ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday, Concordia-St. Paul football (0-2, 0-1 NSIC) prepares for a week three road matchup at Southwest Minnesota State (0-2, 0-2 NSIC) with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center in Marshall, Minnesota.

Saturday's game at SMSU is Football Alumni Day, with gates open at noon. Fans should be aware that cash is not accepted and tickets should be purchased online in advance. Outside food and beverage, and inflated footballs or other balls of any kind are not allowed in the stadium. Please plan ahead.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
Saturday at 1 p.m. in Marshall is currently ticketed for a 73 degree temperature, sunny conditions and a NW wind at 19 mph. Highs are forecast at 75 degrees for the day with NW winds between 15-25 mph.

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

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 fifth 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 are linebacker Richard Wauer and tight end Russell Corrigan.
 
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 sixth season in a row, starting in 2018. 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 of being a student-athlete.
 
This week's game captains are offensive captains are offensive lineman Taylon Hensley and tight end Russell Corrigan, joined by defensive captains safety Cyrus McClure and linebacker Brayden Hilgemann.

WAUER SELECTED TO WEAR #26 IN MEMORY OF BILLY BROWN, JR
Junior linebacker Richard Wauer was selected to represent the football program's cherished jersey number 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.

Wauer, formerly #9, is athletically a junior and originally from Muskego, Wisconsin. He will be in his fifth year as a Golden Bear, with his debut season canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020, and was redshirted in 2021. He's been a two-year starting linebacker in 2022 and 2023 and a CSC Academic All-District Team student-athlete. An eight-time team captain in 2023, Wauer played in 10 games with three starts while working through injuries. He had his breakout season in 2022, starting nine times and playing all 11 games with 54 tackles to finish third on the team In 23 career games, he's made 102 tackles, 5.5 for loss and added a fumble recovery.

He has earned his degree in biochemistry adn now is pursuing an MBA in healthcare management, and intends to pursue further education in medical school after his football playing career with a goal of becoming a surgeon or anesthesiologist.

"As we mature as people and recognize what's most important in our life, in the end it's about the relationships you have and the impact that you've made," reflected Coach Currier. "After Billy's passing, I learned of his tremendous impact on other people through conversations with players and coaches and sometimes we don't always know that in the moment, but players made it apparent that Billy invested in their lives."

He continued, "After his passing, we recognize a special person in our program to honor Billy and keep his legacy alive. We select a player who has impact here to continue the tradition of what Billy started. I'm optimistic, but I feel like Richard Wauer is one of the best leaders I've ever been around. His commitment to his teammates, the team, overall growth, and his academics are all really remarkable. Reflecting back, when we recruited him in talking with Richard and his mom at a booth at GameWorks in Mall of America, I knew he was a special leader right away and that's a big reason we offered him. He brings a leadership component to our program."

"We are blessed to have Richard come back for another year after considering med school. He's picked up right where he left off with his leadership and overall impact. So many have benefited from Richard's actions and speaking. When people recognize their true purpose, there is a higher level of motivation, and when it's bigger than themselves it's powerful. We want our players to experience those same callings, to gain that desire to impact others in a positive way, and it all comes full circle to what Billy did in his time here at CSP."

Past players selected to wear Brown's #26:
2018: Brandon Russell (23 to 26)
2019: Jackson Dobbs (98 to 26)
2020: season cancelation
2021: Dalton Smerchek (32 to 26)
2022: Davaris Cheeks (14 to 26)
2023: Davaris Cheeks
2024: Richard Wauer (9 to 26)

SERIES HISTORY: CSP 13, SMSU 12
The Golden Bears hold a 1-game lead in the all-time series entering the 26th meeting between the programs that dates back to 1979. The Mustangs have won the last two contests, winning by 10 (34-24) at Sea Foam Stadium in 2021 and winning by eight (14-6) in 2022 in Marshall in the last meeting between the clubs.

Concordia is 6-6 in 12 trips to Marshall where they've won just once in the last decade, but have only made three trips since a 38-20 win in 2014: a 28-14 loss in 2016, a 16-10 win in 2018, and a 14-6 loss in 2022.

Since joining the Northern Sun, Concordia holds a 13-10 record against the Mustangs and a 7-3 record against SMSU under head coach Shannon Currier, who is 2-2 in four trips to Marshall as head coach of the Golden Bears.

Currier spent two seasons on staff at Southwest State as it was known when he was offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator for the Mustangs in 1997 and 1998 before landing the same position with CSP for 1999, eventually being promoted to head coach at CSP in 2000 for his first four-year term with the Golden Bears.

One more local connection is CSP senior linebacker Brayden Hilgemann, a Marshall, Minnesota native and graduate of Marshall High School where he led the Tigers to three consecutive district titles and a state appearance in 2017, helping the program to a 27-4 record in his three seasons. The Academic All-State linebacker was a team captain and a two-way player, averaging 11.5 yards per carry on the ground with 24 carries for 276 yards and six touchdowns as a senior. Head-to-head against his former hometown's college team, Hilgemann registered seven tackles and an interception in 2022 as a sophomore and made one tackle in 2021 as a freshman.

