ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul (3-2 NSIC) hosts MSU Moorhead (3-2) for a noon kickoff at Sea Foam Stadium for Homecoming 2019.

THE SKINNY
The Golden Bears and Dragons are each coming off tough losses to strong opponents, each having the chance to win and improve to 4-1 last week. CSP fell 18-15 in overtime after kicking go-ahead field goals in the fourth quarter and overtime, only to see St. Cloud State score on third down from the three yard line. MSU Moorhead held a 26-23 lead with 2:20 to play on its homecoming, but a safety on an errant punt snap followed by a field goal propelled Winona State to a 28-26 comeback win over the Dragons.

MSUM is coming off an 8-4 finish while Concordia is coming off a 3-win turnaround season a year ago. Each team remains well within the mix for postseason football entering week six.

TICKETS & CARNIVAL ADMISSION
Tickets to the game are regularly priced ($15 adults, $10 seniors & students, $5 youth 6-12, children 5 & under free, CSP students, staff & faculty free with ID). However, fans may instead opt to purchase a homecoming wristband for access to Comet's Carnival featuring unlimited rides, carnival food and two drink tickets (for adults). Wristbands are $25 for adults, $10 for children 4-12, children 0-3 are free and CSP students with ID are free.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
Fans should be prepared for the weather, as the forecast (as of Thursday afternoon) shows a high temperature of 40 degrees with snow in the morning mixing with rain in the afternoon, accompanied by wind SW at 10-15 mph.

FOLLOW ONLINE
All Concordia football games, home and away, will be streamed online as part of the NSIC's league-wide agreement with Presto Sports (formerly Stretch Internet). All CSP football games can be viewed in Concordia's online video portal.
 
Home games will be produced by UltimateX Displays, complete with a 15-foot by 8-foot MAX XL LED screen in the stadium that will replicate the webcast production in the stadium including numerous replays.
 
The broadcast is complete with the play-by-play call from Dan Flanagan, the voice of the Golden Bears since 2008. The St. Paul native is a graduate of Fordham University in New York, where he studied broadcasting including working as the voice of multiple Rams sports teams including basketball and football.

Watch the games in HD on your home TV as well through NSIC app widely available on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon streaming devices and more! Simply search "NSIC" on your streaming device, games are available for all Northern Sun members including all sports that are streamed live on each campus.
 
Games can also be followed with live stats and by keeping track of the NSIC live scoreboard.
 
COACH CURRIER SHOW ON CSP BEARS PODCAST
[ listen online ] The Coaches Show with Shannon Currier hosted by Wally Langfellow of Minnesota Score returns for a second season in 2019. The show airs in the MSP radio market on 1440 AM KYCR following the Minnesota high school football game of the week, typically on Friday night in the 9 p.m. hour of each week. The show is also distributed via the CSP Bears Podcast and is available on most podcast subscription services such as Apple iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Stitcher, Tune-In and more.
 
This week's guests include senior Jared Olsgaard and sophomore Rhett Sheehan.
 
Subscribe to the CSP Bears Podcast, which will also return for a second year this fall. This year, the podcast will be co-hosted by CSP baseball alumni Andrew Shotwell and Alex LaPorte and will continue to tell the story of CSP athletics in an interesting and engaging way to help people get behind the scenes of various people associated with Concordia – including Comets and Golden Bears!

The first podcast guest of the year is first year athletics director Regan McAthie.

CSP MAKES FROGTOWN RADIO DEBUT IN ST PAUL
[ listen online ] Concordia continues to make a positive impression in the St. Paul community with local radio station WFNU (94.1 FM) starting a regular segment to air on Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m. The first air time is set for September 21, but the station has started recording interviews for a podcast titled "Concordia-St. Paul Scoreboard" which is available on Spotify and Anchor. Follow WFNU Frogtown Radio's CSP connections at @ScoreboardCSP and @651SportsUpdate. 
 
