Football | 9/24/2015 2:06:00 PM

SATURDAY
Homecoming mania descends upon the University of Mary as the Marauders prepare to host the Wildcats of Wayne State College in Northern Sun action. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 0-3 overall and in the Northern Sun and 0-0 in the NSIC North division... The Wildcats are 2-1 in the NSIC/overall and 0-0 in the NSIC South.

LAST TIME OUT
Facing the nation's top ranked team on the road, the Marauders lost 48-0 at #1 Minnesota State University... The Wildcats edged past Northern State University 34-27 in the second home game of the season for Wayne State.

LAST YEAR
U-Mary finished 5-6 overall in the NSIC and 3-4 in the NSIC North… Wayne State finished 5-6 overall in the NSIC and 3-4 in the NSIC South.

MARAUDERS REWIND GAME #3
U-Mary won the turnover battle but #1 Minnesota State University dominated the scoreboard in the Mavericks 48-0 win over the Marauders. U-Mary forced four turnovers - three interceptions and a fumble recovery - but it did little to staunch the offensive attack of Minnesota State. MSU scored ten points in each of the first two quarters before sealing the game with a 21-point third stanza. The Mavericks held a 28-11 advantage in first downs and a 575-215 edge in total offense. Danielle Whitaker, Preston Tescher and Daniel Hunter all intercepted passes and Jacob Parker recovered a fumble and knocked down three passes. Landon Smith had 2.5 tackles for loss while Seth Walton posted 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Adam Woroniecki ran for a career-high 71 yards and Caleb Buck completed 21-of-34 passes for 135 yards in his first career start. For MSU, Ty Dennis caught four passes for 109 yards and a TD and Jameer Jackson had five catches for 82 yards and a score. Nick Pieruccini was 9-of-15 for 165 yards passing and also ran for 66 yards. Connor Thomas ran for 73 yards and Chad Zastrow added 72 yards and two TDs on nine carries.

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 5-9 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... Wayne State's Dan McLaughlin is in his 11th season as head football coach of the Wildcats and has a career record of 61-54 (.526) overall and 57-43 (.566) in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Inheriting a struggling program, McLaughlin turned Wayne State into a constant winner that included six straight winning seasons (2007-12), a feat never achieved in the program's 99-year history. McLaughlin ranks second on the all-time wins list at WSC, needing one win to match Del Stoltenberg (62-70-5) for the most wins by a Wildcat head football coach. He is the second-longest tenured coach in Wayne State history and currently is the third-longest tenured coach in the NSIC, trailing only Winona State's Tom Sawyer and Bemidji State's Jeff Tesch. He won state titles at three different Nebraska high schools and joined WSC after serving as the Minnesota State University offensive coordinator in 2004.

