SATURDAY
Making their second straight foray into the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the University of Mary visits the University of Minnesota Crookston for the Golden Eagles 2016 homecoming game. On the line is the first win of the season for one of the two teams. Kickoff for the Marauders-Golden Eagles game is 1 pm on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Ed Widseth Field in Crookston, MN.   

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 0-6 overall and in the Northern Sun and 0-2 against NSIC North Division foes... The Golden Eagles are 0-6 overall and in the NSIC and 0-2 against NSIC North Division opponents.  

LAST YEAR
The Marauders finished the 2015 season 1-10 overall and in the Northern Sun and 1-6 in the NSIC North division... The Golden Eagles were 1-10 overall and in the NSIC to finish tied for 13th in the league overall and was 5th in the NSIC North division at 1-6.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders dropped a 41-7 road decision at St. Cloud State University... The Golden Eagles lost 41-12 on the road at MSU Moorhead.

A LITTLE BACK HISTORY
In the history of the Marauders football program, Mary has played Minnesota Crookston more times - 14 - than any other team on this year's schedule except Minot State University (24). In addition to playing the Golden Eagles for the 11th straight year on Saturday, Mary also faced UMC four times in the 1990s when the both schools were members of the North Dakota College Athletic Conference (UMC was the lone member not located in ND). This is the 11th straight season the Marauders have played the Golden Eagles, one of five teams Mary has faced every season since beginning NCAA play in 2006.

ON THE LINE
Both the Marauders and the Golden Eagles are searching for the first win of the season. For one of these two teams that search will cease on Saturday. The Marauders last win came at home against the Golden Eagles 33-28 on Halloween 2015. The Golden Eagles last win was a 45-14 thrashing of Minot State at home on Nov. 7, 2015, a week after losing to Mary.

HEAD COACHES
Josh Kotelnicki is in his third 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 29th season. Kotelnicki directed the Marauders to a 5-6 record in his first season in 2014 and is 6-22 lifetime (3rd year). Kotelnicki joined 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... Originally hired as the University of Minnesota Crookston defensive coordinator, Mike Fritze was named interim head coach in the summer of 2013 before ever coaching a game for the Golden Eagles. After leading UMC to a 2-9 record and wins over Bemidji State and MSU Moorhead in trophy games, Fritze was elevated to head coach at the conclusion of the 2013 season. A long-time Minnesota high school head coach, joined the UMC staff to coach under long-time friend Paul Miller after retiring from teaching and high school coaching after the conclusion of the 2012 season. Fritze had coached a combined 103 consecutive seasons in three sports (football, boys basketball and track and field) prior to his arrival at UMC, including the last 18 years at Apple Valley. Fritze is 3-36 in his 4th season at UMC.

