ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Golden Bear football team (2-2, 1-2 NSIC) checked two things that hadn't happened since 2019 off its list on Saturday afternoon, picking up a homecoming win and defeating Bemidji State (1-3, 1-2 NSIC) 34-31 on a rainy day at Sea Foam Stadium.
After claiming a 27-24 lead on a
Joel Lacy 1-yard plunge on 4th-and-goal with 5:36 to play, Concordia would find itself trailing with under two minutes to go as Bemidji State countered with a touchdown with 1:52 left to flip the script, reclaiming the advantage with a 31-27 edge.
In the two-minute offense, Concordia executed as sophomore quarterback
Lincoln Graf and fifth-year wide receiver
Carter Zezulka connected for a 29-yard pass play to secure a 3rd-and-11 from their own 24-yard line with just over a minute to play. Two plays later, CSP picked up another third down as Lacy barged through the line of scrimmage for two yards on a 3rd-and-2. On the next play, Graf went back to Zezulka deep down the right sideline near the end zone, drawing a pass interference for another first down to the 21-yard line with 24 seconds left.
A short four-yard completion from Graf to
Jonah Schimelpfenig forced a BSU helmet off, which led to a BSU timeout with 18 seconds left, setting up the game-winning touchdown strike from Graf to Zezulka in the front-right corner of the end zone in front of the largest field-level section of CSP homecoming fans for the 34-31 lead after the
James Graves PAT with 15 seconds to play.
Graf and Zezulka had big performances as Graf completed 26-41 for 352 yards and three touchdowns, adding 2-13 on the ground for 365 yards of total offense. He set new career-highs in completions, attempts, passing yards, total offense and matched his high for touchdown passes while playing turnover-free football and only taking one sack. He aimed at Zezulka six times, connecting for five receptions and 129 yards with the game-winning TD as well as a long of 61 that set-up Lacy's late fourth-quarter plunge.
Lacy also had a strong day, scoring twice with one rushing and one receiving score as he had 99 combined yards, grinding his way to 54 rushing yards on 18 attempts with 6-45 receiving.
Following the late touchdown, Concordia's defense was able to deflect the last-second Hail Mary with
Aydin Buchanan and
Tyrelle Owens jumping in front of the final play to secure the win.
Concordia's last homecoming win was a 24-17 victory over MSU Moorhead in 2019 and their last win over BSU was the following week, 24-23 in overtime during the program's last winning season as the 2019 Golden Bears finished 6-5 and held a 4-2 home record. The 2026 Golden Bears are off to a 2-1 start at home with three home games to play.
Next week starts a two-week road trip as CSP heads to Jamestown next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff before heading to #4 Minnesota State on October 3 for a 2 p.m. contest.
The Concordia coaching staff continues to show its ability to adjust and adapt. A week after a home loss with minimal offensive output, the Golden Bears lit up Bemidji State for 518 yards of total offense on 66 plays, putting up 7.8 yards per play against a typically strong NSIC opponent in Bemidji State, who went to the NCAA playoffs just two years ago. CSP also out-gained the Beavers by 93 yards and had one more first down (23-22) in a turnover-free football game.
The game had its twists and turns, but it seemed like Bemidji State was off to the races early, scoring in five plays on the game's first possession without throwing a pass by ripping off runs of 33 to start the drive and 21 to finish it in the end zone on 4th-and-1 approaching the red zone. The Beavers went for two and converted to start the game with an 8-0 lead, and forced CSP to miss a field goal in the red zone on Concordia's opening drive.
Concordia would only have the ball once in the first quarter, as BSU hogged the ball for a seven-minute, 13-second drive to bridge the first and second quarters, going 16 plays and covering 80 yards and scoring on 4th-and-1 from the CSP 3-yard line for a second fourth-down score and a 15-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Concordia responded in kind, with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by a Graf-to-Lacy 4-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-goal, the only third-down conversion necessary on the precision-like scoring drive.
Neither team would score again before the break as CSP picked up its first two stops, the second aided by the clock as BSU ran out of time before the half with a 15-7 lead over CSP.
The third quarter didn't start Concordia's way, either, as Graf, who completed 9-10 for 108 yards and a TD in the second quarter and 14-18 for 143 yards in the first half, came out and tossed three consecutive incomplete passes to start the second half, and the wet conditions may have played a part as the fourth-down play was a snap-exchange error through the end zone that gifted BSU a safety for a 17-7 Beaver lead.
Concordia's defense rose to the occasion, thwarting the momentum with a three-and-out, and the Golden Bears countered with a 33-yard touchdown strike from Graf to
Manny Harris to narrow the lead to 17-14, converting a 4th-and-4.
Harris had another big game, catching six passes for 68 yards and a score while adding five rushing yards and 33 kickoff return yards for a 106-yard all-purpose day.
Concordia also picked up all four of its fourth-down attempts, improving to 11-of-12 on the season.
After another defensive stop with
TJ Easley-Jones sticking Isaiah Tisdle for a 1-yard loss on a pass play in the backfield on 3rd-and-6, the Golden Bears hit a home run as
BJ Davis burst through the line for a 91-yard rushing touchdown for a 20-17 lead.
The 91-yard run by Davis ties Lacy's mark for the second-longest rushing play in program history behind Eric Schutte's 92-yard sprint against Maranatha in 1997. Davis finished with 94 rushing yards on just three carries while also contributing with two tackles and aggressive play on special teams.
In the fourth quarter, the teams matched each other drive-for-drive as BSU and CSP each had to punt on their first two possessions of the final quarter before trading touchdowns the rest of the way, scoring two apiece, but the Davis go-ahead score gave Concordia the edge as Lacy and Zezulka's touchdowns both put CSP ahead and in the driver's seat at the end of the game.
Concordia's defense settled in after allowing the game's first two scoring drives led by
Jonas Barros who was in on 12 tackles with 1.0 TFL.
Jude Onuoha had eight tackles with a pair of sacks and
Ben Rehl also had eight tackles with one TFL as CSP's linebackers topped the team's tackling chart in the contest.
In addition to its three team sacks, CSP had 7.0 TFLs compared to just 2.0 for BSU, adding seven pass breakups and five quarterback hurries with
CJ Jackson producing two breakups and six tackles.
Concordia's first four touchdowns went to the running back trio, as Lacy's two touchdowns and Davis' one give them four each on the season while Harris secured his third receiving score with three players accounting for 11 touchdowns in four games. Zezulka's receiving score was his second.
Concordia has now scored 30-plus points in three of its first four games for the first time since the 2001 season when the team started 4-0 behind 42-0, 63-28, 31-28, 12-2 wins all at home over Mayville State, Westminster (Mo.), MSU Moorhead and Northern State.
The 518 yards of total offense is the most since the 2012 season-opener at home against UMary with 588 yards in a 32-26 loss. The 352 yards by Graf was the most since the same game in 2012 against the Marauders when James Peterson completed 30-48 for 431 yards.
