SATURDAY
For the second time in three weeks, the University of Mary faces a nationally ranked team on the road. The Marauders visit #1 and returning national runner-up Minnesota State University in Northern Sun action on Saturday, Sept. 19, in Mankato, Minn. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Blakeslee Stadium.

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 0-2 overall and in the Northern Sun and 0-0 in the NSIC North division... The Mavericks are 2-0 in the NSIC/overall and 0-0 in the NSIC South.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders dropped a 34-16 decision to Upper Iowa University in the U-Mary home opener... In their first road game of the season, the Mavericks defeated Northern State University 27-10.

LAST YEAR
U-Mary finished 5-6 overall in the NSIC and 3-4 in the NSIC North… Minnesota State went 14-1 in 2014, tying for the NSIC title with Minnesota Duluth and winning the NSIC South division. MSU advanced to the NCAA Division II title game and lost 13-0 to Colorado State University Pueblo.

MARAUDERS REWIND GAME #2
In less than five minutes, a defensive tussle turned into a serious disadvantage for the University of Mary in its 2015 home opener, a 34-16 loss to Upper Iowa. Scoreless with less than five minutes remaining in the opening half, Peacocks quarterback Dmitri Morales teamed with WR Jarred Edmonds on touchdown passes of 14, 2 and 31 yards with 4:29, 1:42 and 0:05 left before intermission. Another Morales TD pass and an Upper Iowa field goal field goal pushed the Peacocks advantage to 31-0 early in the third quarter. Needing a big play, the Marauders called for a fake punt at their own 27 yard line. The decision worked better than anticipated as freshman punter Coleman Olivas sprinted 73 yards and virtually untouched for a touchdown with 2:49 left in the 3rd quarter. The Marauders edged closer when Caleb Buck connected with Ben Jolliffe on a 3 yard touchdown pass at 12:01 of the fourth quarter. After connecting on a 2-point conversion after each score, U-Mary was within 31-16. Taking over at their own 5 yard line on their next possession, the Marauders drove to the Peacocks 2 yard line before a 4th down penalty pushed the line of scrimmage back to the 7. The U-Mary hopes were dashed when UIU's Tate Thompson made his second interception of the end zone in the second half. Seeing his first extended collegiate action when he took over in the second half, Buck completed 27-of-44 passes for 216 yards and a TD. Adam Woroniecki ran for 23 yards and caught five passes for 22 yards. Nick Kottre caught five balls for 55, Jolliffe seven for 52 and Brennan Doan seven for 47. Defensively Shawn Fulwider had 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Danielle Whitaker broke up three passes and had 1.0 TFL. Morales was 36-of-59 for 446 yards and 4 TDs. He also led Upper Iowa with 52 yards rushing. Edmonds caught seven passes for 108 yards and 3 TDs. Trey MacTaggart posted nine catches for 158 yards.

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 5-8 lifetime. 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... Todd Hoffner is in his sixth season as head coach of the Mavericks. He has a record at MSU of 52-14 and has taken the Mavericks to the NCAA playoffs in 2008, 2009 and 2014. His teams have won four NSIC South Division titles and two NSIC championships. A native of Esmond, N.D., Hoffner graduated from Valley City State University and was head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for six seasons (1999-2005) and posted a mark of 46-29.

