SATURDAY
After spending September facing Northern Sun South Division teams, the University of Mary begins the chase for the NSIC North crown on Military Appreciation Day when the Bemidji State University Beavers visit the Capital City. The two North Division foes square off at 1 pm on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 0-4 overall and in the Northern Sun. Mary has not yet played a game against the NSIC North... The Beavers are 3-1 overall and in the NSIC and also has yet to play an NSIC North opponent.

MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY
Saturday is Military Appreciation Day for Marauders football. To honor and recognize their service to our nation, all Military Service members and a guest will be admitted to the Marauders-Beavers football game for free with their military ID. Additionally, the Marauders will wear camouflage jerseys during the game, courtesy of the North Dakota National Guard.

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 Beavers were 7-4 overall and in the NSIC to finish 6th in the league overall and tied for first in the NSIC North division at 6-1.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders dropped a 51-0 decision on homecoming to Winona State University... The Beavers lost 37-36 at #14 Sioux Falls.

YEAR IN YEAR OUT
This is the 11th straight season the Marauders have played the Beavers. Bemidji State is one of four teams Mary has faced every season since beginning NCAA play in 2006.

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 6-20 lifetime (3rd year). 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... In his 18th season as a coach at Bemidji State University, interim head coach Brent Bolte took over the reigns just days before the opening game of the season due to the suspension of longtime head coach Jeff Tesch. Tesch won over 120 games in 20 seasons as BSU coach, more wins that the previous 14 head coaches combined. Bolte was the Beavers defensive coordinator. A 1998 graduate of Cornell College, Bolte has the Beavers off to a 3-1 start and receiving votes in the national poll.

THE MARAUDERS-BEAVERS SERIES HISTORY (BSU leads series 6-4)
Close games are one of the hallmarks in a series Bemidji State leads 6-4. Four of the games were decided by six or fewer points... 2006: Playing an NCAA D2 schedule for the first time, Mary defeated eventual Northern Sun champion Bemidji State 27-21 to ruin the Beavers homecoming. The Marauders grabbed a 21-7 lead on Blair Sandy TD passes to Matt Wall and Stacy Martin and an 85-yard Shawn Melland fumble recovery. BSU would rally to take a lead but Justin Fleck scored the winning points on a 4-yd run with 41 seconds left in the game. Mary managed just 167 yards of offense. Jesse Laber had three tackles for loss... 2007: Roman Penirian caught a 25-yd TD pass from Sandy in the 2nd quarter and Rett Thibodeaux booted a 26-yd field goal in the 3rd in a 10-0 Marauders home win. Brandon Lewis and Laber both had two sacks as Mary limited BSU to 242 yards of offense... 2008: Erik Kruse caught nine passes for 125 yards and Penerian had seven for 112 but BSU's George Kadlec caught two scoring passes, including one covering 85 yards, and totaled three catches for 156 yards in a 31-10 Beavers win... 2009: Mary threw three interceptions and couldn't overcome a 21-point deficit at home. Jamal Lomax scored the Marauders lone TD and ran for 71 yards. Dustin Kroeplin ran for 105 yards and a TD for BSU in its 21-7 win... 2010: With 2:08 left in the game and pinned at its 2-yard line, BSU drove 89 yards and kicked a 26-yd field goal with 21 second remaining in a 23-22 Beavers win. A defensive battle, BSU out-gained the Marauders 289-262. Lomax carried 29 times for 88 yards. Kroeplin led BSU with 72 yards rushing and one score... 2011: Mary defeated a nationally-ranked NCAA school for the first time in a 49-21 rout of #20 BSU. Tyler Steffan caught eight passes for 202 yards and three TDs. His first score came on a double pass from fellow wideout Curtis Darrah. Josh Murray and Even Gross  both ran for two TDs and Murray added 117 yards on the ground. Craig Bagnell was 18-of-26 for 315 yards and two scores. Defensively the Marauders forced three turnovers.. 2012: Bemidji State ran off 29 straight points and Mary turned the ball over on downs at the Beavers two yard line plus threw three red zone interceptions in the Marauders 29-21 home loss. Elby Pope caught 10 passes for 123 yards and Zach Roberson threw for 307 yards and two scores with four interceptions. Dustin Kroeplin ran for 111 yards and a TD. Lance Rongstad completed 16-of-24 passes for 261 yards and a TD and ran for 48 yards and a score... 2013: SR QB Craig Bagnell became U-Mary's career passing yardage leader in a 26-17 win at Bemidji State. Down 10-3 at half, Bagnell threw a 2 yard TD pass to Nick Jolliffe and ran 1 yard for a TD and UM led 19-10 after three quarters. Bagnell was 21-of-30 for 311 yards and finished the game with a Mary career passing yardage record of 7,962 yards. Joliffe caught seven passes for a career-high 137 yards and 1 TD. UM had 404 yards of offense to 286 for BSU. Grant Singer had 14 tackles (2.0 for loss), Troy Guptill nine (1.5 sacks, 3.0 TFL) and John Oyloe added 1.5 sacks of U-Mary's seven sacks. Avery Walker led BSU with 122 yards rushing with 1 TD... 2014 Big plays by Bemidji State University and a Mary special teams miscue allowed the Beavers to shade the Marauders 21-20. The Marauders led 20-14 after Elby Pope caught a 37 yard TD from Ben Jolliffe with 10:34 left in the game, but the extra point attempt failed. BSU took the lead on a Chris Lunde TD reception of 8 yards with 9:16 left. UM had 281 yards of offense to 383 for BSU (297 pass). Pop had a 6-73-2 receiving line and Nick Jolliffe was 5-37-1. Ben Jolliffe was 13-of-26 for 167 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT. Grant Singer had 11 tackles and an interception. Ryan Shields was 17-of-38 for 276 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs for BSU, WR Blake Holder was 6-99-1. Colton Blascyk recorded 12 tackles (2.5 TFL). 2015: Bemidji State led 20-0 less than nine minutes into the game on the way to a 39-7 home win. Caleb Buck attempted a school-record 64 passes for Mary, completing 32 for 299 yards. Brennan Doan caught 6 passes for 98 yards and a 51 yard TD. The Marauders blocked four kicks, including two by Danielle Whitaker. BSU's Tahi Nomane ran for 95 yards and 2 TDS. QB Jordan Hein ran for 79 yards and threw for 217 yards and two TDs.  

