SATURDAY
The 2016 college football season for the University of Mary commences Saturday when the Marauders visit the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears. Kickoff between Northern Sun North and South division foes is slated for 6 p.m. on September 3 at Sea Foam Stadium, located on the CSP campus.  

THE RECORDS/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 Bears finished 1-10 in the NSIC/overall and 0-7 in the NSIC South.

LAST TIME OUT
This is the season opener for both the Marauders and the Golden Bears.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEAR VISIT
North and South Division teams in the Northern Sun face each other every other season (i.e. every two years), and visit the opponent's field every four years. The Marauders last visited the Golden Bears in 2012, the last presidential election year.

CAPITAL CITY CHALLENGE
Both schools are located in their state's capital; UMary in Bismarck, North Dakota, and CSP in St. Paul, Minnesota.

STREAKING
The Marauders longest current winning streak against a 2016 foe is three games, against both Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota Crookston. The Marauders current longest winning streak against a team not on the current schedule? UMary has won 15 straight over Mayville State.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Marauders head coach Josh Kotelnicki, defensive coordinator Jason Thier and Golden Bears head coach Shannon Currier have a shared history. When Currier was the head coach at Truman State, Kotelnicki served as the Bulldogs defensive coordinator for the 2006 season. Both Kotelnicki and Currier coached Thier at Truman, where he was an all-conference linebacker as a senior team captain in 2008.

ROAD WARRIORS
In the first five meetings between UMary and Concordia-St. Paul, the visiting team went home the victor. The first win in front of a home crowd was the Marauders 20-13 victory at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in 2014.

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 6-16 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... After seven years out of coaching, Shannon Currier returns to the sidelines and begins his second head coaching stint with Concordia on Saturday, looking to build on his school record .727 winning percentage while his 32-12 record places him third on the all-time wins list in just four seasons. He's the only coach in the program's history (1969-present) to produce four consecutive winning campaigns, and captured the team's first NSIC Championship and postseason appearance (Mineral Water Bowl) in 2003 when he was named the NSIC Coach of the Year. A native of Cosmos, MN, Currier coached five seasons at Truman State and posted a mark of 20-35. In nine seasons as an NCAA Division II head coach he has a record of 52-47.

THE MARAUDERS-GOLDEN BEARS SERIES HISTORY
The Marauders hold a 4-2 edge in the series against the Golden Bears. In five games the home team has won just once. 2006: In the first meeting between the two schools, J. Robinson scored his second touchdown of the game with two minutes remaining to lead the Golden Bears over the Marauders 22-19 in Bismarck, ND. Trailing 15-3, Blair Sandy threw touchdown passes to Stacy Robinson and Matt Wall to lead a 17-0 run for U-Mary to take a lead. U-Mary held CU to 245 yards in the loss... 2007: Erik Kruse and Bayland Rippenkroeger both scored two touchdowns and Shawn Melland returned a fumble for a score and the Marauders rolled to a 37-20 road win over the Golden Bears. Kruse caught nine passes for 104 yards. Brandon Lewis had 2.5 sacks... 2008: Despite limiting the Golden Bears just 205 yards of offense, the Marauders suffered a 17-7 homecoming loss. CU sealed the win when D. Outlaw returned an interception 25 yards for a score in the third quarter. Pierre Atkinson and Melland both had 2.5 sacks for U-Mary.. 2009: Henry Lau threw for three touchdowns and Jamal Lomax ran for 127 yards in a U-Mary 27-7 road win. Lomax rushed for a score and caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter and the Marauders scored the final 27 points in the game... 2012: The Marauders overcame a slow start when the offense exploded for 21 straight points in a span of 2:21 and the defense forced five turnovers as U-Mary opened the 2012 season with a 32-26 win at Concordia University, St. Paul. Trailing 14-3, Craig Bagnell threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Nick Jolliffe before hitting Elby Pope for a 34-yard touchdown. After a Mike Wagner interception, Bagnell connected with Bryan Sandy to build a 24-14 lead. After seeing their lead cut to five points, Bagnell connected with Tyler Steffan for a 66 yard gain. Hit from behind, Steffan would fumble into the end zone, where Myron Baldoz-McArn would recover the ball for the touchdown and a 32-19 lead. After scoring late in the game, Concordia attempted a Hail Mary on the last play of the game by defensive back Scott Maldonado knocked the ball down to preserve the U-Mary win and earned NSIC defensive player of the week honors after making 19 tackles with an interception in his U-Mary debut. Tyler Ryan dropped six punts inside the 20 yard line to win NSIC special teams honors... 2014: A potent running attack and 18 uninterrupted points led UMary to a 20-13 home win over Concordia-St. Paul in the third game of the 2014 season. The Marauders ran for 167 of their 263 yards. UMary's defense held CSP to 61 yards rushing and 241 total yards, forced two fumbles and recorded a safety. Down 3-0, Ben Jolliffe hit Elby Pope for a 33 yard touchdown pass. Jolliffe then ran for a 2-point conversion. After Landon Smith forced a CSP fumble, Brody Riggs hit a 35 yard field goal. Adam Woroniecki ran for a 2-yard TD in the 3rd for an 18-3 lead. CSP closed within 18-10 before the home team was called for an infraction in its end zone, resulting in a safety for UMary. Woroniecki ran for 56 yards, one of three Marauders over 50 yards. Pope caught five passes for 55 yards and ran for 10 more. Troy Guptill had 1,5 tackles for loss. Jared Russo led CSP with a 21-for-41 passing effort for 180 yards and a TD. Tre Spears caught six passes for 26 yards and ran fr 42 yards.    

