SATURDAY
After enjoying a couple weeks at home, the University of Mary set sail south for a visit to Northern Sun North Division leader Northern State University on Saturday, Oct. 24. Game time is 2:30 p.m. at Clark Swisher Field in Aberdeen, S.D.

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 0-7 overall and in the Northern Sun and 0-3 in the NSIC North division... The Wolves are 3-4 in the NSIC/overall and 3-0 in the NSIC North.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders lost 45-0 at home to #21 University of Minnesota Duluth... The Wolves scored two touchdowns in every quarter in a 55-21 road win over the University of Minnesota Crookston.

LAST YEAR
U-Mary finished 5-6 overall in the NSIC and 3-4 in the NSIC North… Northern State was 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the NSIC North, taking 4th place overall and second in the divisional standings.

MARAUDERS REWIND GAME 7: U-Mary 0 University of Minnesota Duluth 45
Facing a nationally ranked team for the third time this season, the University of Mary kept pace for much of the opening quarter before #21 University of Minnesota Duluth found its footing. Unable to score on their first two possessions, the Bulldogs eventually found the end zone late in the first quarter and scored on six straight possessions. Twice the Marauders reached the red zone but was unable to score while the Bulldogs tallied all four times they reached inside the U-Mary 20 yard line. Zach Graves led U-Mary in rushing for the second straight weeks with 43 yards and Adam Woroniecki added 41. Landon Smith posted three tackles for loss and nine total tackles, both career highs, and recovered a fumble. Patrick Ryan had 11 tackles and Preston Tescher 10. Jacob Parker intercepted a pass for the second straight week. UMD QB Drew Bauer was 9-of-16 for 280 yards and 4 TDs. He also ran for 19 yards and a TD. Four different Bulldogs caught TD passes. Jeremiah Newell ran for 95 yards and a TD. Karl Finkel had two sacks for the Bulldogs.

HEAD COACHES
Josh Kotelnicki is in his second season as the head coach of the University of Mary. He is just the fifth varsity head coach in school history as the team begins its 28th season. Kotelnicki directed the Marauders to a 5-6 record in his first season in 2014 and is 5-13 lifetime (2 years). Kotelnicki joined 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... Tom Dosch is in his sixth season as head coach of Northern State University and is the school's 26th head football coach. He has a 28-34 record with the Wolves. After leading the Wolves to an 8-3 finish overall and 4th in the league last season, Dosch was named the 2014 Northern Sun Coach of the Year. In 2012 Dosch directed NSU to a 6-5 mark, the program's first winning season since 2005. A 1992 Dickinson State University graduate, he is a member of the Blue Hawks Hall of Fame. After beginning his coaching career at DSU, he coached ten seasons at the University of North Dakota before becoming the Jamestown College head coach. The Jimmies posted a 25-17 record with two trips to the NAIA playoffs. He then spent two seasons at Southern Illinois before joining NSU for the 2010 season.

