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SATURDAY
The eighth annual "Battle for the Paddle" is set for this Saturday when the University of Mary visits MSU Moorhead with the Paddle Trophy on the line. The Marauders have won all seven games in the series. The Marauders and the Dragons kick off at 1 PM on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Alex Nemzek Field in Moorhead, MN.  

PADDLE TROPHY
The first-ever gridiron match-up between U-Mary and Minnesota State University Moorhead took on a little extra edge in 2006 as both schools battled for The Paddle Trophy in this "River Rivalry" game. U-Mary is located on the Missouri River and MSU Moorhead is on the Red River. Both are Northern Sun North Division rivals... The Paddle Trophy was developed by the student governments of the two colleges. The team that wins each year is responsible for the safekeeping and delivery of the Paddle Trophy and its case to each game between the Marauders and Dragons. The home team's student body representative will award the Paddle Trophy, which has each school's logo on opposite sides of the blade, with the score of each game being added to the winning team's side after the game... U-Mary has won the paddle all seven times, grabbing initial possession with a 21-20 win in Bismarck in 2006. Marauders linebacker Brian Finnegan preserved the initial U-Mary win when he deflected a Dragons pass on a two-point conversion attempt with 1:08 remaining in the game.

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 4-3 overall and in the Northern Sun to stand fifth in the league and are tied for second at 2-1 in NSIC North Division games... The Dragons are 1-6 overall and in the Northern Sun to stand 15th and are 6th at 1-2 in the NSIC North.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders dropped a 20-13 home decision to #25 St. Cloud State... The Dragons were tripped up 20-14 at the University of Minnesota Crookston.  

LAST YEAR
U-Mary finished 4-7 overall in the NSIC and 1-6 in the NSIC North… MSU Moorhead finished 1-10 overall, 1-10 in the NSIC (16th overall) and 1-6 in the NSIC North Division (t-6th).

HEAD COACHES
U-Mary's all-time winningest head coach, Myron Schulz owns a record of 101-58 in his 15th season at the helm of the Marauders. Synonymous with Marauders football, Schulz has been a member of U-Mary's coaching staff in 23 of the program's 26 seasons. He has directed the squad to six national tournament appearances and four conference titles. His teams owned a streak of nine straight winning seasons and the Marauders are 76-40 in conference games. Since starting the transition to the NCAA in 2005, U-Mary is 46-47. The Marauders are 32-36 in Northern Sun contests... Steve Laqua became the 17th head coach in the 93-year history of Dragons football prior to the 2011 season. A native of Cavalier, ND, and a 2000 graduate of North Dakota State University, Laqua is in his third season directing the MSUM program and had posted a 4-25 record. After graduating from NDSU, he was a graduate assistant coach for the Bison before working at St. Olaf and the University of Minnesota Crookston. Laqua returned to NDSU for two seasons before becoming the head coach at Fargo Shanley High School, where he won two Class AA state titles.   
 
FINAL SEASON FOR SCHULZ
Marauders Head Coach Myron Schulz, the man most associated with University of Mary football and the longest-tenured coach in school history, is resigning his head coaching position effective at the end of the 2013 season. Entering his 15th season at the helm of the Marauders football team, Schulz will become a faculty member in U-Mary's Gary Tharaldson School of Business. As U-Mary prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary of Marauders football, Schulz starts his 23rd season as a member of the squad's coaching staff. His 101 wins are more than any other U-Mary head football coach. Schulz directed his teams to four conference crowns and six playoff appearances while posting nine straight winning seasons at the start of his tenure. Schulz will start his teaching duties at the completion of the football season. A search for a replacement will begin later in the fall with hopes to have a new coach in place shortly after the end of the 2013 schedule.

