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Returning from its longest road trip of the season, the University of Mary hosts Concordia University, St. Paul on Saturday, Sept. 20, in Northern Sun football. Designated as Military Appreciation Day and Take A Kid to a Game Day, kickoff for the Marauders-Golden Bears contest is set for 2:30 p.m. at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.
MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY
To honor and recognize the service and sacrifice made by members of the United States military and their families, U-Mary has designated Sept. 20 as Military Appreciation Day. Military members and a guest will be admitted to the football game for free with a military ID.
MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY PART II
Instead of the traditional Blue & Orange, the Marauders will salute the members of the military by taking to the field in camouflage jerseys. The North Dakota National Guard will provide the jerseys.
THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 1-1 overall and in the Northern Sun. U-Mary has yet to play an NSIC North Division game. The Golden Bears are 0-2 overall and in the Northern Sun. CSP has yet to play an NSIC South Division game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders suffered a 42-34 loss at Winona State University... The Golden Bears dropped a touch 28-21 decision to Northern State in the CSP home opener.
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… Concordia-St. Paul finished 5-6 overall and in the NSIC (9th) and 2-5 (6th) 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 Golden Bears are led by third year head coach Ryan Williams. Prior to being named head coach, Williams had served as offensive coordinator, quarterback coach and recruiting coordinator at Concordia. He is a Wayzata, Minn., native and played college ball as a starting quarterback and team captain at former NCAA Division II power North Dakota State from 1997-2000. WIlliams has a 13-22 career record and he is 6-8 against the NSIC North.
REWIND: Time runs out in Marauders 42-34 loss at Winona State
Battling from behind all day, the University of Mary lost 42-34 at Winona State. The Marauders matched the Warriors score for score early as R-FR QB
Ben Jolliffe, making an emergency start, tossed scoring passes to
Nick Jolliffe, his brother, and
Myron Baldoz-McArn. The Warriors continued to score and led 28-14 at intermission. Two big plays by the Marauders in the third would even the game;
Elby Pope returned a punt a school-record 89 yards and
Austin Bolton returned a fumble 57 yards for the score. WSU responded with two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including an interception return for a score, to build a 42-28 lead. Jolliffe would hit Pope in the end zone with five seconds left in the game to make the final margin 42-34.
Ben Jolliffe finished 18-of-30 for 187 yards, three scores and two interceptions and ran for 37 yards.
Nick Jolliffe cuaght nine passes for 98 yards and one TD. Pope caught three passes for 32 yards and a score.
Grant Singer made a career-high 19 tackles and
Troy Guptill posted 2.5 sacks. Jack Nelson of WSU was named NSIC Offensive Player of the Week after completing 30-of-45 passes for 422 yards and three scores. Josh Mikes caught seven passes for 121 yards and a score and Dylan Ulferts made nine catches for 118 yards.
