ST. PAUL, Minn. – When the 2016 football season kicks off on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Sea Foam Stadium against U-Mary, Concordia-St. Paul won't just be aiming to win the contest, but to set the tone by winning that particular and often overlooked play.
T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY IN WEEK ONE
With the return of
Shannon Currier as head coach for his fifth year leading the program but his first at CSP since the 2003 season, officials are not only expecting a strong opening day crowd but embracing it by handing out 500 free white CSP t-shirts co-sponsored by CSP Athletics and the Alumni Association on campus. The free t-shirts are part of a new visual identity for the University, replacing the former CU logo with the new CSP lettermark, which is featured on the right side of the team's new look white helmets and brand new white uniforms.
BROADCAST INFORMATION & ONLINE COVERAGE
All of Concordia's football games will be streamed live courtesy of the Northern Sun's league-wide agreement with Stretch Internet. Concordia's home games are produced by School Space Media with play-by-play from St. Paul native and Fordham University (N.Y.) graduate Dan Flanagan, the voice of the Golden Bears since the 2008-09 academic year.
Visit
cspbears.com/watch to view games live or on-demand, and view live stats at
cspbears.com/livefb. Scores from around the league can be viewed from the
Northern Sun scoreboard, or from the
Live NSIC Scores websites.
Fans looking for a radio connection out of state can hear the game in the Bismarck, N.D. community on KFYR AM 550 AM with Rick Anthony providing the play-by-play. The station is also available on the IHeartRadio app.
MEET THE CAPTAINS & HONORARY CAPTAINS
The 2016 captains, as voted on by the team following a rigorous application process are seniors
Sam Johnson and
Dominic Nabak on defense and senior
Darius Chapes and junior
Matt Bjork on offense. The week one honorary captains are former Concordia greats
Mike Allen (1999-01) and
Nick Sundsmo (2001-03). Allen had back-to-back 2,000-plus yard passing seasons and amassed 5,280 passing yards and 47 touchdowns with 903 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 31 games over three seasons, earning two All-NSIC honors. Sundsmo was an All-NSIC offensive lineman and an All-Region performer up front on the 2003 NSIC Championship team that reached the program's first-ever postseason appearance at the Mineral Water Bowl.
HISTORY: CSP VS U-MARY
Concordia and U-Mary have met six times, all since 2006 the year before U-Mary joined the Northern Sun. Concordia won two of the first three contests, beating the Marauders 22-19 and 17-7 in 2006 and 2008 in Bismarck, N.D. The Marauders have won three in a row and four of the last five, though including a 3-0 record in St. Paul and a 2-0 mark at Sea Foam Stadium. The last meeting between the programs was September 20, 2014 as U-Mary defeated Concordia 20-13 in Bismarck. The last time U-Mary came to St. Paul was September 1, 2012, defeating the Golden Bears 32-26.
SPECIAL TEAMS OVERVIEW: Focus on winning the biggest plays of a game
Regardless of what happens on the coin toss and who makes the call to kick or receive, Currier will look to make an immediate on the game.
"We want to win that play, so we're going to be playing a lot of our best players on special teams," he explained. "If they need to rest, we'll give them a breather on an offensive or defensive play, but we want to win those big yardage special teams plays. When the field turns over, that's an opportunity for big yards or to place an opponent in a difficult situation."
AT A GLANCE: SPECIAL TEAMS DEPTH CHART
When Currier led the Golden Bears from 2000 to 2003, his teams excelled at executing his philosophy of winning the big special teams plays. From dynamic kick and punt returners capable of breaking returns for scores, to strong and accurate kickers and punters and the ability to cover kicks, punts and be aggressive at getting to the ball for blocks.
The biggest takeaway when glancing at the special teams two deep is that all of the first string players are returners with game experience.
RETURN GAME: Vickers to maintain prominent role
Currier has not hidden his intent to involve sophomore All-American
Alquawn Vickers more offensively, although he's received the bulk of his accolades as an all-purpose standout through his first year and even in preseason recognition.
But Currier also has no plans to diminish his role in the return game, either.
"He's the highlight, he's explosive and you'll see a lot of him there (the return game)," he said. "You'll see a lot of him everywhere, he's an exciting player who's put a lot of work into his game this offseason."
He set the school record for most kickoff return yards in a single season with 998 on 39 returns in 10 games, breaking two for touchdown with a long of 99. He also led the country in combined return yardage with 1,119 on just 11 returns for an average of 11.0 and a long of 28.
He amassed 1,598 all-purpose yards, ranking 14
th in Division II and second in the Northern Sun with 159.8 yards per game.
