ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul (1-7 NSIC, 0-4 South) hosts "A Beary Scary Halloween" at Sea Foam Stadium, entertaining visiting #10 Sioux Falls (7-1 NSIC, 3-1 South) with a noon kickoff. Festivities begin shortly after the gates open (11 a.m.) with trick-or-treating starting at 11:15 a.m. around the track.

BEARY SCARY HALLOWEEN
Kids are encouraged to wear their costumes to the game to make their way around the track to get candy and other prizes. Parents of kids with costumes will receive free admission to the game, while Concordia's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be collecting donations for Make-A-Wish. Please help SAAC reach thier goal of $1,000 in donations this year while enjoying the pregame trick-or-treating.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game will be available to watch online, free of charge through the Northern Sun's agreement with Stretch Internet and Concordia's agreement with Stream Powered Productions. The voice of the Golden Bears since 2008, Dan Flanagan will handle play-by-play while CSP alum Ren Clayton will join him as a color analyst and sideline reporter. Clayton spent time as an intern with KSTP-TV Channel 5 in the sports department with Joe Schmit, Chris Long and Darren "Doogie" Wolfson as an undergraduate and also interned for the CSP sports information office and was a student producer for Stream Powered Productions.

THIS WEEK: TOUGH STRETCH BEGINS TO CLOSE 2015
Over the final three weeks of the season, Concordia will play the #3, #7 and #8 teams in the NCAA Central Region Rankings. On deck is the third ranked team in the region, Sioux Falls (7-1, 3-1 South) - the #10 team in Division II according to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top-25.

The Golden Bears were edged 20-17 on the road last week at Wayne State to drop a fifth consecutive game while Sioux Falls suffered its first loss of the year at home to crosstown rival Augustana in the Key to the City game at home in Sioux Falls.

ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY TO FEATURE HANK GOFF
A project that has been in the works since August, an ESPN camera and audio crew was at the October 17 game against #1 Minnesota State at Sea Foam Stadium to gather footage of Hank Goff.

ESPN College GameDay will run a Veteran's Day feature segment on Saturday, November 7, the same day Concordia will honor Goff and the senior class for Senior Day against Southwest Minnesota State with a noon kickoff at Sea Foam Stadium.

An ESPN producer along with veteran journalist Gene Wojciechowski will be in St. Paul to collect interviews and day-to-day footage of Goff the week of October 26 for the piece.

ESPN has gravitated towards Goff's background as a top prep state champion recruit who started his career at FCS South Dakota State where he led the Jackrabbits in tackles for loss as a true freshman before leaving the program due to academic issues. Goff then enlisted in the Marines and was deployed to Afghanistan as a machine gunner. His story came full circle when adapting to his post-military life when he returned to college football with Concordia.

Goff is a returning All-NSIC South Division honorable mention performer and was tabbed by USA College Football as a Preseason All-America Second Team selection.

His story was first published by his uncle, Austin Murphy in Sports Illustrated with other media outlets including Fox Sports 1 and now ESPN College GameDay publicizing Goff's background which is punctuated by his military service and redemption on the college gridiron.

As a Golden Bear, Goff has made 57 tackles with 14.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, also breaking up nine passes with a pair of interceptions. As a senior, Goff has faced constant double teams while opposing offenses have intentionally avoided his side of the line of scrimmage. He's still managed to tally 19 tackles, 6.0 for loss and a pair of sacks with three pass breakups.

His top game of 2015 came in week eight on the road, registering a career-high seven tackles, tying his career-high of 2.0 tackles for loss with a blocked PAT and a forced fumble.

NOTES ON THE 2015 HOME SCHEDULE
The Golden Bears look to play a six game home schedule for the first time since the 2010 Mineral Water Bowl season and just the second time since Sea Foam Stadium opened in 2009.

The team will welcome a pair of opponents who have never played at Sea Foam Stadium, MSU Moorhead in week two and Southwest Minnesota State in week 10.  Additionally, Sioux Falls (week nine) has only played at Sea Foam Stadium once (2013), while Bemidji State (week four) and Winona State (week five) have not appeared at Sea Foam Stadium since the 2010 Mineral Water Bowl season.

MEET THE 2015 TEAM CAPTAINS
Concordia head coach Ryan Williams has announced four captains for the 2015 season, junior Corey Cole (QB, Fillmore, Calif.) and senior Cole Parker (LT, Brookfield, Wis.) on offense and seniors Hank Goff (DL, Minnetonka, Minn.) and Jordan Nieuwsma (FS, Lakeville, Minn.) on defense.

