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 third and final installment of a three-part season series leading up to the opener on Thursday.
 
Opening night is St. Paul Day at Sea Foam Stadium. In recognition of the importance of supporting local businesses, the team distributed 500 tickets along with schedule posters to St. Paul businesses, encouraging community members to attend the season opener. Game one is sponsored by Summit Orthopedics, the official team physicians of CSP student-athletes.
 
St. Paul Day will also feature a performance by the TKO Drumline from Zanewood Recreation Center in nearby Brooklyn Park. Game one honorary captains include Concordia-St. Paul's Aqueelah Roberson, the Director of Diversity Center at CSP, along with Wayne Randolph Felton, Senior Pastor at The Holy Christian Church in St. Paul.
 
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.
 
CHEEKS TO WEAR #26 IN HONOR OF BILLY BROWN, JR.
Sophomore safety Davaris Cheeks changed jersey numbers from his new number (14) to #26 to honor the memory of Billy Brown, Jr., a linebacker who graduated from CSP in May of 2018. Billy passed away in 2018 shortly after graduating while working out near his home in the Twin Cities that summer. Head coach Shannon Currier has opted to honor Brown by selecting a player who fits Billy's work ethic and commitment to the program to wear the number each season.
 
Cheeks, a native of Aurora, Illinois, debuted in game action in 2021 with the jersey number 31, after redshirting in 2019 and missing 2020 due to the COVID-19 season cancellation. As a third-year member of the program, Cheeks played in seven games, including four starts at safety, finishing the year with 17 tackles (10 solo) with a season-high six tackles at UMD (10/16).
 
He served last year as the CSP Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President and this year was appointed as the NSIC's NCAA Division II National SAAC representative. Further, he was elected as the 2022-23 CSP Student Body President and appointed as one of the first two student-athletes to serve on the NCAA Division II President's Council, the highest-ranking body of NCAA DII governance.
 
Cheeks is a public relations major at Concordia with a minor in business management and marketing.
 
"Billy Brown's legacy has been talked about since the day I became a part of this football program, and rightfully so. The mark he left was one that was full of love for this team, passion for the game, and doing whatever it took to win. It is an honor to be able to wear that jersey as I know he is watching down on us and has sowed a seed that will never be forgotten."
 
Past players selected to wear Brown's #26 include:
2018: Brandon Russell (23 to 26)
2019: Jackson Dobbs (98 to 26)
2020: season cancellation
2021: Dalton Smerchek (32 to 26)
2022: Davaris Cheeks (14 to 26)
 
WEEK 1 GAME CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Shannon Currier and the Golden Bear coaching staff have continued the program's tradition of selecting rotating weekly game captains for the fourth season in a row. Captains are selected by the coaching staff based on performance on the field and as a leader in practice and day-to-day activities.
 
The season opener's game captains are junior offensive lineman Sam Marshalek and sophomore quarterback Conner Cordts on offense, along with senior safety Rhett Sheehan and sophomore safety Davaris Cheeks.
 
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.
 
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 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.
 
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: DEFENSE
While the Golden Bears return 10 defensive players who started games last year, only three of them started at least half of the contests: one defensive lineman, one linebacker, and one defensive back.
 
Overall, the defense features youth, depth and competition for roles and the opening week 2-deep will include nine freshmen (seven redshirt freshmen, two true freshmen) and eight sophomores, with no juniors and four seniors.
 
"The table is set for growth in the program featuring young players are really good football players. With as many freshmen in the 2-deep as we've had since our first two years back with the program, it's a really good thing. They are talented players who will be good in this conference."
 
In 2018, the Golden Bears made the leap from a 2-win season to a 5-6 campaign, playing competitive football in losses, setting the table for a winning season in 2019 (6-5) and coming within a score of three additional wins. Those rosters featured defensive standouts who played meaningful snaps early in their careers, developing into standouts as juniors and seniors.
 
"This year we are so young and these guys will allow us to (eventually) be better than we were in 2019 with our defense," said Coach Currier. He continued, "The 2019 defense with a better offense is an 8-win team. If we can build a better defense and combine that with a better offense, we can move into the upper echelon in this league. We did well in our recruitment on the defensive line with this group."
 
