ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul football loads the bus for the final time in 2022, heading to MSU Moorhead (3-6 NSIC, 2-3 North) in pursuit of their first victory of the campaign at Nemzek Stadium with a noon kickoff in Moorhead.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
Saturday in Moorhead is expected feature a high of 47 degrees, sunshine pregame transitioning to partly cloudy by the end of the game and a SSE 8-11 mph wind. A noon kickoff could see temperatures in the upper 30s at kickoff, warming throughout the afternoon.

#12 NCAA STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Despite finally facing a team with a sub-.500 record in week nine against a 1-7 UMary squad, Concordia's strength of schedule still ranks #12 in the nation, dropping from fifth last week.

CSP's opposition has posted a 43-29 record in non-CSP contests, a .597 cumulative winning percentage.

It remains the toughest strength of schedule in the Northern Sun, with Augustana next in line in 19th (.583, 42-30).

While unable to put a positive mark in the win column, the Golden Bears have remained competitive into the second half against Augustana (6-3), Southwest Minnesota State (4-5), Minnesota State (7-2), Bemidji State (7-2), Northern State (6-3), and UMary (2-7) - in that order.

WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC football games will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, and supported by BlueFrame Technology.
 
Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ

This Saturday's action will feature the play-by-play call from longtime Dragon broadcaster Steve d'Eustachio.

LISTEN TO THE COACHES SHOW
The Coaches Show with Shannon Currier is back on the Twin Cities airwaves for a fourth season, once again hosted by Wally Langfellow of Minnesota Score. The show airs following the Minnesota high school football game of the week, typically on Friday evenings in the 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. hour on KYCR 1440 AM radio, available in the Twin Cities metro area.

This week's student-athlete feature interviews are with sixth-year senior safety Rhett Sheehan and redshirt freshman wide receiver Troy Ellison.

For fans who miss the show or are outside of the radio station's Twin Cities reach, the entire show is accessible via the CSP Bears Podcast, available in Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Google Play Music. It will typically be uploaded late Friday night (after the initial air time) or Saturday morning prior to the game. Search 'CSP Bears' into your favorite podcast provider!

SERIES HISTORY: CONCORDIA 10, MSU MOORHEAD 4
Despite being in the same conference since 1999, the Golden Bears and Dragons will only be meeting for the 15th time this Saturday with Concordia making its eighth trip to Moorhead.

The Golden Bears hold decisive advantages in both the overall (10-4) and road (5-2) series although the Dragons have captured wins in three of the last four contests since 2015, marking a dramatic turnaround as CSP won the first five and nine of the first 10 matchups through 2013.

Head coach Shannon Currier's Golden Bear squads hold a 4-2 record against MSU Moorhead, winning on the road in 2002 (35-28) and 2003 (34-17) while dropping the last visit 21-20 in 2017.

LAST MEETING, 2021: MSUM 24, CONCORDIA 3
The Golden Bear defense once again had its hands full against a pass-first NSIC North Division opponent, hosting the fifth-ranked passing offense in the league (274.8 per game), having previously played each of the top three passing programs in the league in the four weeks leading up to the tilt.
 
Concordia rose to the occasion early, holding the Dragons to just 42 yards on 18 plays in the first quarter including just 36 passing yards despite 6-of-8 passing. CSP's defense also held MSUM to 1-of-5 on third downs and stopped the Dragons on fourth down on the CSP 17 yard line when Kahlil Robinson broke up a 4th-and-2 pass near the sideline.
 
The result of the strong defensive quarter was a scoreless tie, the fifth time of the season that CSP had either led or been tied at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Dragons finally broke through with a short rushing touchdown early in the second quarter, converting a 4th-and-1 and a 3rd-and-2 to keep the drive moving.
 
Three plays later, MSUM picked up its second INT at the CSP 40-yard line and scored on a 26-yard pass on the next play to claim a sudden 14-0 lead just over three and a half minutes into the quarter.
 
From there, the Golden Bear defense held the Dragons scoreless fo the next three possessions, keeping the game within reach, 14-0 at the break.
 
