ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday at noon, Concordia-St. Paul will host the University of Mary at Sea Foam Stadium and will be collecting donations as part of Randy Shaver's Tackle Cancer initiative.

The Golden Bears (1-3) and Marauders (0-4) are each seeking their first Northern Sun victory of the season, with CSP entering 0-3 NSIC while UMary is 0-4 in league play. CSP's victory in the home opener against Upper Iowa was Concordia's lone non-conference game of the year, while the Marauders will play their non-conference opponent, Davenport (Mich.), in week eight in Bismarck, North Dakota.

RANDY SHAVER'S TACKLE CANCER GAME
Help the Golden Bears Tackle Cancer this Saturday. Fans who make a $10 donation at halftime will be eligible to make a throw for a chance to win a $100 Bear Wear gift card! All donations will be to benefit the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund. Additional donations will also be collected throughout the game.

Last year, the organization raised $473,000 through various Tackle Cancer events, with this year's goal set at $500,000. Shaver's organization has raised over $2.9 million to support Minnesota's cancer community since 2012.

The CSP-UMary game on September 30 is one of three Tackle Cancer events happening on Saturday, joined by the Chaska at Northfield and Harding/Humboldt at St. Paul Central contests on the prep scene. Earlier this year, the Minnesota Vikings (8/26), University of St. Thomas (9/2), University of Minnesota (9/9) hosted Tackle Cancer events, along with numerous high school and multiple local small college football games.

For more information about Randy Shaver's Tackle Cancer events, please visit the organization's website.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
Saturday looks to be partly cloudy with a 24 percent chance of a stray shower or thunderstorm possible and a high of 84 degrees, featuring calm winds 5-10mph SSE (right to left from main grandstand). Kickoff temperature is forecast for 77 degrees, with a 9-to-15 percent chance of precipitation between noon and 3 p.m.

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! New for 2023, Concordia will be a cashless ticket experience for fans, so if you don't purchase ahead, make sure to bring your card to make your purchase at the gate.
 
Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service, while faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. CSP students will have their all-sport season passes sent directly to their csp.edu email address.
 
Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets. BUY ONLINE

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.
 
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.
 
The show typically features two segments with Coach Currier along with a segment with Langfellow joined by a pair of student-athletes.This week's podcast guests senior tight end Grant Miles and sophomore center Caydon Christensen.
 
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!
 
CAPTAINS / HONORARY 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 fifth season in a row. Captains are selected by the coaching staff based on performance on the field and off, as a leader in practice and in day-to-day activities.
 
This week's game captains are offensive linemen Caydon Christensen and Taylon Hensley (5x) along with linebacker Richard Wauer (4x) and defensive tackle Koffi Gbekle (2x).

This week's honorary captains are assistant professor Jennifer Myers from the College of Kinesiology and Dr. Thomas Saylor, CSP's Faculty Athletic Representative.

SERIES HISTORY: UMARY 6, CSP 4
The Golden Bears and Marauders will meet for the 11th time this Saturday, with UMary holding a slight 6-4 edge in the series. CSP is 1-4 all-time at home and 2-2 against UMary under head coach Shannon Currier, who topped the Marauders 17-0 and 17-7 in 2016 and 2018 before UMary picked up wins in the last two meetings in 2021 and 2022.

The Golden Bears will host UMary for a fifth time at Sea Foam Stadium (2009-present), where the visiting Marauders hold a 3-1 record against the Golden Bears including last year's 23-13 win.

In last year's 23-13 Mary victory, linebacker Andrew Egnarski tallied a school-record 22 tackles, the third-most in a game in NCAA Division II during the 2022 season, and added a pair of tackles for loss. He broke Mike Willett's 2012 record set against Upper Iowa, making 20 tackles against the Peacocks at Sea Foam Stadium.

After UMary opened with a 17-0 lead well into the third quarter, running back Jaylin Richardson helped the offense come alive late, scoring on a 21-yard pass from Conner Cordts to end the third quarter, and adding a 2-yard touchdown run to cap off a 10-play, 92-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter. His touchdowns both brought the margin back to 10 points, as CSP was unable to pull off the comeback.