THE MARAUDERS-DRAGONS SERIES HISTORY: U-Mary has won all seven games in the Battle for the Paddle. 2006: The Marauders and Dragons first met in the inaugural Paddle Trophy game with U-Mary eeking out a 21-20 win despite throwing five interceptions, including a string of four in four pass attempts. Justin Fleck ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns and Matt Wall had seven catches for 140 yards and a score. MSUM scored with 1:08 left in the game but went for a two point conversion and the win. Brian Finnegan tipped the pass in the end zone to preserve the lead and the U-Mary victory... 2007: Bayland Rippenkroger and Erik Kruse both scored two touchdowns in a 45-31 U-Mary road win... 2008: Another close home game went the Marauders way when Jamal Lomax scored in overtime, his second touchdown of the day. Phil Thomas secured the win when he knocked down a Dragons fourth down pass attempt on the final play of the game... 2009: Cameron Gatling ran for 184 yards and caught two scoring passes as the Marauders rolled to a 39-13 road win. U-Mary outgained MSUM 379-250, including a 258-46 edge in rushing. The Marauders forced six turnovers and committed one... 2010: Four touchdown passes by Craig Bagnell and 169 yards rushing  and two touchdowns from Jamal Lomax ensured the Paddle Trophy would remain in the U-Mary trophy case as the Marauders routed MSU Moorhead 43-17. The Marauders led 28-0 at intermission. John Oyloe recorded two of U-Mary's four sacks. The Marauders held a 194 to 40 advantage in rushing yards, led 395-317 in total yards and had a 34:11-to-24:52 edge in time of possession... 2011: Tyler Steffan caught four touchdown passes to tie his own school record and the Marauders set a school mark with 683 yards of offense in a 52-13 win. Steffan caught nine passes for 123 yards. Josh Murray ran for 216 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns, all in the 3rd quarter, and Evan Gross ran for 107. Bagnell was 24-of-35 for 319 and four TDs... 2012: Craig Bagnell returned after missing three games due to injury and threw for 189 yards and a score and the Marauders defense limited the Dragons to 225 yards in a 23-7 U-Mary home win. Dariouse Gravely ran for 42 yards and two TDs and Tyler Steffan had four catches for 80 yards. Grant Singer posted 3.5 tackles for loss and John Oyloe had 3.0, including two sacks. MSUM's Jake Hodge was 19-of-38 for 202 yards and one TD but was sacked four times.

PAST MARAUDERS-DRAGONS MEETINGS (U-Mary leads series 7-0)
2006    U-Mary 21 MSUM 20    Bismarck, ND
2007    U-Mary 42 MSUM 31    Moorhead, MN
2008    U-Mary 24 MSUM 17 OT    Bismarck, ND
2009    U-Mary 39 MSUM 13    Moorhead, MN
2010     U-Mary 43 MSUM 17    Bismarck, ND
2011    U-Mary 52 MSUM 13    Moorhead, MN
2012    U-Mary 23 MSUM   7    Bismarck, ND

QUICK LOOK AT MSU MOORHEAD
Despite a very young squad that starts underclassmen at 18 of 22 positions, MSU Moorhead features an explosive offense and a defense that has struggled. Despite just one win in seven games, MSUM has been in most games this season, dropping three contests by seven or fewer points. The offense is posting 29.9 points/game and 438 yards while the defense allows 43.4 points and 495.6 yards/game. Jake Hodge, last season's staring quarterback, opened the season on the bench before an injury pushed him back onto the field and into a starring role. The sophomore has thrown for 1,322 yards, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions in five games. Injured and not on the field last week in a 20-14 loss at Minnesota Crookton, Hodge also has run for 436 yards and a score. RB Brandon Schell leads the Dragons with 461 yards rushing. WR Adam Jiskra has 39 catches for 596 yards and six scores and Cory Ambrose has 32 grabs for 537 yards and four scores. Chris Lee leads the defense with 51 tackles, including eight for loss, and Chris Binford has 49 stops and six pass breakups.

LAST WEEK
Two turnovers proved a little too costly for the University of Mary in a 20-13 home loss to #25 St. Cloud State. The Huskies returned a Marauders fumble 64 yards to set up the first score of the day, a 1-yard run by Michael Walker in the first quarter. SCSU doubled its lead on a 41-yard Phillip Klaphake to Dan Brown early in the second quarter. Driving to cut into their deficit, the Marauders fumbled at the Huskies 7-yard line on a 4th-and-1 and entered intermission down 14-0. Tyler Ryan's first field goal of the game closed U-Mary to 14-3 in the third quarter but Walker sealed the game with 7:14 remaining when he again scored from the 1-yard line. Jeremy Mayfield scored on a 7-yard touchdown reception and Ryan kicked his second field goal of the game with 1:59 remaining but the Marauders were unable to regain possession of the ball. Troy Guptill led a Marauders defense that held the Huskies to 337 yards and 14 first downs. The NSIC Defensive Player of the Week has three sacks, four tackles for loss and nine tackles. Grant Singer added three tackles for loss. Craig Bagnell was 31-of-53 passing for 264 yards and a score. Mayfield caught nine passes for 76 yards. Walker ran for 75 yards to pace SCSU.

100 AND COUNTING
Marauders head coach Myron Schulz captured his 100th win as U-Mary's head coach in the 45-10 Marauders win over Minot State University on Oct. 5, 2013. Schulz's first win was a 28-7 win at Southwest Minnesota State in the opening game of the 1999 season. The 25th win was a 28-27 home win over Jamestown College in 2001. His 50th win was a 32-8 home win over South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2004. The 75th win was a 37-13 win over Northern State at the Metrodome in the final game of the 2007 season. With the Marauders 26-17 win at Bemidji State, Schulz now has 101 wins.

