ST. PAUL, Minn. – This Thursday, September 1, Concordia-St. Paul football opens the 2022 season at Sea Foam Stadium against #25 Augustana for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff. This is the first of a three-part season series leading up to the opener on Thursday.
 
BUY TICKETS ONLINE – AVOID THE LINE!
Fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with cash at the gates. Find out more in the partnership announcement between CSP Athletics and HomeTown Ticketing.
 
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
 
All home games will feature the play-by-play broadcasting provided by Dan Flanagan, the voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. The St. Paul, Minnesota native studied broadcasting at Fordham University (N.Y.) where he was the voice of the Rams' football and basketball teams in the NCAA Division I Patriot League.
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.
 
MATCHUP: CSP VS AUGUSTANA
The Golden Bears meet the Vikings for the 17^th time dating back to 2004 when Augustana was a member of the now-defunct North Central Conference (NCC). In the first meetings when the schools played non-conference games between 2004-07, CSP won three of four, winning twice in Sioux Falls and splitting at Griffin Stadium, CSP's former home just a block to the east of campus.
 
When Augustana joined the Northern Sun in 2008, the series flipped, with the Vikings winning the first six contests and 11 of the last 12 including a current 5-game winning streak against CSP. The teams didn't meet last year with CSP's move to the NSIC North Division, breaking a streak of 16-straight seasons that the programs faced each other.
 
The last time the teams met was in 2019 at Kirkeby-Over Stadium in Sioux Falls, with Augustana winning 21-20 in a closely played game that included a fourth down conversion on a late fourth-quarter scoring drive. Concordia trailed by 11 points (14-3) in the second quarter but rallied under backup quarterback Jared Olsgaard, who filled in for injured Maxon Hutton, connecting with Marcus Gustaveson for a touchdown with 41 seconds left in the first half. CSP's defense then blanked the Vikings in the third quarter when freshman running back Darios Crawley-Reid broke loose for a 27-yard touchdown run for a 17-14 lead. He finished with 11-102 rushing with a long of 59. Danny Laudet cashed in a 35-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 20-14 lead. Augustana went on its eventual game-winning TD drive with 5:20 to play, converting a 3^rd-and-3 near midfield, a 4^th-and-1 from the CSP 9-yard line with 1:15 to play and scored on a 3^rd-and goal from the 2-yard line with 52 seconds left.
 
Concordia is 2-6 in home games against Augustana and 1-4 at Sea Foam Stadium, last picking up a win in 2014 (17-7). Under head coach Shannon Currier, Concordia holds a 0-4 mark against the Vikings.
 
The Vikings are ranked #25 in the country by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in the AFCA Division II Preseason Top-25 and Augie was picked to win the league with five first-place votes and 153 points overall, an 8-point margin over second place Bemidji State who secured four first-place votes. In the NSIC South Division, things were tighter, with Augie picked first with a pair of first-place votes and 32 points, just one point ahead of Minnesota State who had three first-place votes while Sioux Falls in third place in the division had 27 points and a pair of first-place votes.
 
Augustana is led by NSIC Preseason South Division Player of the Year Eli Weber, a senior safety and two-time All-NSIC South Division First Team performer who had 63 tackles and a pair of interceptions last year. Offensively, Jarod Epperson, a junior running back, is the key player after ranking fourth in the league with 1,051 rushing yards and 253 receiving yards last year. The All-NSIC South First Team selection had five 100-yard rushing performances for the Vikings, who went 9-2 overall and won the NSIC South with a 5-1 record in division play.
 
2022 SEASON PREVIEW: PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The 2019 Golden Bears continued the program's ascent as contenders in the Northern Sun, achieving a  winning 6-5 season that also included three losses by one score (8-points or less) and a competitive 10-point road loss in the finale, putting the team within reach of an 8-win (or better) campaign.
 
It appeared the growth would continue in 2020, returning All-American defensive end Chris Garrett with an infusion of talent from the NSIC North Division with the addition of double-digit players from St. Cloud State and Minnesota Crookston, who joined the program in the spring semester of 2020 to get acclimated to the program and begin building continuity.
 
The spring shutdown due to the COVID-19 global pandemic thwarted all of that momentum, and when the 2020 fall football season was canceled, the Golden Bears said goodbye to their standout defensive end as Garrett was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams before becoming a preseason NFL sensation and eventually winning a Super Bowl ring in his rookie season.
 
The loss of the spring and fall seasons also trampled on the program's ability to harness the newfound depth and experience created by the infusion of transfers.
 
A multitude of injuries during the 2021 season saw the team lose all of its running backs for extended periods and the quarterback position was nearly as depleted due to injury, putting the team in a position to place a backup safety under center, handing off to a reserve special teams linebacker at running back. While those situations stand out, the injuries affected every position on the roster as CSP stumbled to a 1-10 overall finish.
 
Following the season, head coach Shannon Currier and his coaching staff began work to examine every inch of the program, working to become more efficient, improve processes and ultimately work towards a better overall culture moving forward.
 
"It's just like going through tough times in your life. You try to reflect and improve. It caused us to dig deep and work harder. No one wants that season, and fortunately, we have a staff that cares about Concordia – not just the jobs that they do within the football program," said Coach Currier, who enters his 16^th season as a Division II head football coach, 11^th at Concordia-St. Paul and sixth season since returning to the CSP sidelines in 2016.
 