THE MARAUDERS-WILDCATS SERIES HISTORY
Wayne State College won the first five meetings in the series until U-Mary broke through with a 35-27 road win in 2013... The series began in 2007 when U-Mary played its first Northern Sun schedule... 2007: The first meeting between the two schools was for a berth in the Mineral Water Bowl. Both teams were tied for second in the NSIC - and finished the season tied for second - but WSC earned the postseason berth with the 35-30 win in the 19th Egg Bowl. Trailing 21-3, the Marauders pulled within 28-23 before Nick Baldetti returned an interception 75 yards to seal the Wildcats win. Blair Sandy threw for 242 yards and three scores and Jesse Laber had two sacks to lead UM. Logan Masters caught four passes for 130 yards for WSC... 2008: Henry Lau threw for 302 yards and two scores and Erik Kruse caught 12 balls for 119 yards in a 31-16 UM loss. Silas Fluellen passed for 267 yards and led WSC to a 24-3 lead... 2009: Fluellen completed 15-of-20 passes for 220 yards and four scores as WSC rolled past UM 47-21. Jamal Lomax ran for 114 yards and scored two TDs to lead the Marauders... 2010: The Marauders overcame a 13-point deficit to take a lead with 1:36 remaining on a Craig Bagnell four yard run but WSC would claim a 33-28 win when All-American Frank Bruno caught a 34 yard TD pass with 45 seconds left to play. Bagnell passed for 260 yards and Tyler Steffan made six catches for 114 yards. Lomax ran for 51. The Wildcats' Evan Johnson passed for 387 yards and ran for 35 to win NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Defensively, LB Buddy Wallace led the Marauders with two sacks and four tackles for loss while Marcus Broome had a game-high 14 tackles... 2011: WSC WR Mitch Montgomery caught consecutive touchdowns to break a 10-10 tie in a 31-24 Wildcats win. Montgomery caught four balls for 113 yards and two TDs. Josh Edwards passed for 283 yards and two scores for U-Mary and Josh Murray ran for 138 yards and scored on a 45 yard pass play and a one yard run... 2013: Nick Jolliffe caught three touchdowns and Elby Pope scored the winning touchdown on a punt return as the Marauders defeated Wayne State 34-27. It was U-Mary's first win over WSC. U-Mary opened the scoring on a 14 yard scoring catch by Jolliffe from Craig Bagnell but WSC ripped off the next 21 points. Bagnell found Jolliffe for another TD pass but the Marauders trailed 24-17 at half. The third Jolliffe TD catch tied the game in the third before Pope's 35 yard punt return pushed U-Mary ahead 31-24. Jolliffe caught 8 passes for 92 yards and 3 TDs. Bagnell completed 33-of-53 passes for 304 yards, three TDs and one interception. Pope returned three punts for 60 yards and caught six passes for 82 yards. Charlie Davidson ran for 142 yards and a score to lead the WSC offense. Defensively Troy Guptill posted three tackles for loss, forced two fumbles and recovered one.

PAST MARAUDERS-WILDCATS MEETINGS
(Wildcats lead series 5-1)
2007: @WSC 35  U-Mary 30
2008: WSC 31 @ U-Mary 16
2009: @ WSC 47 U-Mary 21
2010: WSC 33 @ U-Mary 28
2011: @WSC 31 U-Mary 24
2013  U-Mary 34 @WSC 27

QUICK LOOK AT WAYNE STATE COLLEGE WILDCATS
Mirror images of U-Mary last season, Wayne State and the Marauders both started off 5-3 last year before dropping three straight games to finish the season. This year the Wildcats have won two of their first three games, wrapping home wins over the University of Minnesota Crookston and Northern State University around a road loss at nationally ranked University of Minnesota Duluth. Offensive linemen Shane Finley and Taylor Jensen both earned 2nd team All-NSIC South division honors last year after the WIldcats ranked third in the conference in total offense. Junior QB Zach Osborn, who also received All-NSIC South recognition last year, was injured in the second game of the season and missed last week's contest. Redshirt freshman Taylor Reed filled in and completed 25-of-34 passes for 307 yards and 4 TDs in the Wildcats 34-27 win over Northern State. Marcel Dunson leads the team with 20 catches for 282 yards and 4 TDs. RB Ryan Ludlow has 234 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Defensively linebackers Nate Kroupa and DeWayne Scott are creating big plays. Kroupa leads the team with 27 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss. Scott is close behind at 4.5 TFL and 20 tackles. Perfect in eight trips to the red zone, WSC has scored seven touchdowns and kicked a field goal after reaching the opponent's 20 yard line this year.

SCHEDULING DIFFERENCES
Running into a buzz saw of a schedule, the Marauders opponents, including two nationally-ranked teams (Minnesota State and Sioux Falls) plus Upper Iowa are a combined 9-0. The three WIldcats opponents (Minnesota Crookston, Minnesota Duluth and Northern State) are a combined 1-7.

CROSSOVER COMPLETION
This is the fourth and final week of inter-divisional games between Northern Sun North Division squads and NSIC South schools. Beginning Oct. 3 NSIC teams will play schools only within their own division.