PAST MARAUDERS-GOLDEN BEARS MEETINGS (UM leads 4-2)
2006            CSP 22                 UMary 19            Bismarck, N.D.
2007            UMary 37             CSP 20                St. Paul, Minn.
2008            CSP 17                 UMary 7                Bismarck, N.D.
2009            UMary 27             CSP 7                    St. Paul, Minn.
2012            UMary 32            CSP 26                St. Paul, Minn.
2014            UMary 20            CSP 13                Bismarck, N.D.

QUICK LOOK AT THE CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL GOLDEN BEARS
The Golden Bears will have a slightly familiar but yet completely new look when they take to the field against the Marauders on Saturday. After a seven year absence from coaching and 13 years since he was the Concordia-St. Paul head coach, Shannon Currier returns to the Golden Bears as head coach. In his four seasons as CSP coach (2000-03) the Golden Bears finished 32-12 overall and won a Northern State title in 2003. Currier takes over a young team that featured 46 new players on the 104 man roster. Like the Marauders, the Golden Bears finished 2015 with an overall record of 1-10. CSP also has 15 freshmen or redshirt freshmen on their 2-deep depth chart. Sophomore All-American and NSIC Newcomer of the year WR/KR Alquawn Vickers leads the offense. He caught 37 passes for 463 yards and three scores last year but is best known for his special teams work. Vickers returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and averaged 25.9 yards/ return while averaging 11.0 yards per punt return. SR RB Darius Chapes will start and ran for 372 yards and three scores last year. JR QB Ron Johnson transferred back to CSP after two years away and won the signal caller duties. The defensive line is the team's veteran unit with three of the starters combining for 62 collegiate games played together. SR DB Dominic Nabak is the team's returning tackler with 64 stops last year. At linebacker, SR Sam Johnson made 51 tackles last season, including 5.5 for loss.

YOUTH
When Pat Benatar opened the 1983 song "Love is a Batterfield" with the line "we are young," she probably wasn't referring to the 2016 Marauders football team. The line is apt, however, as UMary features 11 redshirt freshmen and seven true freshmen on its 2-deep roster. Additionally there are nine sophomores in the main rotation, including three who played as true freshmen last year. But don't forget one of the other key lines in the song: "We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong."

EXPERIENCE
While the Marauders are young, there is also extensive experience throughout the lineup. Five of the projected starters on offense have  started before while six have been at the top of the defensive chart. SR FB Zach Podoll has started since his sophomore year. SR OL Michael Ryan started all last year, SO OL Nick Benshetler cracked the lineup early as a true freshman in 2015, and SO WR Sam Mackedanz started the last couple games of the season. Additionally, JR QB Ben Jolliffe made several starts at QB as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and made five starts at wide receiver last year before an injury cut his season short. The defense also has significant experience. Leading the way is SR DE Landon Smith, who enters his fourth season as a starter. Defensive backs Danielle Whitaker, a senior, and Jacob Parker, a junior, will be three-year starters. Also, SR DB Brandon Payne, SR LB Austin Bolton and JR DL Brock Pittsley are also returning starters.

