MOORHEAD, Minn. – Paced by 177 total yards from running back Jordan Roberts, the No. 6-ranked St. Thomas football team overcame an early deficit and leads 14th-ranked Concordia-Moorhead 28-7 at halftime Saturday at Jake Christiansen Stadium.

The Tommies (7-0 overall, 5-0 MIAC) were held scoreless in the first quarter for the first time this season and trailed for just the second time all year.

Concordia (7-1 overall, 5-1 MIAC) received the opening kickoff and wasted no time getting on the board. Running back Jason Montonye took a handoff on the second play of the game and raced 57 yards down the sideline before being forced out of bounds at the Tommie 16-yard line. Five plays later, wide receiver Brandon Zylstra took a direct snap in the backfield and made his way into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown that put the Cobbers up 7-0 with 11:19 left in the first quarter.

The Tommies didn’t let the drought carry over for long though, evening the score at 7-7 on a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Jordan Roberts with 13:41 left in the second quarter. Roberts broke the 1,000 yard barrier for the season on the carry, the first Tommie since Brenton Braddock in 2012 to reach the milestone.

Roberts put the Tommies in the lead with his first receiving touchdown of the year. Facing third down at the St. Thomas 32, Roberts turned a short screen pass from quarterback John Gould into a 68-yard touchdown. Tight end Charlie Dowdle took a direct snap on the extra point attempt and maneuvered his way across the goal line to push the Tommie lead to 15-7.

St. Thomas followed the scoring drive with back-to-back possessions ending with interceptions before wide receiver Nick Waldvogel found the end zone on a 25-yard touchdown run. Kicker Paul Graupner missed the extra point to keep the score at 21-7.

The Tommies pushed their lead back to three touchdowns on Gould’s touchdown pass to wide receiver Jack Gilliland just before halftime.

Tom Pitzen can be reached at pitz2014@stthomas.edu.