SATURDAY
The University of Mary sets sail to Northern Minnesota to take on the Bemidji State University in a meeting between Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division foes. The Marauders-Beavers kickoff is set for 1 pm on Saturday, Oct 7, at Chet Anderson Stadium in Bemidji, MN.   

THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 0-5 overall and in the Northern Sun and 0-1 in the NSIC North... The Beavers are 3-2 overall and in the Northern Sun and 1-0 in the NSIC North.  

LAST WEEK
The Marauders fell 27-19 at home to Minot State University in the Battle of the Big Lake... The Beavers rolled past the University of Minnesota Crookston 56-0 in a road game to claim the Hubcap Rivalry win.

LAST YEAR
The Marauders finished the 2016 season 1-10 overall and in the Northern Sun and 1-6 in the NSIC North division, placing 15th overall in the conference and sixth in the North division... The Beavers finished 9-3 overall, 8-3 in the Northern Sun and 5-2 in the NSIC North. BSU closed the season with a 36-23 win over Washburn in the Mineral Water Bowl.

MIDPOINT
WIth five games in the books and six remaining, this is the midpoint of the season for the Marauders.

FIVE + 1 NUMBERS TO KNOW
225.6 The Marauders are third in the Northern Sun in rushing offense with 225.6 yards per game, despite already facing the top two run defenses in the conference (Sioux Falls and Minnesota State).

86 In his first start of the season, sophomore quarterback Garrett Weissinger ran for a career-high 86 yards and a touchdown against Minot State. He ran for 24 and 20 yards on consecutive plays on the opening drive of the second half of the MSU game. The 20 yard run was for a touchdown and gave the Marauders a 19-12 lead.

65 The Marauders defense held Minot State to just 65 yards passing and seven completions in 16 attampts. This was the second-fewest passing yards UMary has allowed since joining the Northern Sun and NCAA in 2006 behind the 45 allowed to MSU Moorhead in 2015.

64 In a new role this season at fullback, sophomore Paul Guptill ran for a career-best 64 yards on just 12 carries against the Beavers.  

30 This is the 30th season of Marauders football. After playing a junior varsity schedule in 1987, head coach Jim Driscoll led the 1988 squad to a 27-18 home win in the program's first varsity game. UMary honored the members of the 1988 team - known as The Originals - last weekend during the Minot State game.

3+1 Senior captain Jacob Parker played a key role as the Marauders limited the Beavers to 65 yards passing as he broke up three passes in the game. He also was credited with a blocked kick on a point after touchdown attempt.

HEAD COACHES
Josh Kotelnicki is in his fourth 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 30th season. Kotelnicki directed the Marauders to a 5-6 record in his first season in 2014 and is 7-31 lifetime (four years). 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... In his 19th season as a coach at Bemidji State University, head coach Brent Bolte took the reigns just days before the opening game of the 2016 season on an interim basis and led the Beavers to a 9-3 mark and a win in the Mineral Water Bowl. He was named the full-time head coach in the offseason and now has a career mark of 12-5. A 1998 graduate of Cornell College, Bolte had been the Beavers defensive coordinator.

THE MARAUDERS-BEAVERS SERIES HISTORY
(BSU leads series 7-4)
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 UMary'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... 2016: In the most lopsided game in the series, BSU defeated UMary 52-3. BSU scored the first 52 points in the game, including 28 points in the third quarter to seal the game. Gena Adams opened the scoring with an 86 yard TD run. He finished with two scores and 179 yards rushing. Michael Washington scored three times and ran for 82 yards. Jordan Hein passed for 174 yards and 2 TDs and ran for 101 yards and a TD.  

PAST MARAUDERS-BEAVERS MEETINGS (BSU leads 7-4)
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
2016            #RV Bemidji State 52 Mary 3                                            Bismarck, ND

QUICK LOOK AT THE BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY BEAVERS
The Beavers own one of the top offenses and defenses in the NSIC... BSU is second in scoring (39.4 ppg) and fifth in scoring defense (19.8 ppg)... The Beavers are second in the NSIC with a +9 turnover margin (15 takeaways and 6 giveaways... Tied for the league lead in interceptions with Wayne State at 13 each... Allowing just 103.8 yards/game on the ground... Second in the league in sacks (15) and 12 different players have at least half a sack... Sr. QB Jordan Hein is 3rd in league in total offense (258.8 yards/game). Hein averages 241 yards passing/game and has thrown 13 TDs to just three interceptions, the best ratio in the league... K Isaac Aanerud is 11-12 on field goal attempts this season... LB Nikko Daniello leads BSU with 7.5 tackles for loss and 42 tackles... EJ Olszewski intercepted three passes against UMC - returning one for a TD - and has four total on the season... Andrew Lackowsji leads the team with 299 yards rushing... Blake Holder (16-253-3) is one of three Beavers with three receiving TDs...