DOWNLOAD THE CSP BEARS FAN APP
Also back for a second year is the CSP Bears fan app, provided by From Now On. The app features a customizable experience, users can select their favorite sports teams and select their affiliation (fan, student, alumni, etc) to receive tailored notifications. The app provides easy to follow live stats along with links to watch games live on their device. Keep up with the latest with the new 'news' feature which combines stories from cspbears.com with the social streams from CSP athletics.

2019 TEAM CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Shannon Currier will have rotating team captains each week for the second year in a row in 2019. Captains are selected by the coaching staff based on performance on the field and as a leader in practice, meetings and day-to-day activities.

This week's game captains: senior offensive lineman Rich Kelly (6x) and senior quarterback Maxon Hutton (6x) on offense and senior Dylan Wood (3x) and sophomore Jake Portz (2x) on defense.

The captains will be joined by honorary game captains Joe Mapson and Joseph Mapson, two members of the 2019 Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame induction class this weekend. Also being inducted from football are Mark Marxhausen and George Altendorfer.

SERIES HISTORY: CONCORDIA 9, MSU MOORHEAD 3
Although Concordia controls the all-time series firmly entering the 13 meeting, the Dragons have won the last two contests and CSP hasn't beat MSUM since 2013 (36-34).

Further, Concordia has never defeated MSU Moorhead at Sea Foam Stadium, falling 30-28 in the only meeting in 2015 on the final play of the game. That is CSP's only home loss to MSUM, winning the first four games at Griffin Stadium.

Including those two results, the last three games between the schools have been decided by a total of five points including the last affair in Moorhead, 21-20 to the Dragons in 2017.

Concordia's last win over MSUM in St. Paul was in 2008 at Griffin Stadium, a 27-23 victory.

CSP won the first five games in the series that began in 2001 and won nine of the first 10 matchups through the 2013 season.

In the series, 8-of-12 games have been decided by a touchdown or less, with Concordia holding a 5-3 record in those contests.

Head coach Shannon Currier holds a 3-1 record against MSU Moorhead, winning in 2001, 2002 and 2003 before the loss in 2017 in his second year back with the program.

LAST MEETING, 2017: DRAGONS 21, CONCORDIA 20
After trailing 21-10 at halftime, Concordia's defense pitched a shutout in the second half to give the team a chance to get back in the game on a rainy night in Moorhead.

The defense held All-American wide receiver Damon Gibson to three catches for 24 yards - all in the first half.  It was primarily cornerback Dion Wallisch tasked with blanketing Gibson, but the defensive gameplan included help underneath from the linebackers led by Frantz Polimice (12 tackles, forced fumble) and Billy Brown (13 tackles). Safety help over the top completed the team effort on Gibson and the Dragon offense.

Up front, Jackson Dobbs secured nine tackles and a sack to pressure the MSUM passing threat.

Concordia held MSUM to 124 yards and seven first downs in the second half shutout after the Dragons produced 266 yards, 14 first downs and 21 points in the first half.

Offensively, Darnell Rolle shouldered the load with 22 carries for 172 yards and a touchdown.

Concordia finished the night with 27 first downs to MSUM's 21, had a 453-to-390 edge in total offense with a balanced 233 through the air and 220 on the ground.

The big difference in the game came down to MSUM fixing one of its weaknesses entering play. They came into the game with a -9 turnover margin, but played turnover-free while picking up a pair of Concordia fumbles on a rainy night in Moorhead.

Concordia's second fumble was crucial, occurring at the MSUM 2-yard line as CSP looked to claim a lead, trailing 21-20 with under a minute to play in the third quarter.

The Golden Bears also forced a fumble, with Polimice shaking the ball loose but when CSP attempted to recover, the wet ball squirted back to the Dragon ball carrier.   

Elias Arlington led the receivers with 8-for-80 receiving, Jake Tanner added 4-63 and Marcus Gustaveson had 3-42 with a TD.

