SATURDAY

The first of two straight trophy games for the University of Mary football team, the Marauders visit in-state rival Minot State University Beavers on Saturday, Sept. 15, in the Battle of the Big Lake for the Big Lake Trophy. Game time in this Northern Sun North Division matchup is 3 pm at Herb Parker Stadium in Minot, ND. 

THE RECORDS/LAST WEEK

The Marauders are 0-2 overall/NSIC and 0-2 in the NSIC North after a 66-0 loss to Bemidji State in UMary's home opener... The Beavers are 0-2 / 0-2 following a 42-16 road loss at Northern State in the NSIC Thursday game of the week. 

LAST YEAR

UMary finished last season 1-10 overall and in the NSIC and 1-7 in the NSIC North... MSU was 3-8 in the NSIC and overall and 3-4 in the NSIC North.  

BATTLE OF THE BIG LAKE

This is the 6th annual "Battle of the Big Lake" travelling trophy between the University of Mary and Minot State University. Currently the Marauders-Beavers battle remains the only annual football game in North Dakota between two NCAA members. Mary has played Minot State 26 times, more than any other school. The series began in 1988 when Mary joined the North Dakota College Athletic Conference and went on a hiatus in 2005 when the Marauders moved to NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun. After a seven-year break following the 2005 contest, the two schools resumed the series in 2012 when Minot State was admitted into the Northern Sun.

BIG LAKE TROPHY

The Marauders won the first two "Battle of the Big Lake" travelling trophy games;  45-10 at home in 2013 and 31-29 on the road in (2014). The Beavers claimed the trophy for the first time in 2015 with a 15-9 overtime road win. Minot State has maintained the trophy since with a 21-20 home win in 2016 and a 27-19 victory at the MDU Resources Bowl last year.

BACK-TO-BACK BEAVERS

For the second straight week the Marauders are playing the Beavers - Bemidji State last week and Minot State this week.  

TWO TRAVELING TROPHIES

The Marauders play two games annually for travelling trophies. Combined the Marauders are 10-8 in trophy games. The Marauders are 8-5 in the "Battle for the Paddle" with MSU Moorhead and 2-3 in the "Battle for the Big Lake" against Minot State. 

YOUNG BLOOD

At 28 years old, UMary head coach Craig Bagnell is the youngest head coach in the NCAA. The 2013 University of Mary graduate started his coaching career at Bemidji State in 2014 as a graduate assistant working with receivers. The next season he moved to offensive coordinator where he led a potent Beavers attack the last three years that featured creativity, balance and big plays. A four-year starter at quarterback for the Marauders, Bagnell was a two-time all-conference selection and UMary's all-time career leader in touchdown passes (75) and passing yardage (9,170). 

FIVE PLUS ONE NUMBERS TO KNOW

199 The receiving yards by sophomore Luke Little against the Beavers are the most for the Marauders since Elby Pope matched that figure against St. Cloud State University. 

31 This is the 31st 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. 

26 Starting in 1988, the number of times the Marauders and the Beavers have previously met on the gridiron, including two NAIA playoff games. It is the most times UMary has faced any single football team. 

12 The 12 catches by Luke Little against BSU exceeded the amount of completions by the Marauders in any game last season when the Marauders relied on the triple option. 

8+3 The Marauders have a total of 11 freshmen on their 2-deep depth chart, including eight true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen who did not play last year. 

5 Five teams in Marauders history have won both a conference championship and qualified for the national playoffs. One of those five teams - the 1999 Marauders squad that advanced to the NAIA semifinals - will be inducted into the Marauders Hall of Fame during Homecoming 2018. Former players, coaches and staff on the 1999 team can go to www.GoUMary.com/1999footballRSVP to register for the event. 