SERIES NOTES: SIOUX FALLS 8, CONCORDIA 1
Concordia and Sioux Falls first started playing head-to-head in 1971 which was Concordia's third season of college football. Then, both programs were NAIA members and Concordia went by the Comets. CSP won the first meeting 24-16 but the Cougars have claimed victory in the eight meetings since. The programs played four straight years to 1974 and the programs were even members of the same conference (Tri-State) in the 1972 and 1973 seasons. The teams revived the series in 1982 and 1983 and didn't meet again until USF joined the NSIC in 2012.

Since entering the league, the Cougars have defeated Concordia three times including once at Sea Foam Stadium in 2013.

LAST MEETING, 2014: SIOUX FALLS 38, CONCORDIA 9
The two teams opened NSIC South Division play in week five last year with a night game at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls where Concordia went toe-to-toe with the #21 Cougars before USF opened up the score late in the contest.

Concordia had the first lead, 3-0 which was the first time the Cougars trailed in a game all season and the game was knotted at 3-3 late in the second quarter. Concordia was still within one score (8 points) at the end of the third quarter before USF scored 21 unanswered points to close out the game.

Tom Obarski's first quarter field goal was the first time a team scored on USF in the opening quarter of the 2014 season. Obarski buried three field goals in the game (39, 42, 32).

USF came into the game averaging 50 points and 500 yards per game to rank 5th and 15th in Division II, respectively. Concordia held the USF offense to five 3-and-outs in the game. The Cougars were held under 100 yards of total offense until a late 2nd quarter scoring drive changed the game's momentum.

The Cougars would finish the day with 468 yards of offense but Concordia dominated the time of possession, 36:56 to 23:04 which helped the visiting Golden Bears stay in the game.

Tre Spears led Concordia with 119 combined yards, rushing 33 times for 86 yards while adding six catches for 33 yards. Jermaine Clemon bruised the Cougar secondary for six catches and 79 yards. Jared Russo completed 21-39 for 167 yards as he found seven different targets on the night.

The defense was led by linebackers Cale Dester and Jordan Halverson with eight tackles each with Halverson forcing a fumble and Dester recovering one. Dion Roche also had a sack.

Sioux Falls was led by Nephi Garcia on the ground with 146 yards on 24 carries along with a catch for nine yards. He had a rushing and a receiving touchdown. Luke Papillion completed 23-33 for 287 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Brady Rose eight times for 128 yards and Garrett Shutt seven times for 98 yards. Josh Angulo had four catches for 35 yards and two touchdowns.

LAST WEEK: WAYNE STATE 20, CONCORDIA 17
It was a game of two contrasting styles as Concordia held a 272-31 advantage through the air but it was Wayne State's 304-38 edge on the ground that won out, including a key 3rd-and-1 pickup in the fourth quarter to ice the slim lead.

For the first time in 2015, Concordia had a 100-yard receiver with two players, Alquawn Vickers and Jason Oney, topping the mark. Vickers had nine catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns while Oney had four catches for 104 yards with a first quarter 81-yard grab setting up a field goal for the game's first lead with 10:35 to play in the opening quarter.

After a first quarter Wayne State touchdown, Trevor Tillett found Vickers for a 4-yard strike with 1:21 to play as Concordia had its first lead after the first quarter of the season, 10-7. A scoreless second quarter gave Concordia just its second halftime lead of the year as well.

The Wildcats scored in the third quarter with Hank Goff blocking the PAT to keep the game within a field goal, 13-10. Goff had a career day, setting a new career-high with seven tackles, tying his career high with 2.0 tackles for loss and forcing a fumble.

An early fourth quarter interception near midfield allowed the Wildcats to capitalize on the game's only turnover, scoring six plays later for a 20-10 lead with 8:36 to play in the game.

Concordia showed a spark late as Ben Schramski found Alquawn Vickers for a 28-yard touchdown with 2:37 to play to cut the game to 20-17.

But the Wildcats picked up the key 3rd-and-short, adding 49 rushing yards to a game total that was at 255 before the final drive of the contest.

Tillett led the passing game for Concordia with career-highs completing 18-36 for 217 yards and his second career TD. Schramski also played a role in the game plan, compelting 4-9 for 55 yards including the 28-yard TD strike to Vickers late.