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

With CSP 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 TD.

The CSP 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.

CONNER CORDTS SURPASSES 3,000 YARDS
Junior quarterback Conner Cordts topped 3,000 career passing yards in the 43-20 season opening victory. In 21 career games, Cordts has passed for 3,545 yards and carries a 22-13 TD-INT ratio. He also adds 161-452 rushing with four TDs.

He is now eight passing yards shy of moving into the top-10 on the career list, trailing James Peterson (2009-13) with 3,553 yards, and is approaching ninth (3,624, Mitch Brecke, 2008-09) and eighth (3,673, Jared Russo, 2010-14), as well.

On the year, Cordts is 56-112-3 with 580 yards and four TDs while rushing 29-131 with a TD. Last year in 11 games, Cordts compiled 2,108 yards and 12 passing TDs while rushing for 236 yards and three TDs - all career-highs.

RICHARDSON TOPS 1,000 YARDS
Junior running back Jaylin Richardson topped 1,000 career rushing yards in week three against Augustana. He has now rushed 241-1,076 and six TDs. The versatile back is also a threat out of the backfield (45-394-3) and in the return game with 215 combined yards, totaling 1,680 career all-purpose yards.

He is the first to top 1,000 career rushing yards since Shaq Johnson (1,092, 2017-19) and Lajuan Preston (1,266, 2017-21) each topped the milestone during the 2019 season when CSP finished 6-5 overall.

On the year, he has 250 rushing yards, 65 receiving yards and three TDs.

He's been aided in the backfield by sophomore Daniel Hornacek, breaking out with a 7.5 rushing average (24-186) and a TD. The duo each topped 100 rushing yards in the season opening win over Upper Iowa.

DAHLMAN POSTS MASSIVE PUNTING DAY
In week three against Augustana, junior Parker Dahlman countered one of the best returners in the country by averaging a school-record 54.0 yards on five punts, the second-best single game punt average in DII football in a 2023 game. In the game, the special teams punt coverage unit carried a strong 43.8 net punting average, too. He holds three of the top-six single-game punting averages in school history with a minimum of two punts, and the first, third and fourth-highest single-game punt averages with a minimum of three punts.

On the year, his 42.6 average ranks third in the NSIC, 21st in NCAA Division II and is ahead of the school record pace of 41.32 held by Sam Maedke (2017). Dahlman also carries a 40.24 career punting average, putting him nearly a yard ahead of the current record of 39.32 held by Jake Shepley (2017-21), who was primarily a wide receiver during his time at CSP. 

EUE EUE EUE!
Two-time All-NSIC First Team senior transfer kicker Payton Eue has made an immediate impact on the Golden Bear special teams, converting all five of his field goals to start his Golden Bear career through four games. He has converted three times from 20-29 yards, once from 30-39, and holds a long of 41 as part of a three-field goal performance against Augustana in week three. His 3-for-3 performance against the Vikings puts him in a 13-way tie for second-most field goals made in a game at Concordia, and he's one of five players to achieve the feat since the program began in 1969.

His 21 points on the year leads Concordia in scoring, three points ahead of Jaylin Richardson who leads the squad with three touchdowns. Eue also averages 60.3 yards on kickoffs, delivering 25 percent (4-16) for touchbacks.

As a college kicker, including his time at Northern State, Eue has converted 37-of-52 field goals in 38 games, hitting season longs of 48 (2019), 50 (2021), 49 (2022), and 41 (2023) nad has compiled 197 career points, including his 86-94 on PATs.

He holds Northern State's career record with 32 field goals made, season record with 14 field goals made (2021) and PATs in a season with 49 in 2021 (49-52). 

ENKE & ELLISON'S BIG GAMES
Wide receivers Drew Enke and Troy Ellison have each posted big individual performances this year, with Ellison producing 10 catches for 85 yards in the season-opening win over Upper Iowa, adding 2-21 rushing and a 58-yard punt return for a 164-yard all-purpose performance, while Enke had a career day against Augustana in week three with seven catches for 163 yards.