PAST MARAUDERS-BEAVERS MEETINGS (BSU leads 6-4)
2006     Mary 27         Bemidji State 21        Bemidji, MN
2007     Mary 10         Bemidji State 7        Bismarck, ND
2008     Bemidji State 31     Mary 10            Bemidji, MN
2009     Bemidji State 21     Mary 7            Bismarck, ND
2010     Bemidji State 23     Mary 22            Bemidji, MN
2011     Mary 49         #20 Bemidji State 21    Bismarck, ND
2012    Bemidji State 29     Mary 21            Bismarck, ND
2013    Mary 26        Bemidji State 19        Bemidji, MN
2014    Bemidji State 21    Mary 20            Bismarck, ND
2015    Bemidji State 39    Mary 7            Bemidji, MN

QUICK LOOK AT THE BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY BEAVERS
Despite losing their head coach to suspension just before the season started, Bemidji State University won each of its first three games of the season by at least two touchdowns and are within a failed 2-point conversion of being undefeated. The Beavers suffered a 37-36 loss at #12 Sioux Falls last time out, falling just short on a 2-point conversion after scoring a touchdown with 19 second left in the game. BSU was ranked 22nd in the country before the game and is now just outside the top 25, sitting atop the Others Receiving Votes section. Jr. QB Jordan Hein has thrown for nine touchdowns with seven interceptions, completes 60.7 percent of his passes and averages 287 yards passing/game. Hein also has run for 218 yards and five TDs. Gena Adams averages 8.2 yards/carry and has run for 343 yards. Tahi Nomane leads BSU with seven rushing touchdowns and is third with 210 yards. Juwaan Richard has 18 catches for 223 yards and two scores, all team highs. 2x All-NSIC center Jordan Hein leads the offensive line. So. CB Gunnar Olszewski - also a baseball player for BSU - is the Beavers leading defender. The 2015 NSIC Defensive Newcomer of the Year has 39 tackles (23 solo), three interceptions and five pass breakups. Damon Benham also has three interceptions. Trysten Ross has 31 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss. Alex Burgess leads BSU in sacks (3.5) and tackles for loss (5.0).