CAPTAINS
Seniors Zach Podoll, Landon Smith and Danielle Whitaker and junior Jacob Parker are the 2016 team captains for the Marauders. The first junior named team captain since 2013, Jacob Parker moved into the starting lineup during his freshman season in 2014. The defensive back from Las Vegas, Nevada, was among the league leaders in passes defended his sophomore year with 15. He broke up 13 passes and made two interceptions. He also added 44 tackles – including 29 solo stops – and had 3.0 tackles for loss. In two seasons Parker has totaled five interceptions and made 78 tackles. Parker also earned a spot on the Northern Sun's all-academic team for fall 2015... A native of Velva, North Dakota, Zach Podoll earned All-Northern Sun North Division honorable mention honors last season as a tight end. He caught 37 passes for 313 yards and one touchdown. A starter since his sophomore season, Podoll has 54 receptions for 484 yards and four touchdowns in his career. With a change to the Marauders offense, he is moving to fullback for his senior season. A two-time Northern Sun all-academic team selection, Podoll is the 2016 UMary recipient of the Butch Raymond Scholarship... Entering his fourth year as a starter, Landon Smith finished last season among the NSIC leaders in plays made behind the line of scrimmage. The senior defensive end from Stanley, North Dakota, posted a career-high 12 tackles for loss in 2015. He also led the Marauders with 4.5 sacks and was fourth in total tackles with 64. Already a two-time NSIC all-academic team selection, Smith has racked up 130 total tackles and 21.5 tackles for loss, including 6.0 sacks... Among the NSIC leaders in passes defensed and interceptions last year, Danielle Whitaker enters his third season as a starter in the Marauders defensive backfield. The senior from Houston, Texas, was fourth in the league with four picks. Additionally he knocked down eight passes and was seventh in the NSIC in passes defensed with 12.  Whitaker also made a career-high 59 tackles, including three behind the line. In his first three seasons he has compiled seven interceptions and 123 tackles.      



NEW LOOK
The Marauders will unveil their new offense on Saturday as UMary has made the move to the triple option.  

BACK IN THE SADDLE
After starting six games at quarterback as a redshirt freshman, Ben Jolliffe moved to wide receiver last season as a sophomore. This year the Bismarck, N.D., native is back under center for the Marauders and is the team's starting quarterback. While playing QB in 2014 he passed for 10 touchdowns with just eight interceptions while completing 57 percent of his passes. Jolliffe also ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Last season he caught 16 passes for 122 yards and a score before his season was ended by injury. Now healthy he is back in the starting lineup.

COMMON NAME, UNCOMMON PLAYER
A disruptive force this season to opposing backfields, senior DE Landon Smith (Stanley, N.D.) posted tackles for losses in the final ten games of last season. He finished 2015 with  12 TFL to finish among the NSIC leaders. He also had 4.5 sacks and 64 total tackles, all career highs.

VERSATILITY
SR SB Zack Graves (Rocklin, Calif.) is a triple threat for the Marauders. He finished  second on the team last year in both rushing and receiving and is a threat on kick returns. In his first year at U-Mary he ran for 341 yards and 3 TDs, caught 39 passes for 348 yards and 1 TD, and returned 15 kicks for 340 yards, an average of 22.7 yards/return.

BROTHERS
The Marauders have two sets of brothers on the 2016 team. Zack and Connor Graves are natives of Rocklin, Calif., and both seniors and transferred to UMary prior to the 2015 season. Older brother Zach transferred from Sierra College and Connor joined the Marauders from Hawaii Hilo, where he competed on the golf team. Junior defensive back Brady Zittleman of Mandan, N.D., is joined on the team this season by his younger brother Jarad, a freshman this season. Ben Jolliffe (Nick), Paul Guptill (Troy) and freshman Jaxon Ford (Coleton) have brothers who previously played for UMary.

MOTHER AND SON
Head athletic trainer Rhonda Olson, who has treated the Marauders football players like her own sons since joining UMary in 2000, has her own son on the squad. Jaren Olson is a redshirt freshman defensive lineman in his second season with the Marauders.

HOME OPENER
The Marauders open their home schedule against the Augustana Vikings on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is set for 1  p.m. at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.