RYAN NAMED D2FOTBALL.COM NATIONAL AND NORTHERN SUN SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The weekly awards are rolling in for University of Mary kicker-punter Tyler Ryan. The Northern Sun Special Teams Player of the Week the last two weeks for his efforts at Bemidji State University and against St. Cloud State, Ryan now is also receiving national honors. The senior was named the D2Football.com Special Teams Player of the Week for his outstanding efforts against 25th-ranked St. Cloud State University on Saturday.
 
The all-conference punter and kicker had success in both of his duties. A native of Mesa, AZ, Ryan connected on both of his field goal attempts and downed five punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line in the Marauders 20-13 loss to the Huskies. Ryan connected on field goals of 34 and 39 yards and made his only extra point attempt on the day. Additionally he averaged 40.4 yards per punt on nine attempts with a long of 57 yards. Helping to win the field position battle for the Marauders, SCSU was forced to start drives at the visitor's 17, 13, 11, 12 and 16 after Ryan punts. The first four spots came in the first half... The double duty player is second in the NSIC with eight field goals and is third in punting at 39.7 yards per attempt. He is 27th in the NCAA with 1.1 field goals made per game and 45th in punting average. U-Mary is 15th nationally in punt return defense, allowing just 2.95 yards/return... Ryan was named the Northern Sun Special Teams Player of the Week the past two weeks. The 2012 first team NSIC North Division punter and honorable mention kicker earned league recognition following and week six win at Bemidji State and week seven's loss to SCSU and on the opening week of the 2012 season.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS - CRACKING 8,000
Craig Bagnell became the first University of Mary quarterback to pass for over 8,000 yards. His 264 yards passing against St. Cloud State boosted his career total to 8,227. Bagnell set the school career passing yardage mark the week before when he threw for 311 yards in a win at Bemidji State. The previous record-holder was Marauders Hall of Famer Chris Schwab (1996-99), who threw for 7,786 yards. Earlier this season the Polson, MT, native passed Schwab for the career completions record with his final connection of the day at Upper Iowa and now leads 671 to 607. Schwab still holds the career passing touchdowns mark 73 to 65 over a hard-charging Bagnell.  

CLIMBING THE CHARTS II
John Oyloe also has a chance to move into the top career slot in tackles for loss and sacks. With 36.5 TFL, the senior trails only Brooks Laber (2001-05) with 38.5. Oyloe is fourth in sacks with 23.5. David St. Clair (1998-99) leads with 30. Oyloe passed three players this season on the sack list, Nikia Parson (20 sacks), Brooks Laber (19.5) and Mike Jaskolski (19).

TAKEAWAY TITANS
Despite not forcing any turnovers in a loss to #25 St. Cloud State, the University of Mary has forced 21 turnovers this season, sixth in NCAA Division II and first in the Northern Sun. The Marauders have recovered nine fumbles and intercepted 12 passes. U-Mary is 23rd nationally in fumbles recovered and 12th in interceptions.

THE PLUS COLUMN
The Marauders are eighth in the nation in turnover margin with a +11 through seven games. U-Mary has taken the ball away 21 times and have turned it over ten times.

SACK ATTACK
After posting a five-year-high in sacks with seven at Bemidji State, the Marauders dropped the St. Cloud State quarterback four times. U-Mary is second in the NSIC and 12th in the country with 24 sacks, or 3.43 sacks/game.  

ORANGE CRUSH
Leading the Marauders sack attack is junior linebacker Troy Guptill, who leads the NSIC and is third in the country with 9.5 sacks. SR DL John Oyle and JR LB Grant Singer are fifth in the league with 4.5 sacks.

BEHIND THE LINE
The Marauders are 4th in the conference and 22nd in the nation in tackles for loss with 58. Troy Guptill is 2nd in the country with 15.5 tackles behind the line. With four games left in the season Guptill is 6th on the Marauders single season list, trailing Brent Johnson's 22 in 1998, Jason Davis (20 in 1998), Brooks Laber (17.5 in 2004 and 16.5 in 2005) and DeShon Benton (16 in 2011).

DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND
U-Mary has made significant strides defensively from last season. In 2012 the Marauders defense allowed 35 points, 160.5 yards rushing, 295.5 yards passing and 456 total yards per game. This season U-Mary is giving up 22 points, 172.4 yards rushing, 186 yards passing and 358.4 total yards per game. U-Mary ranked last in passing yardage allowed, next to last in total yardage allowed and 11th in points allowed in 2012. This season the Marauders are fifth in scoring defense, third in pass defense and seventh in total defense.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND
in 2012 U-Mary forced 20 turnovers through 11 contests. This year through seven games the Marauders have 21 takeaways.

