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SATURDAY
Setting sail for the first time in 2014, the University of Mary heads southest to face the  Winona State University Warriors in a Northern Sun contest. Game time is 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Verizon Wireless Field in Winona, Minn.  

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 1-0 overall and in the Northern Sun. U-Mary has yet to play an NSIC North Division game. The Warriors are 1-0 overall and in the Northern Sun. The Wariors have yet to play an NSIC South Division game.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders opened the 2014 season with a dramatic last-second 19-18 home win over Southwest Minnesota State University... The Warriors routed Northern State University 47-13 in Aberdeen, S.D.

LAST YEAR
U-Mary finished 6-5 overall in the NSIC (5th place) and 4-3 (3rd) in the NSIC North. It was the first winning season for the Marauders since 2007 and the 17th in 26 seasons of U-Mary football… Winona State finished identical to U-Mary, 6-5 overall and in the NSIC (5th) and 4-3 (3rd) in the NSIC South.

HEAD COACHES
Josh Kotelnicki is just the fifth varsity head coach at the University of Mary as the Marauders begin their 27th season. Kotelnicki comes to U-Mary after serving as the associate head coach at NCAA FCS University of North Dakota for two seasons (2012-13) and as UND's defensive coordinator in 2013. A native of Litchfield, Minn., Kotelnicki won an NCAA Division II title as a player at North Dakota and has been on winning teams as a coach at the NCAA FBS, FCS, and Division II levels. After starting his coaching career at UND, he has also worked at Murray State, Truman State, and NCAA FBS Kansas State before returning to UND... The longest-tenured coach in the NSIC, Tom Sawyer became Winona State's 21st head coach in 1996. In his first 18 seasons he has a record of 147-60, has led the Warriors to a
winning record in 17 consecutive seasons and has won double-digit games in a
single campaign five times. He is first in program history in both wins and career
winning percentage. Sawyer is sixth among active NCAA Division II coaches in
winning percentage and eighth in total victories. The Warriors have played in the NCAA Division II Playoffs five times under Sawyer as well as making three Mineral Water Bowl appearances. Sawyer has coached six Harlon Hill Award candidates, 45 All-Americans, and 261 All-NSIC selections. Five Warriors have earned NSIC Offensive Player of the Year accolades under Sawyer while five others have been the NSIC's Defensive Player of the Year.
 
REWIND: U-Mary rallies past Southwest Minnesota State 19-18 in 2014 opener
U-Mary scored the winning touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game when Zach Roberson found Jake East in the end zone. Brody Riggs tacked on the extra point and the Marauders nudged Southwest Minnesota State 19-18. Riggs opened the scoring in the opening stanza on a 20 yard field goal but the Mustangs scored the next 18 points. The Mustangs scored in every quarter, including scoring runs by All-American RB Tyler Tonderum and QB Charlie Kern in the first and second periods. The Marauders mounted their comeback in the fourth. Nick Jolliffe caught a 16-yard scoring pass from Roberson and Riggs connected on a 25 yard field goal before Roberson hit East for the winning points. Roberson connected on 32-of-57 passes for 366 yards and two scores without an interception. Elby Pope caught seven passes for 91 yards. He also returned two punts for 36 yards and two kicks for another 65 yards. Shawn Fulwider posted 12 tackles and Ethan Bakkan had two tackles for loss. Tonderum ran for 82 yards and a score for the Mustangs while Kevin Parks caught six passes for 166 yards. Overall the Marauders piled up 25 first downs and 433 yards (67 rushing). SMSU had 19 first downs and 385 yards of offense (118 rushing).

