ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul (2-4 NSIC, 2-2 South) looks to snap out of a current two game skid with a 2 p.m. kickoff at UMary (0-6 NSIC, 0-4 North) at MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck, North Dakota in the third of four weeks of NSIC North-South Division crossover play. Saturday is homecoming at the University of Mary, advance tickets can be purchased online.

Its a battle of two long streaks each program is looking to snap: CSP's 13 game road losing streak against UMary's 15 game losing streak to the NSIC South Division.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
Located in center of one of the windiest states in the country, Bismarck has a Saturday afternoon forecast for a high of 41, low of 25 and cold winds in the 20-to-30 mile per hour range out of the northwest under a partly cloudy sky.

LIVE COVERAGE
The game can be watched online, free of charge as part of the Northern Sun's league-wide agreement with Stretch Internet. The video will be streamed to CSP's GameCentral portal with audio commentary and video production courtesy of UMary athletics and their local media agreements. The Marauders have a local radio agreement with KFYR 550 AM out of Bismarck with Jesse Rostvedt and Tim Belmore calling the action.

Additionally, live stats are available as is the NSIC live scoreboard to follow league action in real-time.

STREAMING DEVICES
The School Space Media streamed webcast is now available through widely used streaming devices like the Roku, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV and Android TV. Simply search for NSIC to find the Stretch Internet application for the conference to watch games on your TV and in HD (where available).

DOWNLOAD THE CSP BEARS GAMEDAY FAN APP
Follow the Golden Bear football team along with the rest of your favorite CSP Bears squads by downloading the new gameday fan app, hosted by From Now On. The app provides users with a unique and customizable experience, allowing each user to select the sports they want to follow and how they are connected to CSP (fans, students, faculty/staff, alumni, etc). The app will also be a new way to stay updated on the action as well as to be the first to find out about promotions and special events!

LISTEN TO THE COACHES SHOW WITH COACH CURRIER FRIDAY NIGHT
New this year, the Coach Shannon Currier Show debuted on 1440 AM KYCR radio in the Twin Cities following the prep football game of the week. The show is hosted by Wally Langfellow of Minnesota Score, and will be a weekly airing following the prep football game of the week, typically in the 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. hour. This week's show is the fourth episode and features player guest interviews with junior offensive lineman Rich Kelly and sophomore linebacker Andy Aune.

For fans who miss the show or are outside of the radio station's Twin Cities reach, the entire show will also be accessible via the CSP Bears Podcast, hosted by Buzzsprout and also available in Spotify, iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher and TuneIn Radio. Or, if you're around the house, tell Alexa to play the CSP Bears Podcast! It will be available either late Friday night after the initial airing or on Saturday morning.

CHECK BACK FOR ENHANCED PREVIEW COVERAGE
For fans hungry for the most Golden Bear football content on the web, check the GAME NOTES index page as well as the CSP FOOTBALL WEEKLY index. The two pieces are created with different goals. Game notes, typically released on Thursday afternoons, is to serve concerned media members covering CSP, the opponent media market and those covering NSIC/DII football while the football weekly piece (released Thursday or Friday) is a document produced by the coaching staff to update alumni, family and recruits on behind-the-scenes life in Concordia football. Together they combine to tell the full story of Concordia football, especially when combined with the multimedia options with the CSP Bears Podcast and Coaches Show.

2018 TEAM CAPTAINS
Concordia head coach Shannon Currier has announced plans to have rotating team captains each week throughout the fall season, starting back in the first week of fall training camp. Captains are selected by the coaching staff based on performance on the field and as a leader in practice, meetings and in general day-to-day activities.

On offense, senior tight end John Damrow is joined by four-time game captain junior offensive lineman Rich Kelly while junior defensive lineman Kelly Pierce repeats as defensive game captain and is joined by sophomore defensive end Chris Garrett. All 2018 season game captains can be viewed here.

PRESTON BACK-TO-BACK 100 LEADS BACKFIELD
Sophomore running back Lajuan Preston has been thriving with increased workload out of the CSP backfield, producing back-to-back 100-yard efforts in his first career games as the go-to running back in the offense. The Fort Myers, Florida native, along with junior Darnell Rolle (Miami) and sophomore Shaq Johnson (St. Petersburg) have provided the Golden Bears with a steady presence from the Sunshine State the past two years, with redshirt freshman transfer from Akron Jeremiah Johnson (Pierce-Johnson) also coming from Miami joining the squad this year.