THE MARAUDERS-WOLVES SERIES HISTORY (U-Mary leads 6-3)
 In a series that began in 2006, the Marauders claimed the first five meetings before the Wolves won two straight in 2011-12. Despite the fact NSU was virtually U-Mary's closest rival prior to Minot State University joining the Northern Sun, the first two meetings took place at the Metrodome... 2006: U-Mary captured the first contest between the two schools 20-7 as Justin Fleck scored two touchdowns while the Wolves were limited to 27 yards rushing... 2007: The Marauders cruised past the Wolves 37-13 behind two Mike Williams scores and 418 yards passing by Blair Sandy... 2008: The first meeting on a home field, with NSU getting first crack to host the game. A last-second touchdown pass from Jesse Kozak to Allen Merrill set up a walk-off overtime TD by Jamal Lomax in a 34-31 Marauders win. Erik Kruse caught a school-record 13 passes for 110 yards, Lomax ran for 114 yards and Kozak passed for 298 yards... 2009: In the first game played in Bismarck, ND, Lomax scored the winning touchdown with 11 minutes left in the game and set a U-Mary single game school record when he ran for 248 yards. He rushed for 146 yards in the 4th quarter alone. The game featured four lead changes and two ties. U-Mary dominated the fourth quarter, holding a 163-32 edge in yards and possessing the ball for 11:26 of the final 15 minutes in a 20-16 win... 2010: Lomax continued to torture the Wolves, rushing for 105 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Steffan caught 10 passes for 222 yards and one score to earn NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Craig Bagnell passed for 281 yards and three TDs. The Marauders defense intercepted four passes and limited the Wolves to 66 yards passing and 219 yards in a 48-3 win... 2011: Josh Murray ran for 163 yards and scored three touchdowns and Craig Bagnell threw for 232 yards and a score but Northern State scored the final 10 points to win 39-36. Felipe Alfaia converted a 35 yard field goal as time expired to give the Wolves their first win over the Marauders. Jared Jacobson ran for 180 yards and three TDs and passed for another 136 yards to lead the NSU offense and Kristin James added another 139 yards for the Wolves... 2012: U-Mary jumped out to a 14-3 lead but Northern State University responded by scoring 55 straight points as the Wolves defeated the Marauders 65-17. This was the most points allowed by U-Mary in school history. Elby Pope caught seven passes for 109 yards and a TD to lead U-Mary. Bagnell passed for 201 yards and two scores. Mikey Ingemansen had two sacks for UM. Jared Jacobson threw for 422 yards and three scores and Chris Morton caught six passes for 148 yards and three scores... 2013: U-Mary scored on its first two possessions and the Marauders defense didn't allow a point until the final play of the game in a 28-14 win at Northern State. Vince Ferrante's 9 yard rushing TD midway through the 1st quarter and Elby Pope's 27 yard TD pass from Craig Bagnell early in the 2nd gave U-Mary a 14-0 lead. After the Wolves scored on a blocked punt, the Marauders went into intermission up 21-7 after Bagnell found Nick Jolliffe for a 13-yard TD reception 27 seconds before the half ended. Ferrante's second TD of the day extended the UM lead to 28-7. He finished the day with 124 rushing yards and two scores on 17 carries. Bagnell finished 25-of-36 for 282 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. The Marauders out-gained the Wolves 427-309. 2014: Northern State stopped U-Mary at the one yard line on the opening possession of the game and then drove 99 yards to take a lead the Wolves never relinquished in a 42-33 road win over the Marauders. U-Mary pulled within 7-6, 14-13, 21-20 at the half and 28-27 in the third. NSU pulled away with two fourth quarter touchdowns. WR Jake East led UM with 9 catches for 174 yards and one TD. WR Elby Pope was 11-129. QB Zach Roberson was 29-of-46 passes for 409 yards and two TDs plus one rushing. Preston Tescher led UM with 14 tackles, had an interception and knocked down two passes. NSU QB was the NSIC Player of the Week after running for 84 yards and 2 TDs and completing 36-of-53 passes for 418 yards and 3 TDs. U-Mary produced 484 yards of offense and 25 1st downs. NSU had 574 yards and 34 1st downs.

PAST MARAUDERS-WOLVES MEETINGS (U-Mary leads 6-3)
2006    U-Mary 20                     Northern State   6                Metrodome
2007    U-Mary 37                     Northern State 13                Metrodome
2008    U-Mary 34                     Northern State 31 OT        Aberdeen, SD
2009    U-Mary 20                     Northern State 16                Bismarck, ND
2010    U-Mary 48                     Northern State   3                Bismarck, ND
2011    Northern State 39     U-Mary 36                            Aberdeen, SD
2012    Northern State 65     U-Mary 17                            Bismarck, ND  
2013    U-Mary 28                    Northern State 14                Aberdeen, SD
2014    Northern State 42        U-Mary 33                            Bismarck, ND