MEET THE BEARS: SAFETIES
The 2022 Golden Bear defense will be anchored by the safety position, a deep and wide-ranging position group that also includes some of the top leadership on the entire roster.
 
Sixth-year senior and four-year starter Rhett Sheehan has played and started 33 consecutive games and has been with the program since 2017 when he redshirted and also used his additional year from the COVID-19 2020 season. He's one of 11 players on the roster working towards a master's degree including seven from the defensive side of the football.
 
Sheehan has compiled 143 career tackles, increasing his total each season while ranking second on the defense with 63 tackles last year. He added three interceptions as a junior, with all three coming at home.
 
He's backed up by another graduate student, Alex Andrade, while sophomore Cyrus McClure is expected to start alongside him at the other safety position, backed up by one of the country's top leaders, Davaris Cheeks.
 
McClure started half of the eight games he played in a year ago, making 26 tackles (17 solo), adding a pair of pass breakups, forcing a fumble, and adding a blocked kick.
 
Andrade played all 11 games and was always on the field between his reps as a reserve safety and being a standout on special teams coverage units as well as in the return game. He had a pair of tackles for loss and led the team with 282 kickoff return yards and a 21.7 average.
 
After serving as the Concordia Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President in 2020-21, Cheeks was elected CSP Student Body President, named the NSIC's Division II SAAC representative and become one of two members to be appointed to the NCAA Division II President's Council, the most prestigious committee for Division II governance, which appointed student-athletes for the first time this year.
 
"Rhett just knows what he's doing. He's a strong leader and brings a ton of experience to our defense and understands our defense better than anyone," said Coach Currier. "Davaris is another strong leader, while last year Cyrus was a top newcomer and he is healthy and looking great this fall. Andrade is another top leader – the guys at this position are all strong leaders and quality players."
 
The group also features production from sophomore Anthony Ukofia, who played in 10 games including a pair of starts last season while "newcomer Machai Campbell is making a run, too," Currier added.
 
MEET THE BEARS: CORNERBACKS
With the safeties patrolling the defensive backfield with their leadership and experience, the Golden Bears will head into the 2022 season armed with youth and athleticism at the cornerback position.
 
Sophomore McKinley Egland-Young brings the most experience to the cornerback position, playing in nine games and starting five times as a redshirt freshman in 2021. He compiled 19 tackles (15 solo) and added a pair of pass breakups.
 
The projected starter on the first week 2-deep is true freshman Zantavious Graham, an All-Region standout at Villar Rica High School in Georgia where he had four interceptions for the region champion Wildcats as a prep.
 
The depth at the position includes more youth with redshirt freshmen Quintin Balentine, Hudson Jean and sophomore Nate Segura as returners along with true freshman Dylan Phillips vying for playing time. The position also includes sophomore returning starter Kahlil Robinson, who is expected to miss the season due to injury after playing all 11 games with four starts and 15 tackles a year ago.
 
MEET THE BEARS: LINEBACKERS
The linebacker unit features a strong combination of youth and experience.

"This group has a chance to be pretty good," commented Coach Currier, adding that, "We have some guys with experience and the players within each position have contrasting strengths and abilities that we'll look to capitalize on throughout the course of the season."
 
At the SAM position, sophomore Caden Baarts is a returner who started in five of the nine contests he appeared in last season, picking up 26 tackles while veteran Devin Flakes, Dominic LaCombe and redshirt freshman Jawon Carr add support at the position.
 
"Caden is an outside linebacker who has had one of the top offseasons on the team, and its showing up with a very good fall camp. He's athletic, strong, fast and we're high on his ability. We also expect Karson Vigeland to rejoin midseason, and he earned some solid experience last year as a backup."
 
The MIKE linebacker spot is occupied by incumbent starter Andrew Egnarski, who led the 2021 squad with 68 tackles, adding 6.0 tackles for loss and tying for the team-high with 5.0 sacks, adding an interception, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery. The position also includes sophomore Brayden Hilgemann, who played all 11 games with a standout role on special teams, making 16 total tackles on the year, as did El-Osiris Jeudy who played in nine contests primarily on special teams.
 