Rolle led the 2017 team with 627 yards at 4.9 per carry along with 75 receiving yards and three total touchdowns but has missed all six games due to injury in 2018. Johnson earned the starting running back spot entering the 2018 season and was off to a big start with 367 yards rushing and 49 receiving with five total touchdowns in just four games before being lost for the season due to injury.

Last year, Johnson and Preston served as complimentary backs to Rolle and combined for 373 yards with a 4.8 average with Johnson breaking loose for a 17 carry, 175 yard and two touchdown outburst in the season finale against SMSU, also throwing a 63-yard touchdown pass.

Preston is known for his breakaway speed as evidenced by his 73-yard touchdown in week two against Upper Iowa this year, his first career score. But as the team's feature back the last two weeks with Rolle and Johnson sidelined, Preston has also been a steady source of positive yardage as he has not been tackled for a loss by UMD or Northern State while producing back-to-back 100 yard rushing performances (13-111 at UMD & 21-141 vs NSU).

The back-to-back 100 yard rushing games is the first time since Tre Spears achieved the feat in the 2014 season when he had three straight to end the season (247, 206, 131) to win the program's only league rushing title (1,254) since joining the Northern Sun in 1999 on a team that finished 5-6 overall and 4-3 in the South Division with a four game winning streak to end the season.

Preston is now climbing the league leaderboards, ranking 10th in total rushing yards (388) and fourth in yards per carry (7.2).

He's joined in the backfield by senior Northwest Missouri State transfer Emanuel Jones who had a breakout game against Northern State with 10 carries for 74 yards and a 36-yard touchdown run, junior Wyoming transfer Garrett Gardner (Goo) with 15 carries for 58 yards and Pierce-Johnson from Akron who scored his first CSP touchdown against NSU and has six carries for 10 yards. Further, the deep backfield is bolstered by fullback Andre Eubanks, a junior transfer from Mississippi Valley State and although he hasn't received a carry he has been a strong blocking back.

MJ WILLIAMS HITS CENTURY MARK
For the first time as a Golden Bear, junior college transfer wide receiver MJ Williams has reached the 100-yard mark with season-highs of seven catches for 115 yards against Northern State including a long of 44 yards. Since being held without a catch in the season opening 27-24 loss at #20 Sioux Falls, Williams has had at least four catches and at least 58 yards in each game since and is now eighth in the league with 406 receiving yards and 10th with 28 receptions, adding three touchdowns.

Opposite Williams is third year starter Marcus Gustaveson, the 11th player in team history to reach 100 career catches. Gustaveson has 17 catches for 341 yards and two touchdowns on the season along with a strong 20.1 per catch average. In his career, he ranks 10th with 101 catches and 10th with 16 touchdown catches and is approaching the top-10 list in receiving yards (1,561), just 132 yards from 10th all-time.

STREAK SNAPPED, BUT HASKINS KEEPS MAKING PLAYS
After starting his college football career with an interception in five straight games, redshirt freshman cornerback Marcus Haskins had the streak come to a close in week six against Northern State. But the rookie corner still broke up two passes and continues to lead the country with 18 passes defended (5 INT, 13 PBU) and leads the league across the three categories while ranking second in the country in interceptions. He is also fifth on the team with 27 total tackles and tied for the team lead with 21 solo tackles.

CHRIS GARRETT CLIMBING SACK LEADERS
Sophomore Chris Garrett secured season-highs of 2.5 sacks and tackles for loss in week six against Northern State. Through six weeks, Garrett, who missed a game, is now ranked third in the NSIC with 1.0 sacks per game as he's reached the QB five times in five games played. He leads CSP's defensive line with 24 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss and adds four quarterback hurries. As a freshman in 2017, Garrett was a menace in the seven games he suited up in with 9.0 TFL and 6.0 sacks with five forced fumble, three pass breakups and five quarterback hurries while averaging over six tackles per game (44 total). In 12 career games, Garrett has 11.0 sacks, 14.5 TFL, six forced fumbles, nine quarterback hurries and 68 total tackles.

Garrett is one part of an experienced and cohesive defensive line that features three year starters in the other three spots: juniors Dylan Wood and Kelly Pierce in the middle and junior Jackson Dobbs on the other end.

HOME SWEET FOAM: STREAK COMES TO CLOSE AGAINST NSU
Prior to head coach Shannon Currier returning to lead the Golden Bears, CSP had posted an 11-24 record at Sea Foam Stadium and had never posted more than two home wins in a row with just two winning seasons since football returned to campus in 2009.