THE MARAUDERS-GOLDEN BEARS SERIES HISTORY
The Marauders hold a 3-2 edge in the series against the Golden Bears. In five games the home team has yet to win a game. 2006: In the first meeting between the two schools, J. Robinson scored his second touchdown of the game with two minutes remaining to lead the Golden Bears over the Marauders 22-19 in Bismarck, ND. Trailing 15-3, Blair Sandy threw touchdown passes to Stacy Robinson and Matt Wall to lead a 17-0 run for U-Mary to take a lead. U-Mary held CU to 245 yards in the loss... 2007: Erik Kruse and Bayland Rippenkroeger both scored two touchdowns and Shawn Melland returned a fumble for a score and the Marauders rolled to a 37-20 road win over the Golden Bears. Kruse caught nine passes for 104 yards. Brandon Lewis had 2.5 sacks... 2008: Despite limiting the Golden Bears just 205 yards of offense, the Marauders suffered a 17-7 homecoming loss. CU sealed the win when D. Outlaw returned an interception 25 yards for a score in the third quarter. Pierre Atkinson and Melland both had 2.5 sacks for U-Mary.. 2009: Henry Lau threw for three touchdowns and
Jamal Lomax ran for 127 yards in a U-Mary 27-7 road win. Lomax rushed for a score and caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter and the Marauders scored the final 27 points in the game... 2012: The Marauders overcame a slow start when the offense exploded for 21 straight points in a span of 2:21 and the defense forced five turnovers as U-Mary opened the 2012 season with a 32-26 win at Concordia University, St. Paul. Trailing 14-3,
Craig Bagnell threw a 5-yard scoring pass to
Nick Jolliffe before hitting
Elby Pope for a 34-yard touchdown. After a Mike Wagner interception, Bagnell connected with Bryan Sandy to build a 24-14 lead. After seeing their lead cut to five points, Bagnell connected with Tyler Steffan for a 66 yard gain. Hit from behind, Steffan would fumble into the end zone, where
Myron Baldoz-McArn would recover the ball for the touchdown and a 32-19 lead. After scoring late in the game, Concordia attempted a Hail Mary on the last play of the game by defensive back
Scott Maldonado knocked the ball down to preserve the U-Mary win and earned NSIC defensive player of the week honors after making 19 tackles with an interception in his U-Mary debut.
Tyler Ryan dropped six punts inside the 20 yard line to win NSIC special teams honors.
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PAST MARAUDERS-GOLDEN BEARS MEETINGS
2006 CSP 22 U-Mary 19Â Bismarck, N.D.
2007 U-Mary 37 CSP 20Â St. Paul, Minn.
2008Â CSP 17 U-Mary 7Â Bismarck, N.D.
2009Â U-Mary 27 CSP 7Â St. Paul, Minn.
2012 U-Mary 32 CSP 26  St. Paul, Minn. Â
QUICK LOOK AT THE CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL GOLDEN BEARS
Despite returning 15 total starters on offense and defense combine, the Golden Bears are 0-2 for the first time in head coach Ryan Williams' tenure, which began in 2011. However both games were decided by a single touchdown. Used primarily as a wide receiver and kick returner the past two seasons, junior Corey Cole is the starting quarterback for CSP. Cole had a spectacular start in the opener, a 20-13 loss to Minnesota Duluth. He ran for 177 yards and passed for 130. Cole was injured in the second quarter of last week's 28-21 loss to Northern State, requiring last year's starting quarterback Jared Russo to enter the game. Russo tossed two scoring passes but had an interception returned 80 yards late in the game for the Northern State winning touchdown. Tre Spears, who ran for 967 yards last season, has gained 197 in two outings in 2014. Cordell Smith has caught 13 passes for 172 yards and a score. Defensively the Golden Bears lost dominant defensive lineman Zach Moore from last year's squad. Moore was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 6th round and made the final roster. Josh Trifunov leads the Golden Bears in tackles this season with 23 and has their lone interception. Nick Jauch has 3.5 tackles for loss and Jordan Nieuwsma is right behind with 3.0. Â
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
Concordia, St. Paul last played in Bismarck in 2008, leaving with a 17-7 win to spoil the U-Mary homecoming.
A LITTLE TOO HOSPITABLE
In five meetings between the Marauders and the Golden Bears, the visiting team has won every time. The Marauders are 3-0 in games played at St. Paul while the Golden Bears are 2-0 in visits to Bismarck.
GRAVELY GAME DAY CAPTAIN
Senior running back
Dariouse Gravely (Las Vegas, Nev.) is the game day captain for the Concordia-St. Paul contest.
ROBERSON OUT INDEFINATELY
U-Mary starting quarterback Zack Roberson missed the week two Winona State University contest due to injury and is out indefinately. The junior from Sonora, Calif., drove the Marauders 80 yards and threw the winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining in a 19-18 opening game win over Southwest Minnesota State.
STARTING DEBUT
Redshirt freshman
Ben Jolliffe made an emergency start at quarterback for the University of Mary last week at Winona State University, replacing an injured
Zach Roberson. A Bismarck, N.D., native, Jolliffe completed 18-of-30 passes for 187 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Jolliffe had received one snap in the opening game of the year.