"Egnarski is a physical, experienced, veteran player who has worked hard. He will pop you and has great instincts. Brayden goes sideline-to-sideline, does well in pass coverage and is long. El-Osiris has improved and will have a few different roles within the linebacker unit. He's physical, becoming a young leader and has a tremendous work ethic," said Currier.
 
At the WHIP position, redshirt freshman Richard Wauer looks to hold the starting spot entering the season while sophomore Max Giannini earned a role in 2021 as a freshman, playing in 10 games and making eight tackles while featuring prominently on special teams. The group also includes redshirt freshman Carter Otto.
 
"Wauer is taking tremendous strides and has become a top a leader with a big future. He's 220 pounds now, and has been of the most improved players. This was a competition coming into fall camp and he has continued to pull away and has had strong showings in our scrimmages."
 
He continued on the WHIP position, "Max is aggressive and finds a way to make a lot of plays when we scrimmage. He's not the biggest, but he has big heart, plays fast and broke CSP Hall of Famer Brian Doyle's high school tackles record at Park. Carter Otto will be another guy in the mix, coming off a redshirt and injury season last year."
 
"All of these guys are going to be in the mix," said Currier while summarizing the linebackers as a group. "We also have some young players who we like a lot, and some of them may redshirt, but if we have injuries we can move our linebackers around instead of bringing in someone from a different spot."
 
MEET THE BEARS: DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
One of the spots on the roster that was hit hardest with injury in 2021, the Concordia coaching staff attacked this position in the offseason, looking for improvement within as well as an infusion of depth of and talent.
 
Four returners bring maturity and experience as members of Concordia's graduate school: Luke Dunsmoor, Mel Jeudy, Keegan Larson and Connor Weiss. "These players have been showing senior leadership. We're excited to get Connor Weiss back from injury in a few weeks. We have some other guys coming back from injury, so we'll be adding guys throughout the early and middle parts of the season, getting better as we build instead of the opposite."
 
"This is where we've (coaching staff) have put the most effort and time in and improved the numbers the most. We have a tremendous amount of young players that we're excited about. Many of them (young players) have even gained weight in the short amount of time we've been here in fall camp. A lot of those guys will redshirt.
 
"This is an area of our recruiting class that stands out, we have a lot of long guys who are 205 pounds who we project to build up to 230 pounds. They are long and athletic, there's a lot of guys we will be talking about in the future in this group."
 
Along the interior defensive front, Jeudy and Isaac Reed are expected to fill early season starting roles while redshirt freshman Keyshawn Pettis is expected to be a key early season interior reserve lineman. Jeudy started eight of the 10 games he played in 2021, making 22 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss. Northern State transfer Koffi Gbekle played in eight games, starting seven for the Wolves last season and is familiar with the rigors of playing in the NSIC North Division.
 
The unit will continue to receive boosts as sophomore Brad Walker, a contributor as a true freshman in 2021, will return early in the year along with the expected returns of Abe Elazazy.
 
On the edge, Luke Dunsmoor and redshirt freshman Drake Teal will be listed as the starters on the opening 2-deep with sophomore Ryan Martin as a backup defensive end. Dunsmoor leads all returning defensive linemen with 28 tackles, adding 4.0 tackles for loss while playing all 11 games as a reserve in 2021.
 
The group also features leadership from senior Keegan Larson, who provided steady production in 2021 with 6.0 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks while playing all 11 games with three starts. Weiss is expected to bring additional leadership and experience when he returns to the field while "Martin is coming into his prime in the program, and we need him to take a step forward," commented Coach Currier.
 
As with the interior with Gbekle bringing experience as a transfer, the edge features South Dakota transfer Lucas Becker, who spent three seasons with the Coyotes, seeing action in nine games across the 2020 (shortened) and 2021 seasons after redshirting in 2019, a 6-5, 270-pound lineman with Division I experience.
 
"We have a lot of good freshmen here, but we've had two guys who are being considered for spots: DJ Jones on the interior and Markell Keal on the edge. They've been able to get additional work and reps through the fall camp due to the opportunities created by injuries."