The defense issued just 131 yards of total offense in the first half including a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss from Keegan Larson. While Larson had a pair of first half sacks, it was Mark O'Reilly who would add two more sacks in the second half while Luke Dunsmoor had a pair of tackles for loss in the game.
In the third quarter, the offense started to roll as sophomore linebacker Chandler Dahlquist bruised his way forward for a pair of 5-yard runs to open the drive with QB Bryce Sievers scrambling 7-yards for a first down, CSP's second first down of the game.
 
It was the first two of three 5-yard runs by Dahlquist on the drive and the first of two third down conversions by Sievers, who would connect with Mason Van Zeeland for 16 yards on 3rd-and-4 from the CSP 43 to push the ball into MSUM territory.
 
Dahlquist, who converted to running back prior to week 9 at UMary, carried 13 times for 21 yards in a strong effort while Sievers led the team's ground game with 24 rushing yards on eight carries which included eight lost yards from three sacks.
 
Sievers also added a 16-yard pass to Jaheim Arnold two plays later, moving into field goal range where Sam Henson delivered from 41 yards with plenty of distance to spare. It was Henson's third field goal from 40-plus yards on the year.
 
In the third quarter, the Golden Bears out-gained the Dragons with 78 yards of total offense compared to MSUM's 70 as each team produced a field goal in the quarter, keeping the game within reach at 17-3 at the end of three quarters.
 
In the fourth quarter, each team had just two possessions, but the Dragons converted in their trip to the red zone, a 16-yard touchdown pass to complete a 12-play, 80-yard drive most importantly spanning 4:48 of clock time to extend the lead to 24-3, a three-score margin with just 8:18 to play.
 
Concordia answered with a strong drive, with Sievers connecting with Van Zeeland twice for gains of 15 and 16 yards to move into MSUM territory to the 35-yard line with Isaiah Koran rushing for 13 yards into the red zone at the 11-yard line.
 
Sievers completed 11-of-26 for 116 yards on the day, with five of his completions to Van Zeeland for 61 yards and three to Arnold for 39 yards. He targeted seven different receivers.
 
A completion to Jack Munsterteiger moved the ball to the 3-yard line, the Golden Bears were stopped on 4th-and-1 from the MSUM 2-yard line, turning it over on downs to the Dragons with just under four minutes left, with MSUM running out the clock on the ensuing drive.
 
The Golden Bears tackling leaders were veterans Andrew Egnarski (11), Dalton Smerchek (9) and Rhett Sheehan (9) with Larson and O'Reilly each adding six and Dunsmoor five.
 
The Dragons were led by quarterback Tommy Falk and wide receiver Grady Bresnahan. Falk completed 12 of his 33 passes to Bresnahan, accounting for 119 of his 274 yards and both Dragon passing scores. Falk completed 33-of-41 and was sacked four times.
 
Luke Imdieke led MSUM's ground game with 11-39 and a TD.

LAST WEEK: UMARY 23, CONCORDIA 13
Concordia junior linebacker Andrew Egnarski set the single game record with 22 tackles including eight solo stops and a pair of tackles for loss in the game. The 22 tackles is one shy of the NCAA Division II single game high for the season, currently held by Grant Bruner of Washburn with 23.

Earlier this year, Egnarski produced 19 tackles at Bemidji State, the sixth-most in a game in the country this year, giving him the top two single game tackles totals in the NSIC. In just seven games, he's made a career-high 76 tackles this season and has 159 in 29 career games.

He broke Mike Willett's 2012 record against Upper Iowa, making 20 tackles against the Peacocks at Sea Foam Stadium.

While Concordia's offense was slow to get rolling, the second half provided some highlights as sophomore running back Jaylin Richardson had a pair of touchdowns, a 21-yard reception from Conner Cordts on the final play of the third quarter and a 2-yard plunge with 6:54 to play in the fourth quarter. His touchdowns each brought the deficit back to 10 points after the Marauders opened with a 17-0 lead, scoring a field goal in the first quarter and touchdowns in the second and third quarters.

Richardson finished with 95 all-purpose yards, with 12-45 rushing and adding 4-50 receiving with 53 yards after the catch.

With Concordia on the comeback trail in the fourth, the Marauders pushed in a score from 1-yard out on the ground after a 57-yard kickoff return by All-American wide receiver Danny Kittner set them up with strong field position, leading to the score.