WEEK 5 REWIND
A back-and-forth contest featuring UMary scoring in the first and third quarters and Minot State in the second and the fourth left the Marauders just short in a 27-19 loss to the Beavers in the Battle for the Big Lake / Big Lake trophy game. DeShawn Gay and Brennan Doan scored on the first two drives of the game for UMary before MSU responded with two touchdowns in the second to tie the game 12-12 at intermission. Garrett Weissinger drove the Marauders for a score on UMary's first possession of the second half, running for a 20 yard touchdown for a 19-12 lead. MSU gained their first lead of the game on a Larry Overstreet touchdown early in the fourth. Taking over at the Marauders 4 yard line after a UMary fumble, Overstreet scored on the next play. Using a bit of deception on the point after attempt, the holder, Taylor Maloney, scored a two-point for a 20-19 lead and the winning points. Overstreet later was allowed to run 76 yards for a touchdown by the UMary defense with 1:02 remaining to allow the Marauders a chance to drive the field with time on the clock and tie the game on a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. Weissinger led UMary with 86 yards rushing. Paul Guptill added 64, Gay 43 and Doan 39. Doan also had two catches for 17 yards. As a team the Marauders ran for 276 of their 306 total yards. Dylan Anthony and Chris Kraft both had eight tackles and Jacob Parker broke up three passes. Overstreet ran for 190 yards and three touchdowns to lead MSU. Zac Cuhna added 41 yards and passed for 65. The MSU defense forced three Marauders turnovers.  

WE KNOW YOU
BSU offensive coordinator is former UMary all-conference player Craig Bagnell, the Marauders all-time leading in passing yardage (9,170) and touchdown passes (75) who played for the Blue & Orange from 2010-13.

BLOCK PARTY
The Marauders blocked the first two Beavers point after attempts with Noah Krebs and Jacob Parker receiving individual credit. UMary's early efforts forced the Beavers to try a 2-point conversion on their third touchdown, which proved successful.

PINPOINT PRECISION
Soph. P Bailey Meyer in the last two weeks has downed seven punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line, including four against Upper Iowa and three against Minot State in 11 tries. For the season Meyer has placed 12 of his 28 punts inside the 20. He is averaging 39.7 yards/punt - second in the NSIC - and has a long of 66 yards. Maybe most impressive is he has had just two touchbacks.

RUSH HOUR
Soph. DL Daniel Hudrlik leads the team in sacks with 2.0 and in tackles for loss with 2.5. He also has broken up two passes. For the year he has 20 tackles.  

INFRACTION REDUCTION
The Marauders are risk adverse to taking penalties, ranking second in the NSIC in fewest penalty yards/game at 44.6. Additionally UM opponents are averaging 40.4 penalty yards per game, third-lowest in the league.

TOWARDS TOP OF THE T.O.P.
UMary is second in the NSIC in time of possession at 33:28 per game. St. Cloud State leads at 34:37.

BIG HITTER
Freshman DeShawn Gay leads the Marauders in rushing with 258 yard and two touchdowns in 43 carries, a stellar average of 6.0 yards/carry. He had a season-high 144 at Wayne State College that included a 59 yard scoring burst.  

BIG HITTER 2
Noah Krebs is 11th in the NSIC in tackles with 41 (21 solo).

YOUNG
Seven of the top nine tacklers this season are underclassmen for UMary, led by sophomore Noah Krebs (41), freshman Jarad Zittleman (29) sophomore Chris Kraft (23), freshmen Dylan Anthony and Casey Uhler (21) and sophomore Daniel Hudrlik (17). Seniors Jacob Parker is third with 24 tackles and Brady Zittleman in sixth (16).

BROTHERS
Senior defensive back Brady Zittleman and his younger brother, redshirt freshman Jarad Zittleman, both started in the defensive backfield against Minnesota State. It was the first time the two Mandan, ND, natives have played together in a varsity contest.

BROTHERS PART TWO
In addition to the Zittleman brothers, the Marauders have three other brother combinations on the team. Sophomore LB Coleton Ford and R-Fr. SB Jaxon Ford are brothers from Bismarck, ND, sophomore LB Grady Blewett and freshman Will Blewett are brothers from Belgrade, MT, and junior PK Cody Goetz and FR WR Cameron Goetz are brothers from Eden Prairie, MN.