ST. PAUL, Minn. - This Saturday afternoon, Concordia-St. Paul (1-2, 1-1 NSIC) heads to Aberdeen, South Dakota to face Northern State (1-1, 1-1 NSIC) for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff for Gypsy Days (homecoming) at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

WEATHER OUTLOOK
This weekend appears to be a calm September Saturday in Aberdeen, with a high of 72 and a low of 52, and winds 5-10mph out of the west with a slight (13%) chance of precipitation.

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 Hudl (formerly 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

This week's game at Northern State will feature the call of David Tukesbrey, the voice of the Wolves on Hub City Radio and Fox Sports Aberdeen (1420 AM / 98.5 FM), with 'Tukes' call also simulcast on the NSIC Network. 

COACHES SHOW RETURNS TO TWIN CITIES RADIO
The Coaches Show with Shannon Currier is back on the Twin Cities airwaves for a sixth 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. 

This week's radio interview guests are junior linebacker Ben Rehl and senior wide receiver Troy Ellison.

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 YouTube podcasts. 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!

2025 TEAM CAPTAINS
CSP head coach Shannon Currier features rotating team captains each week for the seventh year in a row in 2025. Captains are selected by the coaching staff based on performance on the field and as a leader in practice, meetings and day-to-day activities.

This week's game captains are junior wide receiver Carter Zezulka (3x) and senior center Caydon Christensen on offense, and defensive captains as junior linebacker Ben Rehl (2x) and sophomore defensive end Isaiah Wray (2x).

SERIES HISTORY: NSU 11, CSP 8
Concordia won six of the first eight in the series and held a 7-4 record after 11 meetings through 2011. But since, Northern State has turned the tables by winning the next six and seven of eight.

After posting a 2-3 record in CSP's first five trips to Aberdeen, the Golden Bears have dropped their last three road games at Northern State and are now 2-6. CSP's last road win against Northern State was in its third Mineral Water Bowl campaign in 2010. 

The series has featured numerous closely played contests including three 1-point games, a 3-point game and 11 games decided by one score or less. 

Concordia is 0-3 in the 1-point games, including last year's 35-34 Northern State comeback at Sea Foam Stadium. CSP is 5-6 in games decided by one score in the all-time series.

Head coach Shannon Currier holds a 4-6 all-time record against Northern State and is 1-3 in Aberdeen.

LAST MEETING, 2024: NORTHERN ST 35, CSP 34
The Golden Bears were dropped in the closing seconds for the second-straight week, falling 35-34 at Sea Foam Stadium despite a 3-touchdown day from Jaylin Richardson, who had 32 carries for 143 yards and 2-21 receiving.

The Wolves scored on a 2-yard rushing touchdown with 16 seconds to play in the game, capping an 11-play, 72-yard game-winning drive that covered 3:04 of clock.

While Richardson had 143 of CSP's 155 rushing yards on the day, Northern State countered with a 278-yard rushing performance and four TDs on 41 carries, a 6.8 per-carry average. 

Concordia started strong, holding a pair of 17-point first-half leads, 17-0 on Jeff Isotalo-McGuire's short 22-yard field goal to cap a 15-play, 94-yard drive spanning 8:01 of time, and Richardson's second of three touchdowns with 3:05 to play in the half for a 24-7 lead. 
But the Wolves scored with one second left before halftime, and opened the third quarter with the ball and picked up another touchdown drive to make it a 28-24 game, taking the lead 28-24 late in the third quarter. 

Richardson scored from seven yards out early in the fourth, and Isotalo-McGuire knocked in a 34-yard FG with 3:28 to play for a 34-28 lead before NSU's final drive.

CSP mounted its lead through all three phases, returning the game's opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown (Jaylon Washington), while Byron Sweeny came up with a 3rd-and-5 interception near midfield, returning it to the NSU 35-yard line to set up a short field for an offense that hadn't yet set foot on the field. 

CSP's first score was set-up by the Sweeny INT and short field, but it was the All-American running back Richardson who went to work, touching the ball on nine of CSP's 11 plays, accounting for 31 of the 35 yards including the 1-yard TD run. CSP was able to churn 5:40 of game clock on the short 35-yard scoring drive to keep NSU's offense off the field. 

CSP held Northern State to 19 yards of total offense, 0-3 passing with an INT and just one first down in the first quarter. 

NSU would flip that on CSP in the third quarter, though, out-gaining CSP 143-21 in total offense and 7-1 in first downs. 

Brayden Hilgemann had a career-high 14 tackles, including a fake punt on fourth down, registering the tackle two yards shy of the marker to give CSP the ball at the NSU 47 in the fourth quarter. 

NSU quarterback Daniel Britt was exceptional in crunch time at the end of the first and second half, combining to complete 14-20 for 123 yards and a TD including 8-9 for 66 yards on the game winning drive. On all other drives, CSP held Britt to 1-8 passing with an INT. He also rushed 7-75 and two TDs.

NSU had a pair of 100-yard rushers: Wyatt Block (22-102, 2 TDs) and Hank Kraft (12-101).

CSP quarterback Jackson Compton completed 12-19 for 142 yards and 3-16 rushing. He completed his 12 passes to seven different targets led by Drew Enke's 3-47 with a long of 30. Compton and the CSP offense didn't commit any turnovers.

Jake Adams led the NSU defense with 16 tackles, more than his 12.5 average entering play which was second in the nation.

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FULL PREVIEW IN THIS WEEK'S GAME NOTES
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