LAST MEETING: 2022, SMSU 14, CSP 6
The Golden Bears rushed for 262 yards as a team on the road led by Jaylin Richardson's 175 rushing yards on 14 carries for his first career 100-yard rushing performance, but the Mustangs countered with a big day on the ground of their own with 43-274 led by Jesse Sherwood's 32-196 to carry the day.

Concordia out-gained SMSU 432-380 in total offense but the Golden Bears had three turnovers and a pair of missed field goals while SMSU had two turnovers and one missed field goal in a one-score game.

While CSP was able to grind for its yardage, the Mustangs scored on long runs of 63 yards in the first quarter and 52 yards in the fourth quarter.

Cyrus McClure and Brayden Hilgemann each secured interceptions, with Hilgemann's stopping the Mustangs deep in CSP's red zone inside the 5-yard line. On the play after Hilgemann's INT, Richardson broke loose for a 74-yard run although the drive wouldn't net any points on a missed 50-yard field goal. SMSU responded by picking up a pair of third down conversions, marching to CSP's seven yard line when the Golden Bears stopped SMSU on 4th-and-goal with a six-yard run, turning it over to CSP trailing by eight with four seconds and 99-yards to go. 

The game ended with CSP completing a 13-yard pass to Drew Enke, and after a series of laterals, wide receiver Joey Farley's knee grazed the Mattke Field turf to end the contest. Conner Cordts completed 17-28 for 170 yards, connecting with eight different targets.

CSP held SMSU quarterback Justus McComb to 8-17 for 106 yards and two interceptions with safety Rhett Sheehan leading the defense with 10 tackles, seven solo and one for loss. Luke Dunsmoor had nine tackles, while Hilgemann (7) and McClure (5) each had solid tackle performances to go with their interceptions.

Parker Dahlman pinned all three of his punts inside the SMSU 20, averaging 41.0 yards with a long of 45 yards.

LAST WEEK: WINONA STATE 31, CONCORDIA 14
The Golden Bears wasted no time getting the run game going, marching 75 yards on seven plays including three double-digit yard runs by Jaylin Richardson on the opening drive to take a 7-0 lead capped off by a wide receiver end around to Troy Ellison for a 4-yard score.

Richardson finished the day with 131 yards on 20 carries, averaging 6.6 per carry. Concordia gashed WSU for 211 yards at 6.4 per carry on 33 team rushing attempts as Daniel Hornacek added 4-46 and a touchdown, as well.

The Warriors would score the next two touchdowns before CSP tied it back up at 14-14 in the second quarter before WSU converted a field goal with two seconds left in the half for a 17-14 lead.

In the third quarter, WSU opened with the ball but CSP forced a fumble in Winona State territory but couldn't turn it into points, coming up empty on downs. On the ensuing WSU drive, CSP once again clamped down defensively, picking up sacks on first and third downs to force a punt which was nearly blocked and rushed out of bounds to give CSP the ball in WSU territory again. Concordia would come up empty despite the great field position again, despite seemingly picking up a 4th-and-2 which was brought back due to a holding penalty, forcing a punt.

From there, Winona State responded with a touchdown on an 80-yard drive for a 10-point lead (24-14) with 4:08 to play in the third quarter. Concordia would miss a field goal with just over 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter that would have brought it back to a 7-point margin, and the Warriors added another touchdown for a 31-14 lead.

Reed Styer completed 14-25 for 91 yards and added 5-12 rushing. Ben Rehl led the defense with nine tackles (seven solo), 1.5 for loss and a sack and Cyrus McClure had eight tackles and a half for loss. Brayden Hilgemann forced the WSU fumble and added six tackles with a half for loss, and McKinley Egland-Young had the fumble recovery. Isaiah Wray also had a sack for CSP.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
SMSU was picked to finish 11th in the 13-team NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released in early August and is coming off of a 2-9 season in 2023 that including a 2-8 NSIC record. SMSU has dropped its first two games by a combined 75-9 margin, falling 42-9 at home to Minot State in the opener before a 33-0 road loss at Bemidji State in week two.

Despite the slow start on the scoreboard, SMSU has had its run game working efficiently with 169 yards per game at 5.0 per carry while the passing game has completed just 17-41 passes on the year for 79.5 yards per game and a 1-to-5 TD-to-INT ratio.

Defensively, SMSU is allowing 190 per game on the ground at 4.0 per carry while opponents are 23-34 passing with two touchdowns and one interception for 152.5 yards per game.

The Mustangs have picked up 4-21 on third down conversions (19.1%) while opponents have converted 13-29 (44.8%).

Jacob Honstetter leads SMSU with 151 rushing yards at 4.9 per carry while Zander Wolf spells him with 66 rushing yards at 6.0 per rush.

Two different QBs have played for SMSU on the year, both seeing action in both games, with Kendon Krogman completing 9-23 for 57 yards and three interceptions while Wyatt Oak is 8-18 for 102 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

Gideon Ervasti, Josiah Hedensten and Thomas Mergen each have 16 tackles to lead the SMSU defense with Ervasti and Mergen each producing team-highs 2.5 TFLs and Hedensten added 1.5 TFLs and a sack. Parker Knutson has the team's interception, adding nine tackles and a tackle for loss.