The duo are CSP's top receiving threats so far in 2023, with Enke leading the team in receiving yards (211) on 12 catches, averaging a team-best 17.6 per catch while Ellison leads the team with 18 receptions, adding 148 yards and a score. Ellison also has 4-21 rushing (5.3 avg), 2-59 on punt returns (29.5 avg) and 7-116 on kickoff returns to lead the roster with 344 all-purpose yards, edging out Jaylin Richardson (320).

Junior Rene Zaldivar has also added six catches for 53 yards and has scored a pair of touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air.

Concordia has had 12 different players record a reception on the season with 14 players targeted in the pass game and seven players have at least three catches on the year.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
The Golden Bears have been coming up with big stops throughout the early part of the season and while safety Cyrus McClure leads the team with 24 tackles, it's been a team effort as 12 different players have double-digit tackles through four games and seven players have at least 15 stops. A mark of a strong defense, two of Concordia's top tacklers are defensive linemen with defensive end Kendis Ledbetter tied for third on the defense with 17 tackles (2.5 TFL, 1.0 sacks) and defensive tackle Koffi Gbekle tied for fifth with 16 tackles (2.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) with the duo also leading the team in TFLs.

Additionally, linebackers Jawon Carr (2nd, 18 tackles), Richard Wauer (t-3rd, 17 tackles) and Brayden Hilgemann (t-5th, 16 tackles) continue to pile up tackles.

Early season turnovers have been Anthony Ukofia with an interception and fumble recovery in the season opener, with McClure forcing the same fumble and breaking up the pass that led to Ukofia's INT, while linebackers Hilgemann and Abe Schwinn each have an interception.

PROVIDING PROTECTION
The Golden Bear offensive line, led by left side returning starters Jake Edwards (LT) and Taylon Hensley (LG), along with experienced players Jac Carver (RG), CJ Picazo (RG), Robby Carrillo (RT) and first-year starter Caydon Christensen (C) have teamed up to allow just three sacks through four games against some of the top teams in the Northern Sun.

The Golden Bears are averaging 4.7 per carry and 155.0 yards per game on the ground, as well, including a pair of 100-yard rushers in Jaylin Richardson and Daniel Hornacek. As a team, CSP has rushed for at least 100 yards in every game, including in road games at Winona State (29-112) and #5 Minnesota State (35-120) while piling up a season-best 281 yards and four touchdowns in the 43-20 season opening win over Upper Iowa.

ABOUT THE MARAUDERS
UMary enters play having lost six in a row including the final two games of a 2-9 finish in 2022. They were picked tied for 12th with Minot State with 20 points in the poll, trailing CSP in 11th by 15 points. They are led by first year head coach Shann Schillinger, a former sixth round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in the 2010 NFL Draft.

In 2023, the Marauders are off to a slow start, allowing at least 36 points in each game while failing to score more than 17 offensively. Their closest margin was a 36-17 loss in the home opener at MDU Resources Community Bowl to Sioux Falls.

UMary has had some success through the air, as quarterbacks Sofian Massoud and Jesse Forknell have split time at the position and combined for 719 yards, a 62.2 completion percentage, five TDs and three INTs. Massoud leads the team with 357 yards and a 66.7 completion percentage, adding a 2-2 TD-INT ratio while Forknell has 337 yards and a 58.9 completion percentage and leading the position with a 3-1 TD-INT ratio.

Mujeeb Rufai (28-219-1) and Traivon Dyson (16-214-3 are the top targets, with Rufai averaging 7.8 per catch and Dyson leading the team at 13.4, while tight end Luke Bodine checks in with 11-135.

Jeremiah Moore leads a ground game that collectively averages 1.2 per carry for 122 yards across four games, just 30.5 team rushing yards per contest. Moore paces the group with 29-88 rushing at a 3.0 average with the Marauders seeking their first team rushing TD.

Reginald Morrow has a team-high 23 tackles, just ahead of Seth Jarrett's 21, with Jarrett adding the team's lone INT. Mason Phillips leads the team with 3.5 TFLs and 3.0 sacks. Jason Stoddard has produced eight tackles, but more importantly, added two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.