THE MARAUDERS-MAVERICKS SERIES HISTORY
2008: U-Mary and Minnesota State first squared off in 2008, the first year that MSU was a member of the Northern Sun, with the Mavericks earning a 40-0 win at home... 2009: MSU claimed a 35-14 win over U-Mary in the Mavericks first visit to Bismarck. The Marauders opened the scoring when Tyler Steffan caught a 12 yard touchdown pass from Henry Lau in the first quarter. The Mavericks then rolled off 28 straight points before the Marauders got back on the board when Terry Newsome caught another Lau scoring strike... 2013: Hosting the 2nd ranked Mavericks in the 2013 season opener, Marauders fans sat through a 90 minute lightning delay before the start of the game and another delay during the contest. In a wide open 1st quarter, the Mavericks scored on the opening drive of the game. The Marauders immediately responded as Nick Jolliffe caught a 24 yard scoring pass from Bagnell. After MSU scored again, Bagnell and Jolliffe knotted the game at 14-14 on a 5 yard pass play. The Mavericks rolled off the only 10 points of the second quarter and Nathan Hancock returned an interception 72 yards in the third quarter to increase the MSU lead to 31-14. Elby Pope soon followed with a 34 yard punt return to set up a 3 yard scoring pass for himself from Bagnell. MSU scored the only points of the 4th quarter on a field goal. Bagnell threw for 243 yards and three TDs with one interception. Jolliffe caught eight passes for 87 yards and two TDs. John Oyloe had 3.0 tackles for loss and two sacks. Jon Wolf passed for 249 yards and ran for 47.

PAST MARAUDERS-MAVERICKS MEETINGS
(Mavericks lead series 3-0)
2008        Minnesota State 40                U-Mary   0    Mankato, MN
2009        Minnesota State 35                 U-Mary 14    Bismarck, ND
2013    #2 Minnesota State 34    U-Mary 21    Bismarck, ND

QUICK LOOK AT MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MAVERICKS
The 2014 NCAA Division II runner-up, Minnesota State enters this weekend ranked #1 in the nation in the AFCA poll. Over the past three seasons the Mavericks have won two NSIC titles and compiled a record of 38-3 with all three losses coming in the NCAA playoffs. In all the school has seven straight winning seasons. Early this season the defense is leading Minnesota State. The Mavericks haven't allowed any second half points thus far in two games. All-American defensive end Joshua Gordon leads Minnesota State with 15 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. The senior recorded 17.5 sacks last season. Tyler Henderson and Marcus Gooden both have 14 tackles. Rob Meyer has two interceptions. The offense is paced by Connor Thomas. The senior running back has ran for 221 yards and two touchdowns in two games, including a career-high 173 yards in a win at Northern State. QB Nick Pieruccini has thrown for 264 yards and a touchdown and has run for another 107 yards and two scores. Ricky Lloyd also sees regular time at QB and has thrown for 98 yards and run for 98 yards. Kyle Riggot is the leading receiver with five catches for 91 yards.

FIRST TIME PLAYING #1
For the first time since beginning NCAA Division II play in 2006, the University of Mary is facing the top-ranked team in the nation when the Marauders visit Minnesota State University. The Marauders have played teams that eventually have won national championships or later became ranked #1 deeper into the season, but have not played a team that was currently holding the top spot in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll. Three times the Marauders have faced the nation's second ranked squad; the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2010 and 2014 and Minnesota State in 2013.

IRON SHARPENS IRON
For the second time in three weeks, the Marauders are facing a nationally ranked team on the road. U-Mary opened up the season at #10 Sioux Falls. This week the Marauders play at #1 Minnesota State. The Marauders later host #7 Minnesota Duluth.

LONG DISTANCE RUNNER
Needing to gain some momentum, the Marauders called for a fake punt at their own 27 with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The play worked to perfection as freshman punter Coleman Olivas sprinted 73 yards around the left side for a score, running away from defenders and finding the end zone virtually untouched. It was the first career carry for the true freshman. Additionally, Olivas also had a good day punting the ball. He averaged 40.3 yards/punt on four attempts with a long of 45 yards and had two settle inside the opponent's 20 yard line.

LONG DISTANCE RUNNER PART 2
The 73 yard touchdown run by freshman Coleman Olivas against Upper Iowa is the longest run from the line of scrimmage for the Marauders since Justin Fleck rumbled 81 yards for a score at St. Cloud State on Sept. 16, 2006... It is the Marauders longest play from scrimmage since  Elby Pope caught a 77 yard touchdown pass from Craig Bagnell on Nov. 10, 2012... It is the longest play of any sort for the Marauders since Elby Pope returned a punt 89 yards at Winona State last season on Sept. 13, 2014.