REWIND: Winona State University 51 Mary 0
Winona State University put a damper on the 2016 University of Mary homecoming as the Warriors swept past the Marauders 51-0. 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. WSU also scored on its first two possessions of the second half. Cyrano Rayfield had a career day for the Marauders with nine tackles (one for a loss), a pass breakup and a kick return for 10 yards. Shawn Fulwider and Ryan Naki also knocked down passes for the Marauders and Jacob Parker had an interception. Jr. QB Ben Jolliffe led UM with 58 yards rushing and Sr. FB 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. Paul 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. Cameron Johnson caught eight passes for 169 yards and a score.

WELCOME HOME
The Bemidji State offensive coordinator is a familiar face to Marauders fans. Craig Bagnell quarterbacked the Marauders for four seasons (2010-13) and is the Marauders all-time leader in passing yardage (9,170) and touchdown passes (75). A four-year starter, Bagnell twice earned All-NSIC honors. After serving as a graduate student in 2014 at BSU, he was elevated to offensive coordinator in 2015.  

TOUGH ROW TO HOE
The Marauders first five opponents are a combined 14-6 this season. Augustana, Southwest Minnesota State and Bemidji State have either been ranked or received votes in the national poll at some point in 2016.

DISCIPLINE
The Marauders rank fourth in NCAA Division II and atop the Northern Sun in fewest penalties per game (3.75) and fifth and first in fewest penalty yards per game (30.35). Marauders opponents are being penalized 50.2 yards per game on 5.25 penalties/game.

TIGHT GRIP
Despite running an offense that relies on deft ballhanding that can result in mishandling the ball, the Marauders are among the nation's leaders in fewest fumbles lost. Mary has only fumbled the ball away once this season to rank 11th in the nation and second in the NSIC.

NUCLEAR FOOTBALL
Mary's offense has protected its football almost as well as the President of the United States and the Secret Service protect The Football containing the nuclear weapon launch codes. The Marauders have committed just three turnovers this season (one fumble, two interceptions), leading the NSIC and ranking seventh in the NCAA for fewest turnovers lost.

T.O.P.
One of the reasons for moving to the triple option offense was to control the clock and the Marauders are finding success in this area. The Marauders are second in the NSIC and tenth in NCAA Division II in time of possession at 34:35 minutes per game.

BOLT THE DOOR
SR LB Austin Bolton saw his streak of reaching double digits in tackles snapped at three when he posted six stops against Winona State. The Joliet, IL, native now ranks second in the Northern Sun and 32nd in the country at 10.0 tackles/game.

BIG DAY
So. LB Cyrano Rayfield had his biggest game as a collegian against Winona State. Rayfield posted a team-high nine tackles, knocked down a pass, had a tackle for loss and returned a kickoff ten yards.

PICK CITY
Jr. CB Jacob Parker pulled down his first interception of the season against Winona State, intercepting a pass in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. It was his sixth career pickoff. For the season he is second on the team in tackles (23).

A BUSY MAN
Sr. RB Zack Graves has made several explosive plays for the Marauders this season, including a 68-yard kick return at SMSU. Graves is averaging 27.8 yards/return on kicks, 6th in the NSIC and 41st in NCAA Division II. He is also 67th in combined kick return yardage (222) in D2. He is the Marauders team leader in receptions (7 for 54 yards) and has run the ball 26 times for 102 yards.

COVERAGE
The Marauders special teams have been solid in kick coverage all season. Opponents are averaging just 15.8 yards/return on kicks, the second best figure in the NSIC. Additionally opposing punt returners are averaging just 6.6 yards/return on nine attempts. Fr. P Bailey Meyer has punted 26 times and has forced the opposing returner to call eight fair catches. Three of his punts we downed inside the 20 yard line with just two reaching the end zone.    

BEHIND THE LINE
Seeing the most extensive time of his young career, sophomore defensive tackle Brody Peterson has quickly made an impact in opposing backfields. The native of Lemmon, SD, owns a team-high 2.5 sacks. He posted 1.5 sacks against Concordia-St. Paul and one sack against Augustana.