Vickers added another strong all-purpose day to his resume, returning two kickoffs for 76 yards (38.0 avg), topping 30 on each (44, 32) and had a four yard punt return for 188 yards on 12 total touches while breaking the single season kickoff return yards record held by Joseph Mapson (35-809, 2003) with 845 on 29 returns.

HALVERSON BREAKS CAREER TACKLES RECORD
Senior inside linebacker Jordan Halverson became the fifth player in program history to eclipse 300 career tackles with his 11 tackle performance at SCSU in the 2015 season opener. He broke the career tackles record with 12 tackles in week five against Winona State.  He also ranks eighth in team history in tackles for loss with 32.5.

In 2015, Halverson has 70 tackles (8.8/game) to rank seventh in the NSIC while leading the Golden Bear defense. Fellow inside linebacker Jahphet Grant ranks 19th in the NSIC with 7.1 tackles per game (50 total) including an 18-tackle outburst against Bemidji State. Grant has two double-digit tackle games while Halverson has four.
CAREER TACKLES LEADERS
368 - Jordan Halverson (2010-2015)
342 - Brian Doyle (2001-04)

MIRERI PROVIDES A BLANKET ON THE CORNER
Senior cornerback Jimmy Mireri is etching his name into the Concordia record books as well. With a pass breakup in the opener at SCSU, Mireri became the sole record holder for career passes defended (INT + PBU) and now has 42. His 38 pass breakups is also a career record. He was able to breakup 14 passes each of the last two seasons, adding an interception in 2013 and three INT's in 2014.

In addition to his strong cover skills, Mireri is also a strong tackler and is able to make plays with the ball. He made 63 tackles each of the last two seasons including 41 and 45 solo stops, respectively. He has 206 career tackles, including 41 as a senior in 2015 with seven pass breakups in eight games played.

Last year, Mireri scored a pair of touchdowns as well, one via a 36-yard reception and the other on a 90-yard kickoff return.

Starting opposite Mireri at the corner has been a combination of DeCeon Schumann and Jordan Nieuwsma. Schumann has four starts, has made 28 tackles with two interceptions including a 42-yard INT return for touchdown in CSP's 28-13 win at Minot State. He also has five pass breakups and seven passes defended. Nieuwsma has started six times this year between safety and the corner. He's made 27 stops with 2.0 tackles for loss and six pass breakups.

SENIOR OLB JOSH TRIFUNOV
Senior outside linebacker Josh Trifunov has been one of Concordia's top tacklers over the last few years with 99 as a sophomore, 89 last year as a junior and is third on the 2015 team with 47 as a senior. He has 253 career tackles, ranking ninth in school history and just nine shy of eighth. He's also made 24.5 tackles for loss, 12.0 sacks and 11 pass deflections in his career.

In 2015, Trifunov ranks third in the Northern Sun and 24th in Division II with 7.0 sacks (0.9/game). He also ranks 13th in the NSIC with 8.0 tackles for loss (1.0/game) and 39th in the league with 5.9 tackles per game (47 total).

QUARTERBACK NOTES
For the second straight season, opening day starting quarterback Corey Cole suffered a season ending injury. Last year, it was in the second quarter of week two. In 2015, Cole went down in the season opener at the end of the third quarter. Cole has played parts of three games under center for the Golden Bears, passing for 306 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 179 yards (6.8 avg) and a touchdown in that limited time. Prior to making the conversion to quarterback, Cole spent two years as a receiver/returner, registering 22 catches for 264 yards and a touchdown and compiling 450 kick return yards (26.5 avg) and a 100 yard touchdown along with 86 punt return yards (6.1 avg).

Sophomore Ben Schramski earned the first crack at replacing Cole under center. In 2014 as a redshirt freshman, Schramski started the final five games and sent the team into the offseason with a four game winning streak as signal caller.

In 2015, Schramski has completed 76-159 for 863 yards and six touchdowns while adding one rushing touchdown.

With 11 career starts and parts of 16 overall games, Schramski has 1,657 passing yards and 10 touchdowns with 241 rushing yards and three TDs.

In week eight at Wayne State, redshirt freshman Trevor Tillett made his first career start at quarterback. On the year, Tillett is 32-65 for 336 yards and two touchdowns. He had his first extended action under center in week seven against MSU, completing 13-27 for 106 yards and a touchdown while playing the entire second half. He continued the hot hand at WSC in week eight by completing 18-36 for 217 yards and a score.