FULL LOAD
Junior LB Shawn Fulwider picked up 1.5 sacks in the home opener against Upper Iowa. It was the first sacks of his career. The Watford City, N.D., native totaled 2.0 tackles for loss, broke up a pass at the goal line and tied for the team-high with eight tackles (two solo). Currently Fulwider is seventh in the NSIC in both tackles for loss (3.0) and sacks (1.5).

KNOCK IT DOWN
Junior defensive back Danielle Whitaker was credited with three pass breakups against Upper Iowa. He also had a team-high six solo stops (seven total tackles) and a tackle for loss. Currently Whitaker is second in the NSIC and 17th nationally in passes defended with four (3 breakups, 1 interception).
 
BUCKING THE TRENDS
Seeing the first extended action of his collegiate career, Caleb Buck sparked the Marauders offense when he came off the bench to start the second half against Upper Iowa. The sophomore quarterback was 27-of-44 for 216 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He led the Marauders on a 79 yard scoring drive. Buck also had an 88 yard drive that ended with an interception in the end zone.

TWO-POINT TAKEDOWNS
With WR/QB/Holder Ben Jolliffe taking the snaps on extra points, the Marauders twice went for two against Upper Iowa and succeeded twice. After the first score, Jolliffe ran in for two points himself. Jolliffe scored the Marauders second touchdown when he caught a 3 yard pass from Caleb Buck. Jolliffe then passed the ball to snapper Tom Johnson for two more points.  

DISCIPLINE
Continuing a trend from last season, the Marauders are one of the least penalized teams in the nation. Through two games, U-Mary has been flagged just six times for 46 yards. The Marauders are fifth in fewest total penalties and seventh in fewest penalty yards in the NCAA.

STEPPING FORWARD
The Marauders wide receiver corps entered opening week without a receiver who had caught a pass in a U-Mary contest. Brennan Doan  quickly changed that, catching a pass on the Marauders first offensive play of the season and now ranks among the receiving leaders in the NSIC. Through two games the sophomore wide out has a team-high 12 receptions for 107 yards, ranking seventh in the NSIC in receptions.  

T.O.P
The Marauders lead the NSIC in time of possession at 32:15 / per game.

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 two games the Bismarck, N.D., native leads U-Mary in total tackles (16) and in solo stops (11). He is 16th in the NSIC in tackles.

LOCAL TIES
Seven of the Marauders projected starters have ties to Bismarck high schools. Ben Jolliffe, Nick Kottre, Nick Nelson and Deon Paulson all graduated from Bismarck High School. Preston Tescher and Peter Bopp represent St. Mary's. Brennan Doan is from Century.

NORTH DAKOTA STRONG
The Marauders currently start eleven North Dakotans and feature 14 in-state student-athletes on the two deep. In addition to the seven Bismarck players listed above, the other North Dakotans in the starting lineup are Adam Woroniecki (Hebron), Brock Pittsley (Killdeer), Landon Smith (Stanley) and Shawn Fullwider (Watford City).

BROTHERS
Newcomers Zach and Connor Graves are the lone pair of brothers on the current Marauders squad. Natives of Rocklin, Calif., both are juniors and transferred to U-Mary this season. Older brother Zach transferred from Sierra College and Connor joins the Marauders from Hawaii Hilo, where he competed on the golf team.

MARAUDERS TIES
Three Marauders have older brothers who played at U-Mary. Preston Tescher's older brother Adam was an offensive lineman who started for two seasons (2010-11) and was an all-conference performer and a member of the NSIC all-academic team. Ben Jolliffe's older brother Nick was a three-year starter (2012-14), earned all-conference honors and was a member of the NSIC all-academic team. Freshman Paul Guptill's older brother Troy was a three-year starter (2012-14), an all-conference and all-American selection who also claimed NSIC all-academic honors.

NEXT UP - HOMECOMING
The Marauders host Wayne State College for Homecoming 2015 on Saturday, Sept. 26. Game time is 1 p.m. at the MDU Resources Bowl.