Box Score Bismarck, ND – Facing a foe it has never beaten and trailing by two touchdowns early on the road, Nick Jolliffe caught three touchdown passes and a dominating second half defensive performance led the Marauders to a 34-27 win at Wayne State College. The Marauders had lost all five previous meetings to the Wildcats.
 
After Jolliffe's third touchdown reception of the game from Craig Bagnell tied the game at 24-24 just 2:23 into the second half, Elby Pope scored the game-winning touchdown on a 35 yard punt return with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter. It was the first U-Mary downfield punt return for a touchdown since beginning NCAA play in 2006.
 
Making tremendous defensive adjustments for the second straight week, the Marauders defense limited the Wildcats to three points, five first downs and 92 yards after intermission. Wayne State compiled 289 yards of offense in the first half, including 130 on the ground. A week earlier against #2 Minnesota State, the Marauders defense limited the Mavericks to three points, four first downs and 77 yards in the second half of the season opener.
 
For the second straight game, Jolliffe set career highs with three touchdown receptions and 92 yards receiving while his eight catches equals his best mark. The junior team captain now has five scoring receptions in the first two weeks of the season. Pope added six grabs for 82 yards. He also had three punt returns for 60 yards. Overall 11 Marauders caught passes.
 
Bagnell threw for 303 yards and three scores with one interception. The senior tied Vince Ferrante in rushing yards with 26. The Marauders team captain set career highs by completing 33-of-53 passes.
 
After both teams fumbled away their first possession of the game, the Marauders found the end zone first. Traveling 92 yards on 11 plays, Bagnell connected with Jolliffe on a 14 yard scoring strike at 8:43 of the first quarter.
 
The Marauders advantage was short lived as the Wildcats would score on their next three possessions to take a 21-7 lead. The last touchdown followed a Bagnell interception .
 
The captain combination of Bagnell to Jolliffe cut the Marauders to 21-14 when the Bismarck, ND, native caught a 30 yard score. Both teams exchanged field goals in the final three minutes of the half, with Tyler Ryan connecting from 31 yards out with 43 seconds remaining to pull U-Mary within 24-17.
 
Just two plays into the second half, the Marauders defense forced a turnover with Tylar Kist recovering the ball at the Wildcats 11 yard line. Following a Jonah Hoe six yard run, Bagnell once again connected with Jolliffe in the end zone, this time from six yards out to pull U-Mary even with Wayne State at 24-24.
 
Defensively the Marauders defense continued to stifle the Wildcats attack, allowing Wayne State 11 yards on its next possession. After U-Mary was unable to move the ball, Wayne State had another brief possession. An Ethan Bakken sack and a false start penalty forced the home team to punt from its six yard line on its third possession of the third quarter.
 
Taking a short kick at the Wayne State 35 yard line, Pope found his way to the end zone for the winning score with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter. The Marauders first downfield punt return for a touchdown in the NCAA era that started in 2006 gave U-Mary just its second lead of the game at 31-24.
 
(Note: The Marauders are credited with two punt returns for touchdowns in 2010 and one in 2012, but all three were off blocked punts with balls picked up behind the line of scrimmage or recovered in the end zone.)
 
In the Marauders first two games of the season, U-Mary has scored seven touchdowns, all by Jolliffe (five) and Pope (two).
 
Wayne State pulled within four points on a 30 yard field goal by Tyler Basch at 4:50 of the third quarter but Ryan would answer with a 39-yarder and 12:39 remaining in the game.
 
U-Mary hoped to seal the game with 1:32 on the clock but Wayne State blocked Ryan's 39 field goal effort. Once again the Marauders defense was up to the challenge of preserving the game, claiming a win when Preston Tescher intercepted the ball at midfield and 75 seconds remaining.
 
Defensively the Marauders had nine tackles for loss, including two sacks, and forced five turnovers.
 
Grant Singer headlined the Marauders defense, making a game-high 10 stops with 1.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. Troy Guptill had three tackles for loss, including a sack, forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble.
 
Ryan had another tremendous day kicking the ball for U-Mary. The all-conference kicker was 2-of-3 on field goals, made all four extra point attempts, kicked four of seven kickoffs into the end zone and averaged 40.6 yards on five punts. Two of his punts were downed inside the 20 yard line and the lone punt returned by Wayne State went for just one yard.
 
Wayne State was led offensively by Charlie Davidson, who ran for 142 yards and a score. Zach Osborne completed 13-of-24 passes for 234 yards and a score.
 
U-Mary finished with 373 yards of offense on 77 plays, including 303 through the air. The Marauders committed just two turnovers and generated 22 first downs. WSC posted 381 yards of offense, with 234 through the air, had 19 first downs and committed five turnovers.
 
The Marauders now return home o face the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday, September 21. Kick off is set for 2:30 PM at the MDU Resources Bowl.
 
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