NBC ND SPORTS NETWORK TO TELEVISE HOMECOMING GAME
The University of Mary homecoming football game will be broadcast live throughout central and western North Dakota on the NBC North Dakota Sports Network. The broadcast of the Northern Sun contest between U-Mary and visiting Wayne State College begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26... The North Dakota NBC Sports Network stations televising the contest are KFYR-TV in Bismarck, KMOT-TV in Minot, KUMV-TV in Williston and KQCD-TV in Dickinson... Nine-time North Dakota Sportscaster of the Year and KFYR-TV sports director Lee Timmerman is the television play-by-play announcer for the Marauders. Joining Timmerman in the booth as color commentator is Mike McMahon, former Marauders football defensive coordinator and current U-Mary assistant vice president for Enrollment Services. Marissa DeCandido, the KFYR-TV weekend sports anchor and host of Marauders Weekly, is the sideline reporter.

HALL OF FAME 2015
Four greats will be inducted into the Marauders Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 26, during Homecoming week, including one former football player.  Jesse Laber (Wrestling, Football 2002-08) was an NAIA national wrestling champion in 2005 and the Marauders first NCAA All-American in any sport  when he placed 5th in 2008. He was also an all-NSIC 2nd team defensive end in 2007 after leading the league in sacks... Nichole (Seaver) Walker  (Softball 2002-2005) is a two-time All-American outfielder who led the Marauders to three NAIA world series appearances... Jessica (Janusz) Keller (Women's Soccer 2005-08) led the Marauders in a successful transition from NAIA to NCAA, pacing the Marauders to consecutive NSIC tournament championships and the school's first NCAA team postseason appearance... Mike Seeger (Wrestling 1993-97) is a two-time NAIA national wrestling champion and a four-time All-American who helped the Marauders to a pair of runner-up finishes.

BALLHAWKS
The Marauders are 23rd in the country in interceptions with five. Junior CB Danielle Whitaker leads the team with two picks. Three others have one.

KNOCK IT DOWN
Junior defensive back Danielle Whitaker is 12th in the nation in passes defended. He has two interceptions and four pass breakups... After a big game against Minnesota State, Jacob Parker is 23rd nationally in passes defensed. The sophomore cornerback has five knockdowns this season. Against the Mavericks he broke up three passes and recovered a fumble.

DISCIPLINE
Continuing a trend from last season, the Marauders are one of the least penalized teams in the nation. Through three games, U-Mary has been flagged just ten times for 68 yards. The Marauders are sixth in fewest total penalties and seventh in fewest penalty yards in the NCAA.

FIRST TIME PLAYING #1
Last week was the first time since beginning NCAA Division II play in 2006 that the University of Mary played a team that was ranked first in the country. Minnesota State University was the #1 team in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll and the D2Football.com national rankings.

CAREER DAY
Senior RB Adam Woroniecki ran for a career-high 71 yards against Minnesota State, including a burst of 26 yards. Through three games he has accumulated 147 yards rushing and another 47 receiving.

TAKEAWAYS
The Marauders won the turnover battle against Minnesota State, taking the ball away four times while committing two. The three interceptions were the most since intercepting Bemidji State three times on Oct. 4, 2014. The four turnovers were the most since taking the ball away from MSU Moorhead four times on Oct. 26, 2014.

FULL LOAD
Junior LB Shawn Fulwider leads the Marauders with 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also has 18 tackles, third on the team, and two pass breakups.

WALTON'S MOUNTAIN
Senior LB Seth Walton reached double digit tackles in a single game for the second time in his career when the Helena, Mont., native recorded 10 stops at Minnesota State.  He is second on the team this season with 21 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss. Walton also has an interception, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
 
BUCK STOPS HERE
Sophomore QB Caleb Buck made his first career start against #1 Minnesota State. He completed 21-of-34 passes for 135 yards with just one interception. He threw for 216 yards a week earlier in a relief appearance against Upper Iowa... U-Mary has started a different quarterback in all three games. Senior Zach Roberson was injured in the opener and true freshman Nick McCann entered the game. McCann started game two against Upper Iowa but was relieved at intermission by Buck.

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 three games the Bismarck, N.D., native leads U-Mary in total tackles (22) and in solo stops (16). He is 23rd in the NSIC in tackles.