In his first two seasons, Currier and the Golden Bears won just three home games (3-8), but the 2017 team won its home opener and home finale, starting the season on a high note and then finishing strong.

The 37-20 win in the 2017 finale over SMSU started a three game home winning streak for the first time in Sea Foam Stadium's history and the first three game home winning streak since the 2005 NSIC Championship season, played down the street at St. Paul Central High School's Griffin Stadium with the streak coming to a close in week six of 2018 with a 35-28 loss to Northern State.

In Currier's first term leading the Bears, he posted an 18-2 home record at Griffin Stadium, starting the "Griff Myth," a 19-game home winning streak that began in 2002 and spanned four full seasons of perfect home football (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005).

Currier now holds a 23-11 career record in home games at Concordia and has the Bears off to a 2-1 start to the 2018 home slate.

TOUGH ROAD SLATE IN 2018
The Golden Bears have had among the strongest road schedules to start the 2018 season. The week five 32-3 loss at #8 Minnesota Duluth marked the third-straight nationally-ranked opponent to start the 2018 season. Concordia opened the year with a heart-breaking 27-24 loss at #20 Sioux Falls despite leading 24-20 after a field goal extended the lead with 32 seconds left. The Cougars started on their own 40 with 26 seconds to play and scored in four plays, completing three straight passes and scoring with three seconds to play. Concordia then fell 46-13 at #2 Minnesota State in week three, taking a 14-6 deficit into the second quarter despite being even in first downs (6-6) and trailing by just five yards of total offense (139-134) at the quarter break. Minnesota State then converted a 3rd-and-17 with a 27-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. The back-breaking score not only put MSU ahead 21-6 in the second quarter in Mankato, it was the start of a 32-0 quarter for MSU that included a pair of safeties on back-to-back defensive plays for MSU.

CSP's last win over a nationally-ranked team was a 27-24 win vs #24 Wayne State in 2011 at Sea Foam Stadium and the last win over a nationally-ranked team on the road was a 28-26 win at #11 Minnesota State in CSP's 2010 Mineral Water Bowl campaign. CSP has now lost 17 straight games to ranked teams, but the 2018 schedule does not feature another ranked opponent in the AFCA Coaches Poll.

The team's 0-3 road record, albeit against all nationally-ranked opponents, is part of a 13-game road losing streak dating back to September 10, 2016 in a 41-18 win at Minnesota Crookston in week two to get the team off to a 2-0 start to head coach Shannon Currier's second stint leading the program.

SOUTH DIVISION TURNAROUND
With Concordia's 37-20 win in the 2017 season finale over SMSU, the Golden Bears snapped a 20-game losing streak in the NSIC South Division. After ending 2014 on a four game winning streak - all South Division wins - to end the year 4-3 in the NSIC South, the Golden Bears went winless in the division in 2015 and 2016 before dropping the first six of the 2017 division slate before the finale victory over the Mustangs.

The Golden Bears have now won three of their last five NSIC South contests, with all three wins coming at Sea Foam Stadium.

AGAINST THE NORTH DIVISION
Since the NSIC split into divisions in 2012, the Golden Bears have posted a 9-17 overall record against the North with a 4-9 home and 5-8 road split. Prior to 2018, the NSIC North-South crossover games were held in the season's first four weeks, but for 2018 season the games are played in weeks five to eight. Concordia has posted just one winning season against the NSIC North, a 3-1 record in 2013, and one .500 record against the North, going 2-2 in 2016. The Bears have yet to go winless against the North Division but are off to an 0-2 start to the 2018 North-South series, falling 32-3 at #8 UMD in week five and 35-28 at home to Northern State in week six. Concordia is 1-2 against UMary since moving to division play in 2012.

SERIES HISTORY: UMARY 4, CONCORDIA 3
The Golden Bears look to even the series entering the eighth meeting between the programs, with the Marauders winning three of the last four but CSP coming off a 17-0 shutout win in the most recent game at Sea Foam Stadium in 2016. Although Concordia has won in Bismarck, North Dakota in a decade, last winning 17-7 at the Community Bowl in 2008, they've only made one trip to North Dakota's capital city since, falling 20-13 in the 2014 season. CSP holds a 2-1 road record against UMary, also winning the first meeting between the teams, 22-19 in 2006. The teams played four years in a row when the series began in 2006 to 2009 but now play every other year in the NSIC North-South Division format. In head coach Shannon Currier's tenure (2000-03 & 2016-present), he holds a 1-0 record with the only meeting being the 2016 shutout at Sea Foam Stadium (17-0).