THE MARAUDERS-GOLDEN EAGLES SERIES HISTORY: In a series that started in 1995 when both schools were members of the North Dakota College Athletic Conference, the University of Mary holds a 12-2 advantage over the University of Minnesota Crookston. The Marauders took the first match-up 49-23 and the second 20-13 before the Golden Eagles claimed their first win of the series, 24-14 at home in 1997. UMC snapped Mary's seven game series winning streak in 2012... 2006: Blair Sandy threw for 2 TDs and ran for one in a 24-0 Marauders road win. Sandy ran for 111 yards and passed for 128. Mary's defense allowed just 159 yards and intercepted four passes... 2007: Shawn Melland returned an interception for a touchdown and James Patterson scooped and scored on a UMC fumble in a Marauders 38-0 win at home. UMC gained just 146 yards. Bayland Rippenkroeger ran for 104 yards and Sandy threw for 200 yards and two scores. Jesse Laber had 2.5 sacks... 2008: Jamal Lomax scored twice and ran for 129 yards, Mike Williams caught two of Henry Lau's three touchdown passes and Melland returned a fumble for a score in the Marauders 52-9 home win. UMC managed only 146 yards of offense... 2009: Terry Newsome opened the game with a 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown and later caught one of Lau's four touchdown passes. Lomax ran for 158 yards and Lau completed 21-of-29 passes for 203 yards. The Marauders limited UMC to 200 yards... 2010: The Marauders returned three interceptions and a blocked punt for touchdowns in a 48-0 homecoming win. Lomax ran for 48 yards and a TD. Mary limited UMC to 149 total yards and nine first downs while forcing four turnovers... 2011: On an incredibly windy day, Josh Edwards threw 2 TD passes in his first career start in Mary's 31-0 road win. Dariouse Gravely ran for 108 yards and Josh Murray added 87 yards and a TD. Richard Haley ran for 179 yards for UMC... 2012: Played in the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, ND, UMC won 37-36 on the final play of the game. After a pass interference penalty on Mary on what would have been the final play of the game, Talo Pascal scored on a 1 yard TD on an un-timed play to pull UMC within 36-35. Going for two, UMC's pass failed but Mary was again called for pass interference. Making use of another second chance, Richard Haley scored the 2-point conversion to give UMC the win. The NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, Grant Singer had 3.0 TFL and 16 tackles. Craig Bagnell was 24-of-38 for 328 yards, five TDs and two interceptions. Elby Pope caught 5-143-1 and Tyler Steffan caught two TDs. Haley ran for 87 yards, AJ Barge was 26-of-36 for 318 and 2 TD, Keith McBride was 9-130-0 and Josh Ross was 9-109-0... 2013: Nick Jolliffe caught 3 TDs from Craig Bagnell and the Marauders gave Myron Schulz a 31-15 win over UMC in his final game as Mary head coach. In 15 years as head coach the Marauders were 103-66 under his direction. Bagnell was 29-of-43 for 262 yards and 3 TDs to end his career with a school-record 75 TD passes. Jolliffe caught six passes for 57 yards and three scores. The Mary defense allowed just 248 yards and 14 first downs. Scott Maldonado intercepted two passes. Nik Polski posted 11 tackles and Grant Singer ten. Troy Guptill has 2.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss... 2014: Vince Ferrante ran for 136 yards and 1 TD as Mary ground out a 17-10 win at UMC. The Marauders ran for 229 yards and passed for 188 (417 total yards). UMC generated just 265. UMC scored first but a 50-yard Brody Riggs field goal kept UM within 7-3 at half. Two Marauders 3Q touchdowns - Ferrante from 5 yds out and a Ben Jolliffe to Jake East 13 yd scoring pass - game the Marauders a permanent lead. 2015: The Marauders blasted the Golden Eagles for 323 rushing yards and rallied past UMC 33-28. Trailing 28-21 entering the 4th quarter, Zack Graves scored his 3rd TD of the game on an 8 yard run to pull within a point. Adam Woroniecki scored the winning touchdown on a 26 yard run with 3:00 left in the game. Woroniecki ran for 162 yards on 26 carries. Graves rushed for 149 yards and two TDs on 21 carries and had two catches for 46 yards, including a 40- yard TD pass for the first score of the game. Austin Bolton had 14 tackles. Tra Hearns was 21-of-39 for 247 yards and three TDs for UMC.
 
PAST MARAUDERS-GOLDEN EAGLES MEETINGS (Mary leads 12-2)
1995        Mary 49             UMC 23            Crookston, MN
1996        Mary 20             UMC 13            Bismarck, ND
1997        UMC 24             Mary 14            Crookston, MN
1998        Mary 26             UMC 20            Bismarck, ND
2006        Mary 24             UMC 0            Crookston, MN
2007        Mary 38             UMC 0            Bismarck, ND
2008        Mary 52             UMC 9            Bismarck, ND
2009        Mary 37             UMC 14            Crookston, MN
2010        Mary 48             UMC 0            Bismarck, ND
2011        Mary 31          UMC 0            Crookston, MN
2012         UMC 37            Mary 36            Grand Forks, ND
2013        Mary 31            UMC 15            Bismarck, ND
2014        Mary 17             UMC 10            Crookston, Minn.
2015        Mary 33            UMC 28            Bismarck, ND        

QUICK LOOK AT THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON GOLDEN EAGLES
After snapping a 24-game losing streak late last season, the Golden Eagles are in the midst of a 7-game losing streak dating back to the final game of 2015. Following a tough start to the season, Minnesota Crookston took its first lead of the season last week - 6-3 at MSU Moorhead - before the Dragons found another gear in a 41-12 home win over the Golden Eagles. Mike Maw hit a school record-tying four field goals in the MSUM game, connecting from 28, 28, 36 and 29 yards. Adam Connette leads the UMC offense with 40 catches for 450 yards and is closing in on UMC career records for catches and receiving yards. Nathan Cole is completing 60.6 percent of his passes for 108.8 yards passing per game. He has thrown for just one TD but six interceptions. Andre Person has a team-high 346 rushing yards on 116 carries. Stephen Day averages 40.0 yards/punt and has placed six inside the opponent's 20 yard line. Ali Alkhatib paces the defense with 48 tackles. He has 4.5 tackles for loss and has forced four fumbles. Bubba Cook owns 6.0 TFL with 3.0 sacks. Isaiah Armstrong also has 3.0 sacks. UMC has yet to intercept a pass. The Golden Eagles are last in the NSIC in scoring defense (46.8 points/game) and next to last in scoring offense (8.8 points/game).