Vickers was so lethal in the return game, teams often refused to put the ball in his hands, opting to allow the Concordia offense to start drives on the 40 following the out of bounds kickoffs or short kicks to blockers.
Adding to Vickers in the return game will be junior transfer receiver
Elias Arlington while senior running back
Alex Carr has also received work with the return unit once again. Last year, Carr returned six kickoffs for 156 yards including an 88 yard touchdown with his 26.0 average slightly higher than Vickers' 25.6 mark although on a much smaller sample size.
KICKING GAME: Three strong legs provide unique depth and competition
A year ago, Concordia was faced with the task of replacing the best kicker in program history in Tom Obarski, who earned All-America First Team honors at both kicker and punter and is aiming for an NFL job for a second straight year, this time with the New York Giants.
The Golden Bears had five kickers and punters in the 2015 fall camp, all with strong kicking backgrounds to assume the two starting jobs, which can be separated into three spots with a kickoff specialist.
The team still has three legs on the roster from that group: junior punter
Sam Maedke, sophomore incumbent kicker
Jonas Schenderlein and redshirt freshman
Peter Farris.
Maedke emerged as a consistent NSIC punter last season, breaking the school records for most punts (87) and total punting yards (3,187) while ranking seventh in the Northern Sun with a 36.6 average with 18 of his punts pinning an opponent inside the 20 with four kicks of 50-plus yards.
"Sam had a lot of plays last year, and we're hoping to reduce his workload," Currier said, acknowledging the downside of punting records. He also realizes what he has in Maedke, "He's a dedicated and committed punter who takes his craft seriously. But, what people don't realize is how athletic he is. We can, and intend to move him around and do some unique things. Of highest importance is we want to protect him back there and allow him to do his thing, we just don't want him on the field as much!"
The kicking game has been another battle coming down to the end of camp between Schenderlein and Farris.
"We have two good kickers," said Currier who still hadn't declared his starter at the time of his interview on the final Friday of fall camp, just before the team's final scrimmage which included key kicking elements to break the gridlock.
"We really feel that we have two of the better kickers in our league on this roster. They both have big legs, and we're strongly considering mixing up our kickoffs and field goals."
A native of Jena, Germany, Schenderlein captured the gig last season as a true freshman and converted four of seven field goal attempts with a long of 43 yards while hitting two of his three kicks from 40-plus yards. He also was efficient on the extra point, hitting 22 of 23 and led the team in scoring (34 points). He had six kickoff touchbacks on his 38 kickoffs, with opponents averaging a start at the 29 yard line.
The team's first official two deep lists Schenderlein as the starter with Farris backing up both the kicker and punter positions and handling kickoff duties.
"We're looking for the player we feel will be best in game situations and who stands out in our kicking competitions. Both are capable and exceptional kickers," Currier concluded.
The less glamorous but equally important components of the kicking game are manned by Maedke as the holder – a situation Currier would love to see him on the field more regularly.
The snapping, split between long and short snapping duties will be held by junior wide receiver
Jason Oney (long) and senior
Josh Coyne (short), a former starting offensive lineman.
"Josh is a phenomenal kid and after dealing with his recurring injuries on the line, he's taken a new role for us as a long snapper. He's a great team player and willing to do what it takes to help the team. He has excellent leadership qualities and I really wish we could still use him up front, he was a talented offensive lineman."
But as has been reinforced consistently by Currier through various interviews, "We have to take the big picture with our football program, and put these kids in the best situations for them health-wise."
Listed at 287 pounds entering his junior year in 2015 and ticketed for a starting guard spot, Coyne has dropped 62 pounds to 225 while keeping a strong frame intact to continue competing in a physically demanding sport.
SPECIAL TEAMS HEROES
With Currier's insistence that the best players will occupy key roles on special teams, expect to see players like
Darius Chapes,
Dominic Nabak,
Sam Johnson,
Jamie Fore and other starters frequently involved in kick and punt coverage units. Veterans such as
Sammy Baucham,
JJ Przybylka and
Damon George have also been mentioned as key contributors. Second year players like sophomore
Mitch Zillman and redshirt freshmen
Corey Taylor and
Brian Szutkowski will also play roles.
Additionally, newcomers like freshman
Darnell Rolle might carve out opportunities to see the field early in their careers through important play on special teams.
FINAL THOUGHTS FROM COACH CURRIER
"We're anxious to play a game and excited to get into the season. After fall camp, players are excited and focused on what we can do to give our best performance on Saturday. We've had a great camp and have been impressed by the caliber of people in the program. Our players have been making great decisions and we haven't had any attitude issues. It's been appreciative culture and the players have really embraced what we're trying to do in the program. They're top notch and I'm anxious for the players to see some success so they can see their hard work begin to payoff."