QUICK LOOK AT NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY WOLVES
What a difference a month makes. After suffering a loss in all four September games, Northern State is undefeated in three October contests. Among games against NSIC South Division teams in the opening month, the Wolves hosted two of the nation's current top four teams in #1 Minnesota State and #4 Sioux Falls. Now facing fellow North Division teams, the Wolves have found their stride, especially offensively. After scoring over ten points just once in the first four games, NSU has followed with 45 points against Minot State, 48 against MSU Moorhead and 55 at Minnesota Crookston. FR QB Kyle Levand has taken over for graduated all-conference QB Jared Jacobson and improves weekly. He is completing 61.7% of his passes for 1,171 yards and 10 TDs with 8 INTs. Levand threw for 368 yards against Wayne State and three scores against MSU Moorhead. Despite missing a game Nicholas Truen has 419 yards rushing and 4 TDs. Chaka Kelly has 187 yards rushing and 4 TDs, including three last week at Minnesota Crookston. Connor Doherty has caught 30 passes for 354 yards and 2 TDs, all team highs. Defensively the Wolves have nine interceptions, including three for Channing Barber. Barber also has a team-high seven pass breakups. Taylor Zemlicka has a team-high 74 tackles (4th in the NSIC) and 3.0 sacks. Devin Olson has 7.0 TFL and 63 stops.


DIVERGENCE
Both U-Mary and Northern State went 0-4 against their NSIC South Division opponents to open the season. The Marauders both played the same South teams - Sioux Falls, Wayne State, Upper Iowa and Minnesota State. Once the teams moved to the North Division portion of their schedule the Wolves are undefeated in three games while the Marauders are searching for their first win.

PENDULUM
The Marauders-Wolves series has a bit of a pendulum feel to it. The series first swung towards U-Mary, which won the first five games. Northern State has won three of the last four.  

TURNOVER TIDE TURNS
The Marauders have won the turnover battle the last two games and three times overall this season. In the last two weeks the Marauders are +5. U-Mary forced Minot State to turn the ball over four times (three interceptions) without committing a turnover. Against UMD, the Marauders turned the ball over once while forcing the Bulldogs to do so twice (one interception, one fumble recovery). For the year U-Mary is +1 in the turnover battle.

NO COMMON SMITH
A disruptive force all day, junior LB Landon Smith (Stanley, N.D.) posted career-highs with three tackles for loss and nine tackles against #21 Minnesota Duluth. Smith had a sack and recovered a fumble against the Bulldogs. For the season he leads the Marauders with 9.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks and is fourth on the team in tackles (42). Smith is seventh in the NSIC in sacks and eighth in tackles for loss.

GRAVE(S) MATTERS
For the past two weeks, junior RB Zach Graves has led the Marauders in rushing. He had 43 yards on 11 carries against the University of Minnesota Duluth one week after posting 67 yards and a 36 yard touchdown on 14 carries against Minot State.

DOUBLING DOWN
For the second straight week sophomore cornerback Jacob Parker intercepted a pass. The Las Vegas, Nev., native ended the Bulldogs second drive of the day when he grabbed a deflected ball and returned it 26 yards. He finished the day with two breakups and four tackles. The week before Parker returned an interception 37 yards against Minot State.

TESCHER PRESSURE
Senior two-time all-conference safety Preston Tescher led the Marauders in solo tackles last year and is off and running again this season. After seven games the Bismarck, N.D., native leads U-Mary in total tackles (60) and in solo stops (38). He is 8th in the Northern Sun in tackles and second in solo tackles. Tescher also has an interception and two pass breakups.

DYNAMIC DUO
Cornerbacks Danielle Whitaker and Jacob Parker are dangerous playmakers for the Marauders defense. Parker ranks 9th in passes defended in NCAA Division II with 1.9/game. The sophomore from Las Vegas, Nev., has two interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 30 tackles, including 3.0 for loss. Whitaker is 31st nationally in passes defended at 1.4/game. The junior from Houston, Texas, is also 11th in the country in blocked kicks (2) and 43rd in interceptions (3). Whitaker is third on the team with 44 tackles and seconds with seven pass breakups.

DOAN DOES IT
Although he had a season-low two catches against the Bulldogs, sophomore WR Brennan Doan is 37th in the nation and third in the NSIC in receptions/game (6.0). Through seven games the Bismarck N.D., native has 42 catches for 377 yards and a score. He had no receptions a year ago as a freshman.

DISCIPLINE
Continuing a trend from last season, the Marauders are one of the least penalized teams in the nation. Through seven games, U-Mary has been flagged just 39 times for 303 yards. The Marauders are 15th in fewest penalty yards and 19th in fewest penalties/game.