The Concordia defense performed well against Kittner, who was stifled offensively with just three catches for 21 yards while being targeted nine times, picking up only four yards after the catch. He had 93 all-purpose yards on the day including a pair of punt returns (2-14) and the big play on the kickoff return (1-57). Entering play, he was seventh in the country with 166.1 all-purpose yards per game, second in the nation with 8.9 receptions per game and ninth in the country with 833 receiving yards.

The defense produced seven pass breakups with Zantavious Graham and Rhett Sheehan each picking up a pair, while sophomore safety Cyrus McClure secured his fourth interception of the year as Concordia outscored Mary 6-0 off turnovers.

The secondary held Marauder backup quarterback Jesse Forknell, who started in place of Logan Nelson, to 15-30 passing for 147 yards. But he picked up a receiving TD, as Kittner completed a 4th-and-2 on a reverse pass play to the QB late in the third quarter to cap a 7-minute, 44-second drive to make it a 17-point game.

The Marauders were 4-of-6 on fourth down compared to CSP going 0-for-2.

While the Golden Bears were able to slow Kittner and the passing game, the Marauders pivoted to the ground game, rushing 46 times for 202 yards on the day despite averaging just 100 yards per game on the ground entering play.

The final totals showed Mary with 351 yards of total offense to CSP's 307 with the Marauders picking up 21 first downs to CSP's 17, but Mary held a 35:06 to 24:54 time of possession margin due to the run game's 202-86 margin, keeping CSP from stealing the momentum.

While Richardson had the strong performance in the run and pass game, so did wide receiver Troy Ellison with 3-20 rushing and 4-43 receiving.

Sophomore quarterback Conner Cordts completed 19-30 for 221 yards and a touchdown while targeting and completing passes to nine different options.

On special teams, sophomore punter Parker Dahlman launched four punts for a 46.5 average with a long of 58 yards and a pair inside the 20.

NOTES ABOUT THE DRAGONS
The Dragons enter Saturday's game with three victories on the season, taking care of business against teams lower in the standings with a 24-21 week two win at Upper Iowa (1-8), a 36-14 week six win at home against Minot State (0-9) and a 40-38 week eight road win at UMary (2-7).

Aside from an 8-point loss (36-28) at Minnesota Duluth, the Dragons have not come within two touchdowns of anyone else in the Northern Sun.

The Dragons feature a strong passing attack, ranking 15th in the country and second in the NSIC with 282.3 air yards per game led by top receiver Gage Florence who leads the country with 9.9 catches per game and is 15th in the nation and second in the NSIC with 97.2 receiving yards per game.

Quarterback Jack Strand's 263.7 passing yards per game ranks 18th in the country and second NSIC while backup Tommy Falk adds 99.3 yards per game as each passer has played in seven of the team's nine games. Strand has a 13-10 TD-INT ratio and 68.3% of his 281 passes while Falk is completing 52.6% with a 3-2 TD-INT ratio in 133 attempts.

While Florence leads the targets at 89-979 with six TDs, the receiving threats are deep, with Ryan Beiberdorf (35-538, 3 TDs), Carter Birrenkott (35-416, 4 TDs) and Brady Perryman (29-294, 3 TDs) all complimenting him.

Running back Luke Imdieke is more of a threat in the pass game, with 49 catches for 292 yards with a 6.0 average than he is on the ground, where he averages  2.9 yards per carry with 179 rushing yards.

The Dragons only average 16.0 rushing yards as a team, with Tyson Powell (24-98) and Hayden Boll (46-75, 4 TDs) each contributing. The team has been sacked 42 times on the season, subtracting 304 yards from the team rushing totals.

Defensively, Josiah Behm (77 TT, 8.0 TFL) and Marcus Gulley (68 TT, 9.0 TFL, 4.0 SK) lead the squad while Jake Bettcher (44 TT, 4 INT) and Cody Sorenson (39 TT, 8 PBU, 1 INT) lead the secondary.

MSUM is 12th nationally with a team 16.50 punt return average but have only returned six punts with Kolby Vander Wal returning his only attempt for a 51-yard touchdown whiel Landon Lundquist has 418 kickoff return yards on 20 attempts.