SATURDAY
The final University of Mary home football game of the 2016 season is a border battle against Northern State University. Fourteen seniors will say goodbye to the home crowd when the Marauders host the Wolves at 1 pm on Saturday, Oct. 29, at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.    

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 1-7 overall and in the Northern Sun and 1-3 against NSIC North Division foes... The Wolves are 4-4 overall and in the NSIC and 2-2 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 Wolves went 6-5 overall and in the NSIC to finish tied for 7th in the league overall and tied for 1st in the NSIC North division at 6-1.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders lost 47-16 at home to MSU Moorhead in the Battle for the Paddle... The Wolves edged visiting St. Cloud State 29-28.

SENIOR DAY
On Saturday, 14 University of Mary seniors will take to the field for the final time before the home fans. Playing their last game at the MDU Resources Community Bowl are Austin Bolton (LB, Joliet, IL), Shawn Fulwider (LB, Watford City, ND), Connor Graves (SB, Rockilin, CA), Zack Graves (SB, Rocklin, CA), Tom Johnson (DL, Moorcroft, WY), Turnar Kist (WR, Winnipeg, MB), Joe Ortegon (DB, Laramie, WY), Brandon Payne (DB, San Diego, CA), Zach Podoll (FB, Velva, ND), Michael Ryan (OL, St. Paul, MN), Sam Saucedo (WR, Altadena, CA), Landon Smith (DE, Stanley, ND), Joey Vrooman (FB, Miller, SD) and Danielle Whitaker (DB, Houston, TX)... Ten of the Marauders seniors have played their whole collegiate career at Mary (Bolton, Fulwider, Johnson, Kist, Ortegon, Podoll, Ryan, Smith, Vrooman and Whitaker) and all have been key contributors during their careers... Zack Graves, Connor Graves, Payne and Saucedo transferred to Mary prior to the 2015 season and have all started or played key roles the last two seasons.

POST GAME PARTY AT THE PIER
The Pier Bar and Grill in Bismarck will host a post-game party for University of Mary fans following Saturday's Marauders game. Fans who bring in their ticket stub from the game receive 10 percent off their tab. The Pier Bar and Grill allows children until 9 pm.

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 7-23 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... Tom Dosch is in his seventh season as head coach of Northern State University and is the school's 26th head football coach. He has a 35-39 record with the Wolves. Dosch was the 2014 NSIC Coach of the Year and has led Northern State to consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2004-05. A 1992 Dickinson State University graduate, he began his coaching career at DSU and is a member of the Blue Hawks Hall of Fame. He coached ten seasons at the University of North Dakota before becoming a head coach at Jamestown College and posting a record of 25-17 with two NAIA playoff appearances. After two seasons as an assistant at Southern Illinois Dosch was named the NSU head coach prior to the 2010 season.