LAST MEETING: CONCORDIA 17, UMARY 0
The last time CSP and UMary met, the Golden Bears claimed a 17-0 victory. That game took place on September 3rd, 2016 at Sea Foam Stadium, and opened the season for both teams.

In Shannon Currier's first game back as the head coach of the Golden Bears, CSP claimed their first shutout since 2013, limiting the Marauders to just 208 yards of total offense. The secondary was especially stout in that contest, holding UMary to just 63 passing yards.

CSP racked up rushing yards to move the ball, gaining 222 yards on the ground in the win. They were led by 113 yards on 13 carries from senior running back Darius Chapes.

Junior transfer Ron Johnson also made his debut at QB in the contest, passing 11-20 for 116 yards. Johnson also rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown in the Saturday night contest.

LB Antonio Zepeda racked up 14 tackles to lead the Golden Bears on the defensive side of the ball, and CSP generated pressure all night with nine tackles for loss in the win. DL Kelly Pierce led the way with 2.0 TFLs, both sacks. LB Billy Brown also had eight tackles, including 1.5 for loss.

Concordia put points on the board in their first drive, as Jonas Schenderlein knocked home a 43-yard field goal to put CSP up 3-0.

The score would remain the same until the fourth, as a 10-play, 80-yard drive by the Golden Bears resulted in a one-yard TD run by Chapes. After UMary turned the ball over on downs near midfield, CSP was able to find the end zone once again, this time on a two-yard TD run by Johnson.

Senior defensive lineman Re'Shon Howard sealed the game with an interception in the final minute, putting an exclamation on CSP's first win of the season.

CSP held the Marauders to 3-14 on third down and 1-3 on fourth down. The Golden Bears out-gained UMary 338 to 208 for Currier's first win in his second stint with the program.

ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
UMary enters the matchup with an 0-6 record in the first year under former Marauder quarterback Craig Bagnell as head coach.

The Marauders enter Saturday's affair with a 15 game losing streak against the NSIC South Division and hold a 7-19 record against the South Division since the Northern Sun began divisional play in 2012, but holds a 2-1 record against CSP during that same time period.

After losing by one point in the opener to St. Cloud State, the Marauders have dropped each of their matchups since then by at least 13 points.

UMary has allowed an average of 42.6 points per game and scoring 16.6 points per contest. Both marks rank 15th in the NSIC.

The Marauders are averaging 88.7 yards per game rushing, 2.7 yards per rush, and have scored seven rushing TDs. Their opponents have been more successful on the ground, rushing for 228.3 yards a game, 4.9 yards per carry, and have scored 16 rushing TDs.

The leading rusher for UMary is Bryan Lumsden. The freshman has averaged 31.8 yards per game and 3.8 yards per rush. Tight end Colton Farmer is the second leading rusher, running for 22.2 yards per game and 4.9 yards a rush.

The Marauders have used their passing attack more frequently in 2018. Freshman quarterback Jason Hoekstra has averaged 28.8 passing attempts a game, completing 53.5% of his passes. Hoekstra has thrown for 157.8 yards per game, and has tossed five TDs and 10 INTs.

The go-to receiver for UMary has been Luke Little. The sophomore has collected 23 catches on the season for an average of 72.4 yards per game. DeShawn Gay has caught the most TDs for the Marauders (3), also averaging the second most yards per game (29.3).

The Marauders have allowed 252 yards per game through the air, the worst mark in the NSIC. They have also given up 20 passing TDs, the second most in the conference.

Junior linebacker Grady Blewett leads the team in tackles with 44, including five for loss. Fellow linebacker Maxwell Askew leads the team with six tackles for loss, and has also recorded an interception and a forced fumble.

UMary has struggled on third downs on both sides of the ball. They have converted 28.9% of third downs on offense, while allowing opponents to gain first down yardage 48.7% of the time.

UMary has kicked just one field goal through six games, which they converted. The Marauders have a net average of 35.2 yards on kickoffs, with nine touchbacks.

The Marauders return game has produced quality numbers through six games. UMary is averaging 20.1 yards on kick returns (5th NSIC) and 12.8 yards per punt return (4th NSIC).