HEAD COACHES

At 28 years old, UMary head coach Craig Bagnell is the youngest head coach in the NCAA. The 2013 University of Mary graduate started his coaching career at Bemidji State in 2014 as a graduate assistant working with receivers. The next season he moved to offensive coordinator where he led a potent Beavers attack the last three years that featured creativity, balance and big plays. A four-year starter at quarterback for the Marauders, Bagnell was a two-time all-conference selection and UMary's all-time career leader in touchdown passes (75) and passing yardage (9,170)... Minot State University head coach Mike Aldrich is in his second season with the Beavers and is the 21st head coach in the program's nearly 100 years. He was the assistant head coach and defensive line/linebackers coach at Southwest Minnesota State in 2015-16, where he was the 2016 AFCA D2 Assistant Coach of the Year. Aldrich compiled a record of 22-13 from 2010-12 as head coach at Augie, leading the Vikings to a playoff appearance and an 11-2 mark in 2010. He is 3-10 at MSU and 25-23 lifetime as head coach (5 years). 

THE MARAUDERS-BEAVERS SERIES HISTORY 

(MSU leads series 14-12)

An annual foe for the first 18 years of Marauders football (1988-2005), UMary trails the all-time series with Minot State 13-12...The Beavers have a 13-10 edge during the regular season but the Marauders have won the two playoff meetings (1993 and 2002)... Minot State won the first four match-ups with Mary but the Marauders captured nine of the last 14... 2004: The last Marauders-Beavers game in Bismarck until the 2013 season, Mary hosted Minot State on Oct. 2, 2004. Minot State scored first when Gabe Ellis returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown but the Marauders dominated the remainder of the game in a 13-7 win. Tom Kirchoffner scored on a 1 yard run to even the score late in the first quarter and Justin Lang kicked two field goals for the Marauders. Mary generated just 277 yards of offense but Minot State struggled more, compiling just 205 yards of offense. Kirchoffner completed 16-of-27 passes for 187 yards. Jake Pfau caught seven passes for 96 yards. Bobby Usher led the Marauders with eight tackles... 2012: Elby Pope exploded for 154 receiving yards and a touchdown and Zach Roberson threw for 328 yards in his first collegiate start, but the University of Mary was stunned in the fourth quarter of a 32-21 loss at Minot State University. The Beavers scored three touchdowns in the final stanza to pull out a victory... 2013: In its most dominating performance of the year, Mary scored 38 unanswered first-half points in a 45-10 homecoming win over Minot State University. The win was the 100th for Marauders head coach Myron Schulz. It was also the first "Battle of the Big Lake" travelling trophy. Mary forced four turnovers. One play after Preston Tescher blocked a punt Dariouse Gravely ran 42 yards for a TD. A 10 yard MSU punt led to a 2-yard Gravely TD. A Tescher fumble recovery of a MSU punt return turned into a Bagnell-to-Pope 18-yard TD pass. Bagnell later added two TD passes to Nick Jolliffe. CJ Drakeford closed the scoring on an interception return. Gravely ran for 84 yards and two TDs. Bagnell was 11-of-21 for 148 yards and three TDs. Jolliffe was 5-97-2. Grant Singer posted 2.0 tackles/loss and an interception. Troy Guptill had 1.5 TFL.. 2014: With Minot State facing 3rd-and-goal at the Marauders 5 with time running out, Seth Walton sacked Beavers QB Zac Cuhna and forced a fumble recovered by Grant Singer with 14 seconds left in the game to preserve a 31-29 Mary road win. The Marauders led 14-0 at intermission on two scoring runs by Ben Jolliffe. Two Leon La Deaux TD catches from Cuhna and a pickoff of a score game Minot State a 22-14 lead. A Dariouse Gravely scoring run, a touchdown pass by Ben Jolliffe to older brother Nick Jolliffe, and a Brody Riggs field goal midway through the fourth put the Marauders up 31-22. Ben Jolliffe ran for 75 yards and two scores and passed for 171 yards and a score. Nick Jolliffe caught 6-105-1. Singer had 13 tackles, 2.5 tackles and the fumble recovery. Guptill added 2.5 TFL. Cuhna threw for 370 yards and two scores and La Deaux was 6-124-2. Levi Freidt had 16 tackles... 2015: Jarvis Mustipher scored on a 2-yd run in overtime to lead the visiting Beavers to a 15-9 win over the Marauders. Zack Graves ran 36 yards for a TD in the 3rd quarter but the extra point attempt failed. A Charles Hall 1-yd TD run and a safety gave MSU a 9-6 lead but Cody Goetz forced overtime with a 27-yard field goal with :04 left in regulation. Caleb Buck passed for 214 yards and Graves ran for 67. Austin Bolton had 16 tackles. Mustipher ran for 154 yards... 2016 Zack Graves ran for 101 yards and threw a 58-yard scoring pass to Sam Saucedo, Cody Goetz made two field goals and Jacob Parker returned an interception for a touchdown but it was a late Minot State score that lifted the Beavers to a 21-20 win over the Marauders. The season finale, Ray Watkins caught a 1 yard scoring pass from Jose Escobar with 13:50 left in the game for Minot State to claim the win. All other points were scored in the first half. Danielle Whitaker had 14 tackles in his final game for UMary, including three for loss. Jarvis Mustipher ran for 96 yards and Escobar passed for 146 yards and two scores to lead MSU... 2017: On a day made for running the ball, UMary posted 317 rushing yards to 260 for Minot State. THe Marauders opened the scoring with a pair of first quarter touchdowns from DeShawn Gay and Brennan Doan. After MSU scored a pair of 2nd quarter TDs, UMary took a 19-12 lead on a 24-yard run by Garrett Weissinger in the 3rd. The Beavers then rallied to score 15 points in the 4th to  take control of the game. Both scores were by Larry Overstreet, including a 76 yard run with 62 seconds left in the game. Weissinger led UM with 86 yards rushing. Jacob Parker broke up three passes. Overstreet had 190 yards rushing for MSU.