RECORD PUNT RETURN
Elby Pope set a U-Mary record with his 89 yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Winona State game. The all-NSIC kick returner broke the old mark of 75 yards by Derek Schatz against South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2001. It is the second punt return for a touchdown by Pope in his career. The senior from Grand Forks, N.D., is the only U-Mary player to return a downfield punt for a score during U-Mary's NCAA era (2006- ).
DON'T EVER GIVE UP
The Marauders have overcome double digit deficits in both of their games this season. Down 18-3 in the opener to Southwest Minnesota State University, the Marauders scored 16 straight points to rally for a 19-18 win. In week two, U-Mary fell behind 28-14 at Winona State before knotting the game 28-28. WSU eventually went ahead 42-28 in what became a 42-34 U-Mary loss.
BROTHER TO BROTHER
Senior wide receiver
Nick Jolliffe and redshirt freshman quarterback
Ben Jolliffe had a great family moment in the Winona State University contest. Playing together really for the first time (Ben took one snap against SMSU with Nick on the field) in either college or high school, the two connected for Ben's first collegiate touchdown pass, an 18 yard grab by Nick at 5:30 of the first quarter. The pair would connect nine times for 98 yards in the game. It was the second highest single game reception total for the All-NSIC wide receiver in his U-Mary career.
19
The leading tackler in the Northern Sun last season and the reigning NSIC Defensive Player of the Year, senior LB Grant SInger set a career-high with 19 tackles at Winona State. He had two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. The 19 tackles equals the highest total by a Marauders player in the NCAA era (2006- ).
Scott Maldonado posted 19 tackles against Concordia-St. Paul in 2012. Singer's previous best was 16. For the season the Turtle Lake, N.D., native leads the NSIC with 29 tackles (15 solo).
SACK ATTACK IS BACK
Shut out in the opening week of the season, the Marauders, who led the Northern Sun in sacks last season with 37, sacked the Winona State quarterback four times. The primary push came from All-American defensive end
Troy Guptill, as the senior posted 2.5 in the game.
BACKFIELD BLOWUPS
The Marauders aggressive attacking defense posted 11 tackles for loss against the Warriors. U-Mary was third in the NSIC last year, averaging just under 8.0 per game.
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 in tackles (284) and third in tackles for loss (39.5). 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 second all-time in tackles for loss (40) and is tied for fifth in sacks (20).
MARAUDERS CAREER TACKLES FOR LOSS
John Oyloe (2010-13) 41
Troy Guptill (2011- )Â 40
Grant Singer (2011- )Â 39.5
MARAUDERS CAREER TACKLES
Toby Schweitzer (1988-1990)Â 410
Grant Singer (2011- )Â 284
MARAUDERS CAREER SACKS
David St. Clair (1998-99) 30
John Oyloe (2010-13) Â Â Â 27.5
Jason Aman (1991-95)Â Â Â 26
Jon Ahneman (1992-95)Â Â Â 24
Nikia Parsons (1999-2000)Â Â Â 20
Troy Guptill (2011- )Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 20
ALL-AROUND EXCELLENCE
The Marauders are finding multiple ways to get All-NSIC WR/KR
Elby Pope the ball and he is doing something with it. Pope leads the NSIC and is 12th in the nation in all-purpose yardage at 210 yards/game. He has 287 combined punt and kickoff return yardage, which is fourth nationally and 1st in the league. He is second nationally and 1st in the NSIC in punt return average (25.8 yards/return) and 2nd in the NSIC in kickoff returns (26.3 yards/return). Pope also has 10 catches for 123 yards and a score this season. Â
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM RETURNERS
U-Mary returns nine of 16 NSIC all-academic team honorees from 2013:
Dalton Clough,
Troy Guptill,
Nick Jolliffe,
Tylar Kist,
Michael Mortenson,
Patrick Ryan,
Grant Singer,
Preston Tescher and
Adam Woroniecki.
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