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MOORHEAD, Minn.- Tight end Logan Marks’ two touchdowns in the first half lifted No. 4 St. Thomas to a 21-7 victory over No. 17 Concordia-Moorhead Saturday on a chilly afternoon at Jake Christiansen Stadium.

The victory gave St. Thomas (9-0, 7-0) its third straight MIAC championship while dashing Concordia’s (7-2, 5-2) hopes at the title. This season will mark the Tommies’ fourth straight playoff appearance. The win was the Tommies’ 33rd consecutive victory in the regular season and 26th successive win in the MIAC.

“It’s a great feeling,” Marks said regarding the team’s title. “It’s proof to how hard we’ve worked the past four years.”

The Tommies welcomed back from injury some familiar faces on offense: quarterback Matt O’Connell and wide receiver Dan Ferrazzo. O’Connell finished with only 11 completions for 217 yards while leading the team with 80 rushing yards.

But today, like many Saturday afternoons this season, was about the defense.

The Tommie defense continued its hot streak by containing a very capable Cobber offense lead by quarterback Griffin Neal. Last week against Carleton, Neal and the Cobbers put up 51 points and amassed 313 yards passing. Against St. Thomas, Concordia totaled 118 yards passing and a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Both teams came out with energy as the snowflakes fell with the Tommie defense creating a chance for its offense.

Following safety Tyler Erstad’s fumble recovery at the Tommies’ 48-yard line in the first quarter, quarterback Matt O’Connell orchestrated a seven-play, 52-yard drive capped off by Marks’ 13-yard touchdown reception.

“Basically, it’s sell run until the very last second,” Marks said describing his touchdown. “Then, I just pop out on the other side.”

This score marked the first time the Cobbers had trailed the entire season, as their only other loss came with no time remaining against No. 12 Bethel.

At times in the first half, the Tommies seemed to slip into their old ways: turning the ball over and getting penalized often. St. Thomas collected seven penalties in the first half alone while turning over the ball twice on an O’Connell interception and a Marks fumble deep inside Cobber territory in the second quarter. St. Thomas also struggled to run the ball, so coach Glenn Caruso reached into his bag of tricks for a few “gadget plays.”

“We think it really loosened it up,” Caruso said. “They were clogging up the box … it’s a mark of a good team.”

The unfazed Tommies still appeared to be the side that would score next. With 14.7 seconds left before half, O’Connell found Marks again on the exact same route as his first touchdown, for a 9-yard touchdown reception.

“It was the exact same play,” Caruso said. “A lot of coaches say don’t call two plays the same, why not if it works?”

The touchdown was the fourth in the last five games where St. Thomas has scored in the last minute of the first half, which Caruso considers one of the “major predictors of success” for his football team.

Although the halftime score only read 14-0, the visitors silenced the once crazed home fans and the Cobbers players, too. The Tommies dominated the first half with 266 yards of offense; Concordia had 93: 67 rushing yards and 26 passing yards.

“(The) game plan was stopping the run,” defensive lineman Ayo Idowu said. “I think we did a pretty decent job of doing that.”

Defensive stop sparks second half

If the Tommie defense received accolades at halftime, they must have not let it get to their heads as they had to be on their toes early on in the third quarter.

After forcing a Tommie punt, the Cobbers took possession early in the third quarter. Following an incomplete pass on third down at the St. Thomas 20-yard line, Concordia decided to go for it on fourth down, its third such attempt on this drive alone.

As Neal went back to pass, he must have thought his offensive lineman were warming up on the sidelines as three Tommies barreled toward him. After spinning and twirling to elude two tacklers, Idowu sacked Neal, thwarting a 16-play, 32-yard drive with 5:02 left in the third quarter.

Caruso said Idowu was a “man on a mission.”

“I just said a prayer and threw my hand out there,” Idowu said. “It was my job to make that play at that point in time.”

The Tommie offense made the Cobbers pay when running back Brenton Braddock fought through two tackles on his way into the end zone for his team-leading sixth touchdown of the season, putting the Tommies up 21-0 with 4:20 remaining in the third. Braddock finished with 69 yards rushing.

On the Cobbers’ first play of the fourth quarter, Neal left the game with an undisclosed lower body injury and did not return. Quarterback Mitch Tauer took over completing seven passes for 47 yards.

The lone Concordia score came with 5:06 remaining as fullback Brett Baune lept 1 yard into the end zone, bringing the score to 21-7. A magnificent 41-yard Tauer run put the ball at the 1-yard line that brought the remaining Cobber fans to their feet.

With the MIAC title wrapped up, the Tommies might forget their regular season has one game left: St. Olaf next Saturday at 1:10 p.m. at home. If St. Thomas should beat St. Olaf, the Tommies will become the first MIAC school to go 10-0 for three successive years in conference history.

“We have a chance to etch out our place in history,” Caruso said. “That’s not something we take lightly; we’ll be ready to go.”

Ross Schreck can be reached at schr8250@stthomas.edu.