PAST MARAUDERS-BEAVERS MEETINGS (MSU leads series 14-12) 

1988 Minot State 42 Mary 22 Bismarck, N.D.

1989 Minot State 28 Mary 24 Minot, N.D.

1990 Minot State 26 Mary 7 Bismarck, N.D.

1991 Minot State 21 Mary 7 Minot, N.D.

1992 Mary 26 Minot State 23 Bismarck, N.D.

1993 Minot State 27 Mary 24 Minot, N.D.

1993 Mary 31 Minot State 20 Minot, N.D. (NAIA Playoff game)

1994 Minot State 31 Mary 24 Bismarck, ND

1995 Mary 14 Minot State 7 Minot, ND

1996 Minot State 23 Mary 7 Bismarck, ND

1997 Minot State 21 Mary 7 Minot, ND

1998 Mary 36 Minot State 12 Bismarck, ND

1999 Mary 41 Minot State 10 Minot, ND

2000 Mary 45 Minot State 6 Bismarck, ND

2001 Mary 43 Minot State 38 Minot, ND

2002 Minot State 35 Mary 21 Bismarck, ND

2002 Mary 21 Minot State 18 Bismarck, ND  (NAIA Playoff game)

2003 Mary 27 Minot State 6 Minot, ND

2004 Mary 13 Minot State 7 Bismarck ND

2005 Minot State 14 Mary 10 Minot, ND

2012 Minot State 32 Mary 21 Minot, ND

2013 Mary 45 Minot State 10 Bismarck, ND

2014 Mary 31 Minot State 29 Minot, ND

2015 Minot State 15 Mary 9 (OT) Bismarck, ND

2016 Minot State 21 Mary 20 Minot, ND

2017 Minot State 27 Mary 19 Bismarck, ND

QUICK LOOK AT THE MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY BEAVERS

The Beavers have opened up with a couple difficult games, falling 49-3 to Minnesota Duluth in the opener at home before losing at Northern State in a Thursday night tilt 42-16. Sophomore QB Ben Bolinske is the team's leading rusher with 114 yards and a score. He has also thrown for 209 yards, including an 87-yarder. Lavante Bushnell has a team-high 10 catches for 101 yards. Logan Krueger has 2.0 tackles for loss. Chris Rivers os the leading tackler with 15 (eight solo). The Beavers are +4 in turnovers, forcing four fumbles and intercepting three passes. MSU is giving up twice as many yards as it has collected, allowing 549 per game and gaining 223.5.