THE MARAUDERS-WARRIORS SERIES HISTORY
The Warriors hold a 3-1 lead in their series with the Marauders… 2007: Winona State won the first meeting between the two schools 32-27 at home. Two touchdowns by Bayland Rippenkroeger gave the Marauders a 14-12 lead but 10 straight Winona State points pushed the Warriors to an insurmountable lead. The Marauders held a 470-425 edge in yardage and a 20-16 advantage in first downs. Rippenkroeger ran for 102 yards and two scores and Mike Williams caught nine passes for 190 yards and two TDs. Blair Sandy threw for 344 yards. Peters caught five balls for 179 yards plus the two scores for WSU. Drew Aber threw for three TDs and 256 yards... 2010: Craig Bagnell passed for 251 yards and Jamal Lomax set the U-Mary career rushing record but it took a blocked 43 yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game by John Oyloe for the Marauders to secure a 21-19 win at Winona State University and knock the Warriors out of post-season contention. Down early, the Marauders scored 21 straight points on touchdowns by Tyler Steffan, Terry Newsome and Bo Cole for a 21-7 U-Mary lead. WSU would score two touchdowns but couldn't convert its extra point attempts. The Warriors held a 26-19 advantage in first downs and a 449-369 advantage in yards but the Marauders forced the only two turnovers of the day… 2011: In a shootout featuring 971 yards of offense, the Warriors scored the winning touchdown with 51 seconds left in the game on a Rayon Simmons 1-yard run. Simmons finished with 203 yards rushing and scored four times. Down 14-0 early, the Marauders had taken a 43-39 lead on a Craig Bagnell to Tyler Steffan 5-yard scoring pass, the third time in the game the duo had connected for a touchdown strike. Steffan finished with eight catches for 100 yards. Bagnell threw for 372 yards and four scores. Josh Murray ran for 132 yards and one TD. U-Mary turnovers contributed to 17 points for the Warriors... 2012: Three Marauders turnovers led to 17 points for the Warriors in a 32-23 Winona State win to dampen the U-Mary homecoming. Down 14-0 early, U-Mary pulled within 19-17 in the third quarter on Craig Bagnell touchdown passes to Tyler Steffan and Jeremy Mayfield. Rayon Simmons jumped the WSU lead to 32-17 with two fourth quarter scoring runs. Bagnell connected with Bryan Sandy for a touchdown to get U-Mary within 32-23 but the Warriors controlled the ball for the final 6:24 of the game. Bagnell finished the game 27-of-46 for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Elby Pope caught eight passed for 117 yards. Scott Maldonado led the UM defense with 16 tackles (1.5 TFL, 1 sack). John Oyloe had two sacks and Troy Guptill added two tackles for loss. Simmons ran for four scores and 176 yards for Winona State. WSU QB John Tiegland was an impressive 22-of-27 for 232 yards.

PAST MARAUDERS-WARRIORS MEETINGS (WSU leads UM 3-1)
2007     WSU 32             U-Mary 27             Winona, MN
2010     U-Mary 21            WSU 19             Winona, MN
2011     WSU 46                U-Mary 43             Bismarck, ND
2012    WSU 32                U-Mary 23            Bismarck, ND

QUICK LOOK AT THE WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY WARRIORS
Historically one of the top teams in the Northern Sun, the Warriors were picked to finish third in the NSIC in the 2014 coaches' poll. Winona State returns eight players who earned All-NSIC honors last year. The receiving corps of WRs Josh Mikes and Alan May and TE Alex Jensen all received league honors a year ago. May caught 32 passes for 541 yards and six scores. Mikes grabbed 26 passes for 584 yards and six scores and Jensen hauled in 25 passes for 343 yards and four TDs. Mikes opened the season with 13 catches for 224 yards and four TDS in a win at Northern State to earn NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Jack Nelson, who passed for 2,715 yards and 25 touchdowns with just nine interceptions, opened his sophomore season with 398 passing yards and five touchdowns. Led by SR OL Vance Ross, RB Theo Burkett ran for 123 yards and one score on 14 carries. SR LB Morgan Weaver had a big first week, posting 2.5 tackles for loss in the opener. He has 9.5 TFL with 4.5 sacks and four fumble recoveries last season. JR LB Collin Corcoran led WSU with 12.5 TFL and 9.0 sacks in 2013.  

IT'S BEEN A WHILE
This is the Marauders first trip to Winona, Minn., since 2010.

DRIVE TIME
The trip to Winona, Minn., is the Marauders longest road trip of the season at around 550 miles. The next longest is the Duluth, Minn., drive, covering 440 miles.

WINNING DEBUT
The fifth head varsity football coach at the University of Mary, Josh Kotelnicki became the fourth to win his debut when the Marauders rallied for a 19-18 win. Jim Driscoll was victorious 27-18 over Rocky Mountain College in the program's first game. Tom Shea led U-Mary to a 44-27 win over Western Montana in 1991. Myron Schulz captured a 28-7 win at Southwest Minnesota State in 1999. Dale Lennon suffered the only loss in a debut, 28-21 at Carroll College.

RALLY TIME
Down 18-3 in the fourth quarter, the Marauders scored 16 points in the final stanza of a 19-18 win over Southwest Minnesota State in the season opener. Zach Roberson completed touchdown passes to Nick Jolliffe and Jake East and Brody Riggs connected in a 25 yard field goal. The 16-yard scoring strike from Roberson to East occurred with 23 seconds left in the game.

