BISMARCK, N.D. - In a game played under a "high wind warning" according to The Weather Channel's app for the Bismarck area, Concordia-St. Paul (2-3, 2-2 NSIC) survived the consistent 30-plus mile per hour winds gusting into the 50s with a double-overtime win, escaping the MDU Resources Community Bowl with a 19-13 victory over the University of Mary (1-5, 0-5 NSIC), effectively spoiling the Marauders' homecoming football game.

Concordia was victorious in its first overtime game since the 2019 season, topping Bemidji State 24-23 at Sea Foam Stadium when Preston Piltoff intercepted BSU's two-point conversion attempt to seal the 1-point win.

Like that 2019 overtime win, Concordia would once again use an interception to end the contest, this time with sophomore linebacker Ben Rehl intercepting a pass on 3rd-and-goal from the 7-yard line over the middle at the 2-yard line, falling to the ground to seal the 19-13 win.

The Golden Bears will be playing for their first 3-2 NSIC start through five league games next Saturday when they remain on the road at the University of Sioux Falls (4-2, 3-2 NSIC), who outlasted #7 Minnesota State 40-36 today in Mankato to avenge a pair of losses to the Beavers, falling to Bemidji State 28-24 in week four and Minot State 26-22 in week five.

It was a game that Concordia dominated from start-to-finish, with numerous chances to put their thumbs on the outcome of the game along the way, starting with the coin toss, which allowed CSP to play with the wind at its back in the first and fourth quarters.

Concordia held a 20-9 advantage in first downs, a 349-145 edge in total offense and a 247-43 margin in the run game but the Marauders forced three Golden Bear turnovers and held CSP to 1-4 on fourth down. Concordia held UMary to 13 points on five trips to the red zone while the Golden Bears had 16 points in four trips. CSP would also win the time of possession in the second, third and fourth quarters for a final 34:59 to 25:01 margin.

Senior running back Jaylin Richardson carried 32 times for 188 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns, adding 3-53 receiving with 49 coming after the catch. He combined for 241 all-purpose yards, surpassing 3,000 for his career with 3,167.

In the first quarter, UMary dominated possession with 11:06 to CSP's 3:54 as the Marauders converted 3-of-5 on third down, but came up empty on fourth down and had a 17-yard punt into the wind. The missed fourth down on the UMary opening drive set CSP up with the ball at the UMary 34-yard line and despite the exceptional field position, CSP would get backed up after a pair of penalties set-up 3rd-and-18 from the Marauder 42. After an incomplete pass, senior kicker Jeff Isotalo-McGuire crushed a 60-yard field goal with distance to spare for a 3-0 lead on CSP's first possession.

His field goal topped the former school record by one yard, surpassing the 59-yarder by Tom Obarski set in 2012 at Sea Foam Stadium against Augustana. It's Isotalo-McGuire's second 50-plus yard field goal as a Golden Bear, as well, surpassing his former career-long of 51 set against Minnesota State just one week earlier. He's now the third kicker in program history with two or more 50-plus yard field goals in a career, joining Obarski (5) and Jonas Schenderlein (10). He made two field goals on the day, also connecting from 23 yards  to send the game to a second overtime.

UMary's ensuing drive would consume over eight minutes of clock, but Concordia's defense secured a pair of tackles for loss, the first for three yards on a pass play snuffed out by Richard Wauer, followed by a 7-yard loss on a sack by McKinley Neville. The Marauers would be forced to punt from the CSP 32-yard line, and the 17-yard punt pinned the Golden Bears inside the 20 despite the short distance.

Concordia's next two drives would combine to take over 13 minutes off the clock as CSP held a 10:39 to 4:21 time of possession lead in the second quarter, with both CSP drives ending in missed fourth down attempts while the Marauders were able to use strong field position at the CSP 40 to march 32 yards for a short 25-yard field goal to tie the game with 14 seconds left in the half.

In the third quarter, CSP would start with the ball heading straight into the teeth of the fall prairie winds, turning to the ground game with eight-straight runs to start the drive, the first six going to Richardson who had a pair of first down runs including a hard 2-yard run on 4th-and-1 from the CSP 45 yard line to keep the chains moving. CSP's first pass of the drive was to Richardson out of the backfield, with Richardson bruising his way for 23-yards to pick up a 3rd-and-8 into Marauder territory at the 28-yard line. After a 7-yard run to James Evans IV, Richardson rushed two more times but CSP misfired on 4th-and-4 from the UMary 22-yard line, turning it over on downs for the third-straight possession.