LAST WEEK

A big day by Luke Little highlighted the UMary home opener, catching a career-high 12 passes for 199 yards in a 66-0 setback to Bemidji State.  He fell one catch shy of the school record of 13... Jordan Velarde completed 15-of-24 passes for 135 yards for the Marauders. He hit Little for his two longest gainers of 46 and 35 yards. Freshman Jason Hoekstra, making his collegiate debut, went 13-of-23 for 127 yards...Tyson Carney added seven catches for the Marauders... Beiley Meyer averaged 42.4 yards per punt with a long of 55. He landed two of eight attempts inside the 20 yard line... Freshman Maxwell Askew provided several big plays late in the game for the Marauders. The linebacker had three tackles for loss, broke up a pass, and totaled none tackles... Brothers Grady and Will Blewett combined for 19 tackles. Grady Blewett had a team-high 10 tackles (six solo) with a sack. Will Blewell had seven solo stops among his nine tackles... Noah Krebs added seven tackles... Sage Booker led BSU with 163 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns and Jalen Frye added 127 yards rushing. 

DEBUTS

A couple true freshmen had strong performances for the Marauders against Bemidji State. LB Maxwell Askew posted three tackles for loss and made nine total tackles. He also broke up a pass against the Beavers. QB Jason Hoekstra threw for 127 yards in his collegiate debut, completing 13-of-23 attempts. Additional Kade Lynch caught a 23-yard pass. 

TAG TEAM

Brothers Grady and WIll Blewett combined for 19 tackles against the Beavers. Grady made 10 stops in the game, making six solo stops and .5 tackles for loss. Will had nine tackles, seven solo. The tackles were career-highs for both players. Grady is 11th in the NSIC in tackles at 8.5/game. 

PROTECTION

Marauders quarterbacks have been sacked just three times in two games, the fourth-best mark in the NSIC.  

LITTLE LOOMS LARGE

Soph. WR Luke Little is second in the NSIC in yards receiving per game (126.5) and third in receptions/game (8.00). He has 16 catches for 253 yards after two games. 

BOOMER

Jr. All-NSIC punter Bailey Meyer is second in the league with an average of 45.1 yards/punt. He has five punts of 50 yards or longer, dropped four inside the 20 yard line and has forced one fair catch in his 15 attempts. 

NSIC FAMILIARITY

Of the ten coaches on Craig Bagnell's staff, nine have either coached at or graduated from a Northern Sun school. Bagnell, Jordan Noskowiak, Matthew Splon and Rufus Saylee all have played and coached in the NSIC. Brett Holinka, Mark Martin and Tristian Johnson all coached in the NSIC at other schools before joining UMary in the off season. Randy Bandelow is in his third season with the Marauders and Nick Voorhees his second. 

FAMILIARITY

The Marauders return five starting offensive linemen from last year. Senior Nick Benshetler enters his fourth season as a starter. Fellow senior and team captain Jared Taylor and junior Tyson Lytle are three-year starters. Junior Hunter Hanson started all 11 games last season. Junior Rory Olson started several games as a redshirt freshman and last year as a junior. 

BROTHERS BLEWETT

The Marauders will have a pair of brothers from Bozeman, MT, starting at linebacker. Jr. Grady Blewett appeared in 11 games last season and had 20 tackles. R-Fr. Will Blewett redshirted last season... This is the second straight year the Marauders will start a brother combo on defense as Brady and Jarad Zittleman started in the backfield. 

BROTHERS

The Marauders other sibling duo is Jr. Noah Krebs and Fr. Jonah Krebs, both linebackers from St. Mary's in Bismarck, ND.

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 junior defensive lineman.

USS ANCHORAGE

Two Marauders are veterans of the United States Navy and served together on the USS Anchorage, one of the country's newest vessels. Jordan Beaty and Daquavian Ross are redshirt sophomores who joined the Marauders in 2016. Ross appeared in four games last season and moved up the depth chart to 2nd team this season. Beaty, who ran for 181 yards last year and caught a TD pass, is the Marauders starting RB.