BISMARCK, ND – On a beautiful fall homecoming day perfect for college football, growing pains of a youthful football team continued to slow the University of Mary. Playing in front of over 4,200 loyal supporters, the Marauders fell 51-0 to Winona State University in Northern Sun action.
After big plays on offense, defense and special teams helped the Marauders take a second half lead a week prior at Southwest Minnesota State University, Mary found little room to operate on either side of the ball against the Warriors.
Limited to just five first downs in the first half and only two explosive plays of ten or more yards, the Marauders found themselves training 31-0 at intermission. A potent mix of big running and passing plays by Winona State allowed the Warriors to score touchdowns on their first four possessions and a field goal on the fifth.
The Warriors opened the scoring on a 28 yard pass from Jack Nelson to Cameron Johnson just 2:38 into the game. Seemingly down after about a 15 yard gain, Johnson rolled over the top of a Marauders tackler and sprinted the rest of the way to the end zone for the score. Paul Preston added two scoring runs of 14 and 25 yards, sandwiched around a touchdown catch by Nate Gennrich.
The second half started in similar fashion as WSU scored on its first two possessions, the first on a 1-yard Preston run, his third touchdown of the day.
The Marauders defense found its footing late in the third quarter when
Jacob Parker intercepted a Warriors pass in the end zone. It was the junior corner back's first pick of the season.
Cyrano Rayfield had a career day for the Marauders. The reserve sophomore linebacker posted a game-high nine tackles, including one tackle for loss. He also broke up a pass and returned a kick for 10 yards.
Shawn Fulwider and Ryan Naki also knocked down passes for the Marauders.
In addition to the interception, Parker also had four solo tackles to tie for the team high.
Brandon Payne,
Daniel Hunter and Rayfield also had four solo stops.
Ben Jolliffe again led the Marauders in rushing. The junior quarterback ran 12 times for 58 yards, including a long run of 20 yards. Senior fullback
Zach Podoll added 29 yards on the ground.
Zack Graves was the leading receiver with three catches for 14 yards. The senior slotback also returned three kicks for 58 yards, his longest return going 25.
Preston led the Warriors attack with 146 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Eric Birth ran for 113 yards and a score on 11 carries. Jack Nelson passed for 279 yards and two touchdowns, completing 16-of-27 pass attempts. Johnson caught eigh passes for 169 yards and a score.
The Marauders remain at home next weekend to host nationally-ranked Bemidji State University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1.
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