REWIND: St. Cloud State University 41 Mary 7
The Marauders defense caused early issued for the Husky offense but a big 4th down play for SCSU and miscues by the special teams and offense allowed the Huskies to play on a short field. Mary limited SCSU to three yards on the Huskies first two possessions but a punt snap gave the home team the ball at the Marauders 45. SCSU soon opened the scoring with a 32-yard Nate Mayer to Nick Greenlund TD pass on 4th down. A deflected punt later allowed SCSU to take over at the Mary 27. Meyer followed with a 9-yard TD run. SCSU scored on its next four possessions - including its opening drive of the second half - for a 41-0 lead. Fumbles led to two of the SCSU scores in that stretch. The Marauders got on the board in the 4th quarter when QB Colton Farmer connected with Sam Mackedanz for a 17 yard TD pass. Farmer completed 12-of-21 passes for 111 yards, one TD and an interception in his first collegiate start. Mackedanz caught three passes for 48 yards. Zach Podoll ran for 45 yards and caught a 6-yard pass. Noah Krebs led the defense with nine tackles. Landon Smith had 1.5 tackles for loss. Meyer was 15-of-24 passing for 243 yards and 3 TDs and ran for 25 yards and two more scores. Jameson Parsons caught three passes for 102 yards and a score. Greenlund had six catches for 86 yards and two TDs.  

TWO BY TWO
Noah Krebs posted a career-best nine tackles - including six solo stops - against the Huskies. The redshirt freshman safety, who wears #2, was making his second career start due to injury. Despite a reserve role the first four games, the Bismarck, ND, native is sixth on the team in tackles (27). He has also forced a fumble and been credited with a blocked kick. Krebs is also the Marauders primary punt returner and is back deep to receive kickoffs. He averages 20 yards/kick return and 3.0 on four punts.

FARM TOUGH
Sophomore Colton Farmer became the third starting quarterback in three games for the Marauders when he went under center against St. Cloud State. A native of The Woodlands, TX, saw considerable action at Southwest Minnesota State earlier in the year and ran for a TD against the Mustangs. Against the Huskies Farmer completed 12-of-21 passes for 111 yards, one TD and one interception. The other two Marauders starting quarterbacks - junior Ben Jolliffe and redshirt freshman Garrett Weissinger - are out for the rest of the season due to injury.

MACK ATTACK
A two-sport athlete at Mary, Sam Mackedanz caught his first career touchdown pass against St. Cloud State, a 17-yard strike in the back right corner of the end zone from fellow sophomore Colton Farmer. The Richmond, MN, native had three catches for a career-high 48 yards in the game. For the season he has six catches for 72 yards, both second on the squad. A high jumper for the men's track team, Mackedanz hit NCAA provisional qualifying marks for both indoors and outdoors last year and posted the highest effort among Northern Sun athletes (6' 8.75") during the outdoor season.

COMMON NAME, UNCOMMON PLAYER
Senior DE Landon Smith once again found his way into the backfield at St. Cloud State, posting a season-high 1.5 tackles for loss. The Marauders team captain now has 23 career tackles behind the line of scrimmage, placing him in a tie for 15th all-time at Mary with Marcus Broome, Brandon Lewis, Noah Krob, David St. Claire and Sam Fa'alepo. Troy Guptill is the Marauders all-time leader with 53.

TOUGH ROW TO HOE
After six games this season, the Marauders have played four teams who were either ranked in the nation's Top 25 or at least received votes this season: Bemidji State, Winona State, Southwest Minnesota State and Augustana.

BLOCK PARTY
The Marauders continue to get their hands on field goals and extra point kicks. Mary has blocked six kicks this season, including a field goal attempt by St. Cloud State. Junior defensive tackle Brock Pittsley leads the Marauders and the NSIC with two blocks and is ranked sixth in the nation. Overall Mary's six blocks are second in the country only to Angelo State, which has eight.

DISCIPLINE
The Marauders are third in the nation in NCAA Division II and atop the Northern Sun in fewest penalties per game (3.7) and fewest penalty yards per game (30.7).

BOLT THE DOOR
SR LB Austin Bolton is one of the busiest tacklers in the conference and the country this season. Three times in six games he has posted double-digit tackles. For the season he has 50 tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Bolton is 11th in the NSIC and 102nd in NCAA D2 with 8.3 tackles/game.

RIGHT PLACE RIGHT TIME
Senior team captain Danielle Whitaker made a position change this season and has looked right at home. A starter at cornerback the previous three seasons, the Houston, Texas, native switched to safety this season. Against SCSU he had six stops - all solo - and a pass breakup. On the year he leads the team in interceptions (2) and solo tackles (23). For his career Whitaker has nine interceptions. His next pick will make him just the seventh Marauders player to have ten or more career interceptions. Tony D'Amico is Mary's all-time leader with 17.