THE DRIVE
Down six with 1:29 left in the game and 80 yards from the end zone, JR QB Zach Roberson put the Marauders on his back. The Sonora, Calif., native completed 7-of-10 for 77 yards and the winning score, a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jake East with 23 seconds remaining in the game. Roberson accounted for all 80 yards as he also had a run for 3. The Drive started on a difficult note as Nick Jolliffe was injured on the first play. Despite playing without his all-conference receiver, Roberson completed passes to three different players; East, Elby Pope and VaShawn Pope.

FIRST TIME OUT
VaShawn Pope caught his first collegiate passes on the winning drive. Lining up alongside his older brother Elby, VaShawn's first career reception was an 8 yard gain on 3rd-and-6. After a 4 yard reception two plays later, VaShawn may have made the second-biggest play of the day when he picked up 25 yards on a 4th-and-5 play at the SMSU 41. The next play was a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jake East.

DASHING DEBUT
Playing in his first collegiate game, SO LB Shawn Fulwider was a major reason the Marauders limited SMSU All-American RB Tyler Tonderum to 82 yards and one TD on 24 carries. Fulwider posted a team-high 12 tackles, including seven solo stops. He had one tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

BAKKEN BLOWS UP
Senior defensive lineman Ethan Bakken seemingly was in the Mustangs backfield all afternoon, making a career-high two tackles for loss and seven total tackles. Bakken posted three TFL last season.

EAST BY EAST
SR WR Jake East's first career touchdown fittingly came in the east end zone of the MDU Resources Community Bowl. The 16 yard score with 23 seconds left in the contest. He finished the day with 44 yards on four catches.

MAKING FRIENDS
Zach Roberson was keeping the receiving corps happy on Saturday as 11 different players caught a pass. The most unique name on the stat sheet is Michael Mortenson. The all-conference offensive lineman snared a deflected pass and advanced the catch one yard.

SLOW DOWN
The Marauders defense limited All-American running back Tyler Tonderum to 82 yards rushing and one touchdown on 24 attempts. Tonderum finished eighth in the Harlon Hill voting last season after rushing for 2,145 yards and scoring 20 TDs. Only twice last season did he run for fewer than 100 yards.

ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE
All-American Marauders linebacker Grant Singer, who led the Northern Sun in tackles with 118 a year ago, had another impressive game. He totaled 10 tackles (seven solo), including one for loss, and snared one interception against SMSU.

TURNOVER BATTLE
The Marauders won the turnover battle in the season opener. U-Mary intercepted two passes - including one by sophomore corner Maceo Brown to seal the game - and didn't commit a turnover.    

HEAD HONCHO
The backup quarterback the past two seasons, Zach Roberson is the main man as a junior. He started three games as a red-shirt freshman in 2012 and once as a sophomore while subbing for Craig Bagnell, the Marauders all-time passing yardage and touchdown leader. The comeback win over SMSU was his first victory as starting quarterback. Roberson finished the day 32-of-57 for 366 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 10 yards.


BROTHERLY LOVE
The Marauders had a couple brother moments during the SMSU game. SR WR Nick Jolliffe was joined in the huddle for a play when his R-FR QB brother Ben Jolliffe entered the game to replace an injured Zach Roberson. On the winning touchdown drive, SR WR Elby Pope lined up next to his younger brother VaShawn Pope, a R-FR WR. The younger Pope overshadowed the all-conference senior on the last drive as VaShawn caught three passes for 37 yards and Elby made one catch for seven yards.  


SINGING PRAISES FOR SINGER
Entering his third year as a starter, Grant Singer is coming off an All-American season after leading the NSIC in tackles with 118 and posting 16.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and three interceptions. Singer is now second in U-Mary history with 265 tackles and his 37.5 tackles for loss is third all-time. He is a 2013 Capital One Academic All-District selection and a two-time NSIC All-Academic choice.

GUPTILL WILL GET HIM
Troy Guptill earned All-American honorable mention honors his junior season after leading the Northern Sun in sacks and tackles for loss. The senior defensive end was credited with 21.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks. He just missed the school record of 22 tackles for loss. The devastation he wreaked was noticed as Lindy's placed the Quinn, S.D., native on their 2014 preseason All-American team. Currently Guptill is tied with Grant Singer in school history with 37.5 tackles for loss and is tenth in sacks with 17.5.   

ALL-NSIC RETURNERS
The Marauders return six of their 11 All-NSIC players from a year ago. Linebacker Grant Singer, the NSIC co-defensive player of the year, wide receivers Elby Pope and Nick Jolliffe, and defensive back Preston Tescher all earned first team honors. Pope was also the first team kick returner. Offensive lineman Michael Mortenson and defensive end Troy Guptill both received second team honors.