SMART BALL
The Marauders are committing just 4.9 penalties for 40.4 penalty yards a game, 15th and 14th in the NCAA in each category, respectively. This is a marked improvement from last year when the Marauders were penalized 61.5 yards per game, one of the worst figures in the league.

NINTH
With nine touchdown receptions in seven games, Nick Jolliffe is ninth in the nation and second in the Northern Sun. The junior has caught a scoring pass in five of seven games and had two or more in a contest three times. With 39 catches for 530 yards, he is third in receptions and seventh in receiving yardage in the NSIC.

HITTING THE HIGH NOTES
All-conference linebacker Grant Singer is having another tremendous season. The junior from Turtle Lake, ND, leads the Northern Sun in tackles with 72, second in tackles for loss (12.0), second in fumble recoveries (3), fifth in sacks and ninth in interceptions (2). Singer had the defensive play of the year in the win over Sioux Falls. With the Cougars at the Marauders seven yard line and threatening to take a lead in the second quarter, a blindside blitz by Singer separated the quarterback from the ball. Defensive lineman Tylar Kist recovered the fumble and U-Mary remained in the lead. Singer posted a season-high 15 tackles at Upper Iowa and has three double-digit tackle performances this season.  

BIG HITTER
A devastating force on defense, JR LB Troy Guptill leads the NSIC in sacks (9.5), tackles for loss (14.5) and forced fumbles (3). Guptill posted career-highs with three sacks and 12 tackles at Upper Iowa. He was the NSIC Player of the Week for his efforts in the Marauders win at Wayne State, after he forced two fumbles and make three tackles for loss.

TESCHER THE TERRIFIC
Preston Tescher continues to have a terrific sophomore season, posting big plays on defense and special teams. The Bismarck, ND, native has two interceptions,four pass breakups, a fumble recovery, two blocked punts and is tied for third on the team in tackles with 44. His biggest day came against Minot State. In the Marauders 45-10 win, Tescher blocked a punt to set up a touchdown, downed a punt at the one yard line, recovered a fumbled punt to set up another score, made a special teams tackle and had five total tackles in the game.

RIGHT PLACE RIGHT TIME
JR DL Tylar Kist is tied with Grant Singer for fifth in the NCAA and second in the NSIC with three fumble recoveries.

IF YOU'RE OPEN IT WILL COME
On the year 13 different players have caught passes from Marauders quarterback Craig Bagnell. Nick Jolliffe leads the receiving corps with 39 receptions for 530 yards and nine touchdowns. Also in double digits is Elby Pope (29-341-2), DJ Young (24-317-0), Peter Luton (12-72-0), Jeremy Mayfield (20-204-2) and Dariouse Gravely (11-66-0). Against Sioux Falls ten different Marauders caught passes.

SECOND HALF SHUTDOWN
In six of seven games this season the Marauders defense was tremendous in the second half. In the opener against #2 Minnesota State, the Marauders limited the Mavericks to three points, four first downs and 77 yards. In a win over Wayne State the U-Mary defense limited the Wildcats to three points, five first downs and 92 yards after intermission. In the victory over USF the Cougars were limited to three points, six first downs, 95 yards, a 1-for-7 effort on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth. Against Minot State the Marauders defense allowed 135 yards and five first downs. Last week at Minot State, the Beavers were held to no first downs and a -2 yards in the third and four first downs and 114 yards total after the intermission. U-Mary did give up 171 yards against SCSU but limited the Huskies to five first downs and six points. The lone second half exception was the 22 points and 241 yards allowed in a loss at Upper Iowa

FULL COVERAGE
Behind the booming leg of Tyler Ryan, the Marauders have displayed tremendous kick coverage. U-Mary is allowing just 17.9 yards per kickoff return on 18 attempts, fourth in the NSIC. The Marauders lead the league in net yards punting at 38.4 yards/punt. Ryan is third in the NSIC in punting at 39.7 yards per attempt. Opposing teams have returned 20 for just 59 yards, an average of 1.9 yards/return. .

CAPTAIN CONNECTION
Offensive team captains Craig Bagnell and Nick Jolliffe have had a tremendous connection through the first five games. The duo has combined for nine touchdown passes, 39 completions and 530 yards. The pair had two touchdowns in the opener against Minnesota State, three at Wayne State, one against Sioux Falls, two against Minot State and one at Bemidji State.

FATHER TO SON
True freshman Jonah Hoe caught six passes for 42 yards and has gained 19 yards on the ground. He is the son of U-Mary graduates Keola and Heather Hoe. Keola was a member of the Marauders first team in 1988.

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