THE MARAUDERS-WOLVES SERIES HISTORY:  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 Mary's closest rival prior to Minot State University joining the Northern Sun, the first two meetings took place at the Metrodome... 2006: 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 Mary single game school rushing record with 248 yards, including 146 in the 4th quarter. The game featured four lead changes and two ties. Mary dominated the 4th quarter in a 20-16 win... 2010: Lomax ran for 105 yards and three TDs and Tyler Steffan caught 10 passes for 222 yards and one TD to earn NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors in a 48-3 Marauders win. Craig Bagnell passed for 281 yards and three TDs. The UM defense intercepted four passes and limited the Wolves to 66 yards passing... 2011: Josh Murray ran for 163 yards and scored three TDs and Craig Bagnell threw for 232 yards and a score but Northern State scored the final 10 points in  39-36 Wolves win. Felipe Alfaia converted a game-winning 35-yard field goal as time expired. Jared Jacobson ran for 180 yards and three TDs and passed for 136 yards to lead NSU and Kristin James added another 139 yards for the Wolves... 2012: Mary jumped out to a 14-3 lead but Northern State scored the next 55 points in a 65-17 Wolves win, the most points ever allowed by the Marauders. Elby Pope caught seven passes for 109 yards and a TD to lead Mary, Bagnell passed for 201 yards and two TDs, and Mikey Ingemansen had two sacks. Jared Jacobson threw for 422 yards and three TDs and Chris Morton caught six passes for 148 yards and three TDs for NSU... 2013: Vince Ferrante and Elby Pope scored in Mary's first two possessions and a Craig Bagnell-to-Nick Jolliffe TD pass gave the Marauders a 21-7 halftime lead on the way to a 28-14 win. Ferrante ran for 124 yards and two TDs.Bagnell was 25-of-36 for 282 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. The Marauders out-gained the Wolves 427-309. 2014: The Wolves stopped the Marauders on the one yard line to open the game, then drove 99 to open the scoring in a 42-33 Wolves road win. Three times Mary pulled within one point. Jake East led UM with 9 catches for 174 yards and one TD. Elby Pope caught 11-129. QB Zach Roberson was 29-of-46 passes for 409 yards and two TDs plus one rushing. Preston Tescher had 14 tackles, an interception and knocked down two passes for UM. NSU QB Jacobson 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. NSU outgained Mary 574-484... 2015: The Marauders turned the ball over five times in a 37-0 road loss to the Wolves. Caleb Buck was 30-of-50 passing for 203 yards with Zack Graves catching 11 passes for 89 yards. Preston Tesher had 13 tackles and Seth Walton had two tackles for loss. Nicholas Truen ran for 64 yards and a TD, Kayle Lavand passed for 233 yards and a score and Zachery Barber had five catches for 108 yards for the Wolves.   

PAST MARAUDERS-WOLVES MEETINGS (Mary leads 6-4)
2006    Mary 20                         Northern State   6                Metrodome
2007    Mary 37                         Northern State 13                Metrodome
2008    Mary 34                         Northern State 31 OT        Aberdeen, SD
2009    Mary 20                         Northern State 16                Bismarck, ND
2010    Mary 48                         Northern State   3                Bismarck, ND
2011    Northern State 39     Mary 36                                Aberdeen, SD
2012    Northern State 65     Mary 17                                Bismarck, ND  
2013    Mary 28                        Northern State 14                Aberdeen, SD
2014    Northern State 42        Mary 33                                Bismarck, ND
2015    Northern State 37        Mary 0                                Aberdeen, SD

QUICK LOOK AT THE NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY WOLVES
Shooting for their third straight winning season, the Wolves enter Saturday's game with a 4-4 record overall and a 2-2 mark in North Division play. Northern State scored the last nine points of the game in a 29-28 home win over St. Cloud State to even its record as Nathan Shaw kicked three field goals to earn NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. For the year Shaw is 7-of-8 on field goals and 21-of-23 on extra points. Slightly unlucky this season, the Wolves have played two overtime games against ranked opponents (Augustana and Bemidji State) and lost both. Much of the team statistics show why NSU has an even record. The Wolves have scored 240 points and allowed 231, gained 161 first downs to their opponent's 169, and average 389.4 yards/game while giving up 401. Nicholas Truen leads the offense with 759 yards rushing and seven TDs. QB Christian McAvain has 421 yards and six TDs running and is completing 53.3 percent of his passes for 1,511 yards, 11 TDs and four interceptions. Connor Doherty has six TDs among his 26 receptions for 320 yards. Channing Barber is threat on defense and special teams. He has returned two of his three interceptions for touchdowns, has returned a fumble for a score and is averaging 28.6 yards per kickoff return. Barber also has 11 pass breakups and a team-high 31 solo tackles. Chad Stoterau leads the Wolves defense with 57 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Tyson Zemlicka also has 4.5 sacks.

REWIND: MSU Moorhead 47 Mary 16
MSU Moorhead scored the first 20 points of the game and produced points on seven of ten possessions to defeat the University of Mary 47-16 in the 11th Battle for the Paddle. The Marauders kept battling all game to stay in the contest. Their first scoring drive consumed eight minutes, 81 yards and 14 plays. A Zack Graves 1-yard scoring run capped the drive and allowed Mary to pull within 20-7 at intermission. Down 34-7 in the third, reserve quarterback Nick McCann led the Marauders on two straight scoring drives, one ending in a Cody Goetz 31-yard field goal and the second on an 8-yard scoring pass to Connor Graves. McCann finished the day 11-of-15 for 128 yards, one TD and one interception. Sam Saucedo had five catches for 73 yards. Austin Bolton made 11 tackles and forced a fumble. Demetrius Carr ran for 143 yards and two TDs and passed for 166 yards and a score to lead MSUM. Damon Gibson caught 10 passes for 131 yards and a TD. Denver Colgrove ran for two TDs.  