He continued, "All of our coaches and players are committed to this and have found ways to address the things that needed to be improved."
 
The coaching stuff continues to boast incredible continuity, with the only departures from the 2021 staff coming from graduate assistants who have completed their graduate work and moved on to new positions on the college football coaching ladder. Even the program's new graduate assistants bring continuity and stability to the staff, one a former player on last year's team and the other a multi-year student assistant coach promoted to the GA role.
 
"We've improved the most in culture and our standards," said Currier. "We have more committed players and have had our best offseason, including the summer, than we've ever had, and it has shown up on the field throughout fall camp. Things haven't slid, and our discipline and accountability have soared – the offseason has brought all of that, stemming from improvement to the culture."
 
From the football side, Currier added, "We all have worked harder in our preparation, whether it's making changes to schemes or the process to how we've done things. We've done more research; had more discussion and I think we are as prepared going into the year as we've ever been."
 
Currier also understands that these improvements don't always lead to moving games from the loss column to the win column, adding, "Success isn't guaranteed, but at the end of the year, we know we've put in the time and effort in trying to improve the program which is a result of how things transpired last season."
 
In addition to players having the ability to recover in the offseason, the team added a handful of impact transfers including two running backs, wide receivers, and defensive linemen.
 
The team is also excited about the incoming freshman class, adding at least a half dozen freshmen to the defensive 2-deep in addition to the incoming impact transfers.
 
"The table is set for growth in the program with young players who are showing strong ability this fall. The number of freshmen on our 2-deep rivals our first few years here (2016-17), and it's a good thing: we're set to grow the program over the next few years with talented players who will be good in this conference. The freshman class addressed every position on this team, it's a solid group that is committed, engaged, and makes good decisions."
 
The biggest compliment from Currier was how the young talent has integrated with the upperclassmen, "They respect the upperclassmen, and the veteran players see them as quality football players which speaks volumes for the group as a freshman class. It's been one of the highlights of our fall camp."
 
MEET THE BEARS: SPECIAL TEAMS OVERVIEW
"We like to put our best players on the special teams, across all of our units," said head coach Shannon Currier. "Some of our offensive skill players make us more explosive and a lot of our returning players have played key roles on special teams in the past."
 
MEET THE BEARS: KICKING GAME
The Golden Bears feature a pair of returning kickers who excelled as freshmen in 2021 in placekicker Sam Henson and punter Parker Dahlman.
 
Henson converted 10-of-13 of his field goal attempts, 10-of-11 from inside 50 yards with a long of 48, also hitting all 18 of his point after touchdown attempts. He also produced a quarter of his kickoffs for touchbacks and his kicks helped limit opponents to an average return of 16.5 yards or an average starting field position at the 26-yard line.
 
Dahlman produced one of the top punting seasons in program history, averaging 40.1 yards on 67 punts, a long of 77 yards with 12 fair catches, 12 inside the 20, and 12 of 50-plus yards.
 
The kicking game is supported by its snappers, long snapping freshman Peyton Ihns who is the son of CSP Athletic Hall of Famer Ted Ihns, and short snapper Caydon Christensen who provide a long term future at the position for the program.
 
"I'm excited about the youth of our snappers, as well as the way they've been performing. Big potential!" Currier exclaimed.
 
MEET THE BEARS: SPECIAL TEAMS COVERAGE
In the field position game, while Henson and Dahlman delivered on their roles with length, hangtime, and placement, the coverage units also supported them in suppressing opponents' field position.
 
Concordia had a 6-yard advantage in average starting field position, starting at the 32-yard line while holding opponents to the 26 while the punt coverage unit assisted in forcing the 12 fair catches.
 
Special teams coverage units are expected to include contributions from defensive backs Rhett Sheehan, Cyrus McClure, Davaris Cheeks, Alex Andrade, and freshman Zantavious Graham along with linebackers Brayden Hilgemann, Caden Baarts, Richard Wauer, and Max Giannini while wide receiver Jack Munsterteiger was also mentioned as a special teams player to watch.
 
MEET THE BEARS: RETURN GAME
The kickoff and punt return section of the squad has been a continued emphasis in the program, with incoming transfer running backs Gayflor Flomo and Jaire Moore expected to top the kickoff return depth chart, backed up by returning running back Jaylin Richardson and last year's top return man Alex Andrade. The punt returners include senior wide receiver Joey Farley and Richardson.
 
Last year, Andrade averaged 21.7 yards on 13 kickoff returns, leading the team in returns, yards and average with a long of 40. Richardson returned five kickoffs for 99 yards, averaging 19.8 while breaking the longest return on the team of 51 yards. He also led the team in punt returns with four, including a long of eight yards.
 
The return group also includes depth and competition from Evan Peterson, Drew Enke, and Troy Ellison. Last year, seven different players returned kickoffs (excluding blockers).
 
Special teams is where the greatest number of yards exchange hands on a given play in football. It's an area of emphasis every year, and particularly this year we have identified it as an area we need to improve," concluded Coach Currier. "We need to take a step forward in this element of the game, we need it to win games."