But into the wind, CSP managed to plunder nearly nine and a half minutes of clock from the Marauders' third quarter wind advantage. But the ugly wind would be a factor on the ensuing drive, despite CSP's defense securing a 3-and-out, forcing a 4th-and-12. Kevin Powell's 49-yard punt sailed just a bit too far, with CSP unable to handle the return and UMary recovering the home-friendly bounce at the CSP 14-yard line. An unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the Marauders back 15 yards, but UMary would still march to the end zone, converting a pair of third downs along the way, a 3rd-and-12 and a 3rd-and-goal from the 6-yard line for the touchdown and 10-3 lead.

On the first play of the next drive, it appeared UMary had stolen the momentum back entirely, recovering a fumble on the first play from scrimmage at the CSP 6-yard line. But the defense held for a 3-and-out, and Anthony Ukofia blocked Powell's short field goal attempt to keep it a 1-score game with just 22 seconds to play in the quarter.

On the final play of the third quarter, Richardson gashed UMary once again, ripping off a 13-yard run on first down to move the chains and reverse the field in CSP's favor. He would also end the drive with a double-digit yard run, an 11-yard touchdown to tie the score on an 8-play, 80-yard drive spanning 5:41. He had three runs for 28 yards and an 18-yard reception on the drive that also featured impact from Parkees Harris with runs of 11 and 13 yards on back-to-back plays, and a Jackson Compton to EJ Stoffel 15-yard pickup.

After another 3-and-out by the defense, CSP had the ball at midfield with 7:57 to play, with Richardson going back to work with a 28-yard run followed by another double-digit pickup when he was stripped from behind in the open field, with the Marauders getting another friendly bounce, this time out of the back of the end zone for a touchback and a turnover.

Concordia's defense continued to rise to the occasion, though, securing another 3-and-out with Rehl breaking up the 3rd-and-5 pass which led to a 9-yard punt, with CSP getting the ball on the UMary 34-yard line with 6:07 remaining.

The Golden Bears kept it on the ground, with eight carries for 31 yards, ultimately missing the go-ahead field goal to break the 10-10 tie on 4th-and-1 from the UMary 3-yard line with 1:58 to play.

The Marauders didn't leave anything to chance facing the stiff headwind, running the ball three times and punting, this one for just five yards to give Concordia the ball with 11 seconds at the 30-yard line. CSP would misfire on a game-winning 47-yarder, though, sending it to overtime.

In the fourth quarter, Concordia's defense didn't allow a first down, holding the Marauders to eight yards on 10 plays while the Golden Bears rolled up seven first downs, rushing 15 times for 120 yards and completing 2-3 for 33 yards through the air. Richardson nearly had 100 yards in the fourth quarter alone, rushing eight times for 81 yards and adding an 18-yard reception.

Concordia's defense won the day in overtime, too, forcing a 3-and-out on UMary's first possession with Isotalo-McGuire answering with a field goal of his own. In the second overtime, Richardson gashed the Marauder defense for an 18-yard pickup on first down and followed it up with a 7-yard touchdown run. CSP missed the two-point attempt, but Concordia came up big when it counted the most, as Rehl secured the third down interception at the 2-yard line for the win.

Making his first career start, Compton completed 8-15 for 102 yards in challenging conditions, distributing his eight completions to five different receivers while targeting six players in the game.

Richardson secured his ninth career 100-yard rushing performance, setting career-highs for rushing yards (188) and all-purpose yards (241). P.Harris contributed with eight carries for 49 yards with a long of 13, averaging 6.1 per carry and was not tackled for a loss in the game.

Rehl led CSP's defense with the two big plays in the fourth quarter and overtime, breaking up a third down pass to stop a drive, and intercepting the pass in the red zone to stop the game. He added two tackles. The Golden Bear defensive front combined for three sacks, with Lucas Becker, Jason Harris and McKinley Neville each securing a sack. Becker had four tackles and a pair of tackles for loss.

Concordia's defense had 10.0 tackles for loss, with safety Machai Campbell adding 2.0 TFLs among his three tackles to join Becker with 2.0 while Caden Baarts had four tackles with 1.5 for loss. Brayden Hilgemann had a team-high six total tackles (all solo) in the game, with five coming in the first half before the CSP 3-and-out defense limited the number of plays by the Marauders in the second half.

Marauder quarterback Sofian Massoud completed 17-30 for 102 yards, a touchdown and an interception while being sacked three times on the day. Mujeeb Rufai led the team with 36 receiving yards while Andrew Trandahl added 34 all-purpose yards for UMary, with 9-16 rushing (1.8 avg) and 4-18 (4.5 avg) receiving.

Concordia is now 4-2 in six trips to Bismarck where head coach Shannon Currier is now 2-1 in three trips. CSP is 6-6 in 12 meetings against the Marauders, with Currier holding a 4-2 record against them since rejoining the program in 2016.