CSP used a pair of quarterbacks in the game with Maxon Hutton getting the start and completing 12-22 for 120 yards while adding 9-41 on the ground. Ron Johnson got the call in the second half, completing 8-16 for 113 yards and a TD.

Kicker Jonas Schenderlein made a pair of field goals from 35 yards in the second quarter and 23 yards in the fourth.

LAST WEEK: ST CLOUD STATE 18, CONCORDIA 15 - OT
Senior kicker/punter Danny Laudet had a huge day and produced in the clutch, hitting game-tying and go-ahead field goals in the fourth quarter another go-ahead field goal in overtime.

It was part of a record-setting five field goal performance (5-5), and he added a 53 yard punt late in the fourth quarter as well.

But Concordia fell short in the end as St. Cloud State scored on a 3-yard passing touchdown on third down in overtime, beating CSP 18-15 on a rainy afternoon at Husky Stadium in overtime.

It was CSP's first overtime game since 2014, a 37-34 win over Upper Iowa at Sea Foam Stadium while SCSU hadn't played overtime since 2010. It was St. Cloud State's first overtime win since the 2003 season.

Senior Maxon Hutton had a career-high 21 completions (21-34) for 227 yards, and had 16 rushing attempts for 14 yards including 31 last yards from three SCSU sacks.

He connected with senior Jabril Clewis four times for 94 yards.

Concordia's defense held SCSU to 11-of-26 passing for 149 yards and only three Huskies had receptions in the game.

Sophomores Jake Portz and Dez Bassett each had eight tackles while senior Kelly Pierce added a sack for the defense.

While CSP was 5-of-5 on field goals, SCSU was 4-of-6. And while the Huskies left points on the board, so did Concordia. CSP failed to score a TD on a 2nd-and-goal from the 2, settling for a field goal, and threw an interception in the end zone. Concordia also had a snap miscue that set the Huskies up for a short field goal after the defense was able to record a quick 3-and-out.

Adding punch to the CSP offense was sophomore Shaq Johnson with 9-20 rushing and 5-51 receiving. Freshman Darios Crawley-Reid aided Johnson by going 3-17 rushing and 3-21 receiving.

Jared Olsgaard, the team's backup quarterback as well as a key member of the receiving corps and a punt returner, had a breakout with six catches going for 25 yards while also playing a series under center with a pair of carries for four years and a long of seven.

NOTES ABOUT THE DRAGONS
Over the last five years, the Dragons have raised their profile on the football field and have established themselves as one of the better programs in the NSIC North. MSU Moorhead's rise culminated in a trip to the Mineral Water Bowl in 2018 as the team put up their best win total in 27 seasons with a record of 8-4. MSUM has picked up where they left off in 2018 as they have picked up three wins in their first five games.

The Dragons were just minutes away from making it four wins in their first five last Saturday as they held a 26-23 lead over Winona State with 2:20 to play, but a safety on an errant snap on a punt followed by a last-minute field goal for the Warriors resulted in MSUM falling in heartbreaking fashion by a score of 28-26 on their homecoming.

MSU Moorhead has gone to the air early and often this season as they lead the league by nearly 50 yards a game in pass offense with 278.8 per game so far this season. The Dragons have attempted 25 more passes and have completed 31 more than any other team in the league to lead the offense to the third-most points per game with 32.2.

Grady Bresnahan has been the top target as he leads the NSIC with 7.6 catches per game while ranking second with 104.8 yards per game. His four receiving touchdowns also rank third while Trent Marquart has added 19 catches and a pair of touchdowns as well.

The defense has not been quite as dominant for MSUM as they rank 12th in the league in both points allowed (29.0) and yards allowed (381.6) on the season. Shad Vedaa leads the defense with 34 tackles, good for 14th in the league, while Darius Woods-Steichen ranks 13th with 3.0 sacks. Deontre Wade and Parker Syverson have each picked off a pair of passes as well.