NEXT MAN UP
Nick McCann will start at quarterback for the Marauders when Mary hosts Northern State University on Saturday. The sophomore signal caller made his season debut against MSU Moorhead, coming off the bench to complete 11-of-15 passes for 128 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 11 yards. The scheduled start for McCann will be the second of the Sioux City, IA, native's career. His first start came as a true freshman at Upper Iowa last year in the second game of the season. McCann will be the Marauders fourth starting quarterback this season. Ben Jolliffe and Garrett Weissinger were injured in back-to-back games against Winona State and Bemidji State, respectively. Farmer suffered a season-ending knee injury last week against MSU Moorhead. That injury brought McCann off the bench for the first time this season as he entered the game in the third quarter against the Dragons.

BACK TO BACK
The Brothers Graves have both scored touchdowns in back-to-back games. After Connor Graves caught a scoring pass for his first collegiate touchdown against Minnesota Crookston, Zack Graves ran in for a score to seal the game. Last week against MSU Moorhead, Zack ran 1 yard for the Marauders first touchdown of the day and Connor later caught an 8 yard scoring pass for Mary's final touchdown. Both seniors from Rocklin, CA, the Graves' transferred to Mary prior to last year. Zack, the older of the two, transferred from Sierra College. Connor came from Hawaii Hilo, where he played collegiate golf.   

BLOCK PARTY
Despite not blocking any kicks against the Dragons, the University of Mary remains tied for the most kicks blocked in the country with an impressive eight. Junior defensive tackle Brock Pittsley leads the Marauders and the NSIC with two blocks and is ranked eighth in the nation. Angelo State is the other team with eight blocks this season.  

EPIC
The Marauders posted their longest scoring drive of the season against the Dragons. Down 20-0 in the second quarter, the Marauders took possession at their own 19 yard line and drove 81 yards in 14 plays for a score. The drive took eight minutes of clock time and culminated in a 1 yard touchdown run by Zack Graves. The longest play was a 14-yard pass interference call on just one of two passing plays called by the Marauders. Graves ran the ball five times for 29 yards. Colton Farmer ran for 11 yards. Zach Podoll had six carries for 22 yards.

DISCIPLINE
Mary is 3rd in NCAA Division II in fewest penalties per game (3.88) and 2nd in fewest penalty yards per game (31.13), and leads the NSIC in both categories. Marauders opponents, meanwhile, average over 53 yards a game in penalties.

T.O.P.
One reason the Marauders moved to the triple option was to control the clock and it has proved successful. Mary is 8th nationally and 2nd in the NSIC in time of possession, holding the ball for 34:29 a game compared to its opposition's total of 25:31.

COMMON NAME, UNCOMMON PLAYER
Senior DE Landon Smith 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.

DEAD BOLT
Once again senior LB Autin Bolton was making plays all over the field. He registered 11 tackles against the Dragons and forced a fumble. It was his fourth double-digit tackles game of the season. On the season the native of Joliet, IL, has a team-high 63 tackles and is 13th in the NSIC. With 192 career tackles Bolton is four stops away from tying John Oyloe for 14th all-time on the Marauders career list.

MACK ATTACK
A two-sport athlete at Mary, Sam Mackedanz had his streak of games catching touchdown passes snapped at two but still posted big contributions against MSU Moorhead. The sophomore had three catches for 54 yards, including a 33-yard catch and run. Earlier this season the sophomore WR hauled in a 17-yard scoring strike from Colton Farmer against SCSU and scored the winning touchdown on a 27-yard pass from Farmer against Minnesota Crookston. A high jumper for the men's track team, the Richmond, MN, native 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.

HANDLE WITH CARE
The Marauders have lost just four fumbles all season, the 23rd fewest in the nation. Overall Mary has committed just 11 turnovers, second-fewest in the NSIC  to Northern State's ten.