week; Shawn Warren and Josh LeBrun were also selected earlier this season.
Northern State University (located in Aberdeen, SD) is an NCAA Division
II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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