Concordia has not announced a week nine starting quarterback against Sioux Falls.

VICKERS BREAKING OUT AS ALL-PURPOSE ALL-STAR
Redshirt freshman wide receiver and return specialist Alquawn Vickers has been one of the most dynamic playmakers in the Northern Sun, leading the league with 171.6 all-purpose yards per game which ranks 10th in the country.

He is the national leader with 931 combined return yards, is one of six players in the country with two kick returns for touchdown (99, 91), and ranks third in the NSIC with a 27.3 kick return average (23rd in DII).

He set the program's kickoff return yardage record for a single season in week eight with 76 yards at Wayne State on two returns, giving him 31-845 to break Joseph Mapson's 2003 record of 29-809 yards.

He's been one of the top receiving targets on the team as well, leading the squad with 423 receiving yards and 34 receptions with three touchdowns.

His big play ability also leads the team as he has 16 plays of at least 25 yards including a 99-yard kickoff return for touchdown to earn NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in week three in CSP's 28-13 win at Minot State. He also has kick returns of 91 for a score, 80, 44, 43 and 41 yards among his nine returns of at least 25 yards.

RUNNING BACK COMMITTEE
Concordia has featured three different running backs as starters and four different players have led the team in rushing through eight games. Alex Carr leads the team with 278 rushing yards while averaging 4.6 per carry. He has the team season-high 144 yards on 16 carries in the opener at St. Cloud State.

Darius Chapes leads the team in carries (65) to Carr's 61, rushing for 245 yards and a team-high two touchdowns. Charles Arnold started in week five and is third on the team in yards (94) and has a 4.9 average.

Carr has led the team in rushing three times while Chapes and Arnold have each led the team in rushing twice. Carr leads the group with four starts followed by Chapes with three and Arnold with one

Quarterback Ben Schramski led the team in rushing with 55 yards in week two against MSU Moorhead, adding a touchdown among 15 carries but sacks have taken a toll on his overall net rushing with 25 total yards on the year.

JASON ONEY A CONSISTENT TARGET
Sophomore Jason Oney has been a consistent target of CSP's quarterbacks, second on the team with 31 receptions. He's hauled in multiple catches in seven of eight games including five games of four or more grabs. He had a career high eight catches in week five against Winona State for 59 yards, while his 30 yard touchdown grab at Minot State in week three was his first TD and set a career-long. He established a career-high 73 yards (on six catches) in week seven against Minnesota State, matching his career long reception of 30 yards. In week eight at Wayne State, he topped his career long and career high in yards with four catches for 104 yards and an 81 yard reception, the longest play of scrimmage for CSP this season.

BIG CHANGES TO THE KICKING GAME
The Golden Bears have featured one of the top kickers and punters in the country the last four years in Tom Obarski, who was with the Cincinnati Bengals training camp into September until the final roster cuts. Obarski was an All-America kicker and punter and holds numerous game, season and career records.

This year, sophomore Sam Maedke has handled punting duties while freshman Jonas Schenderlein won a competitive four player battle for placekicking duties.

Maedke ranks seventh in the NSIC with a punting average of 35.9 yards and is third in the league with 12 punts inside the 20. Maedke has also limited returns this season as he's second in the league with 18 punts fair caught and only has two touchbacks among his league-leading 59 punts.

Schenderlein has only had six field goal attempts on the year, making his first career try from 43 yards in the opener at SCSU. His second make was also from 40-plus, making a 42-yard try against Minnesota State in week seven. He has converted 16-17 PAT's and opponents have an average starting field position at the 27 yard line on his kickoffs.

ROBERTS & DOBBS IMPACTING THE DEFENSIVE LINE
While Hank Goff grabs the headlines on the defensive line, younger players Chazz Roberts (sophomore) and Jackson Dobbs (R-Fr.) have been solid additions to Goff up front.

Roberts is tied for the team lead with 8.0 tackles for loss and has been consistent in collecting at least a half TFL in all but two games including 3.0 in week five against Winona State. He also has 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked field goal while racking up 34 tackles.

Dobbs also has a 3.0 TFL performance to his credit as part of a 6-tackle, 3.0-TFL, 1.0-sack effort in a 28-13 road win at Minot State in week three. Dobbs has 33 tackles, 6.0 for loss, 1.5 sacks and has recovered both of Roberts' forced fumbles. He has had at least a half tackle for loss in five games.