SATURDAY
The 2019 comes to a close this weekend when the University of Mary hosts the University of Minnesota Crookston on Senior Day. The Marauders and the Golden Eagles kick off at 2 pm on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck, ND. 

THE RECORDS/LAST WEEK
The Marauders (1-9 overall/NSIC | 0-6 NSIC North) fell 59-7 to visiting University of Minnesota Duluth in the first of two straight home games for UMary... The Golden Eagles (0-10 overall / NSIC | 0-6 NSIC North) lost to Northern State 42-17 in the home season finale for the Golden Eagles. 

SENIOR DAY
The University of Mary football team will honor their seniors on Saturday, Nov. 16, when 12 Marauders will take to the field for the final time in the last home game of the season. The Marauders 12 seniors are Grady Blewett (LB, Bozeman, MT), Michael Buster (TE, Laurel, MT), Sebastian Franck-Love (RB, Inglewood, CA), Paul Guptill (LB, Quinn, SD), Hunter Hanson (OL, Fargo, ND), Dre Jackson (DB, Atlanta, GA), Noah Krebs (LB, Bismarck, ND), Tyson Lytle (OL, Fargo, ND), Bailey Meyer (P, Sheboygan, WI), Rory Olson (OL, Hazen, ND), Cyrano Rayfield (DL, Ottawa, IL) and Garrett Weissinger (WR, Phoenix, AZ)... Blewett, Buster, Guptill, Hanson, Krebs, Lytle, Meyer, Olson, Rayfield and Weissinger all played four seasons for the Marauders... Sebastian-Franck transferred to UMary and played three seasons for the Marauders... this was the lone season at UMary for Jackson... 11 of the seniors have been in the starting lineup this season... Hanson, Krebs, Lytle and Meyer have started throughout their four seasons with the Marauders.

THE BACKSTORY
In the history of the Marauders football program, UMary has played Minnesota Crookston more times - 17 - than any other team on this year's schedule except Minot State University (28). In addition to playing the Golden Eagles for the 14th straight year on Saturday, Mary also faced UMC four times in the 1990s when both schools were members of the North Dakota College Athletic Conference (UMC was the lone member not located in ND). This is the 14th straight season the Marauders have played the Golden Eagles, one of five teams Mary has faced every season since beginning NCAA play in 2006. 

BACK TO BACK
The Marauders wrap up the 2019 season with consecutive home games. After hosting Minnesota Duluth last week, the Marauders host Minnesota Crookston on Nov. 16 in the season finale. 

CAMPING IN THE BACKFIELD
Cyrano Rayfield owns 24 tackles for loss in his Marauders career. With one game left to lay for the senior, Rayfield ranks 13th all-time, tied with Jason Aman and Landon Smith.

BOOMER
Bailey Meyer will finish as the Marauders career punting leader. The senior has averaged 39.7 yards/punt in his career on 270 attempts. Last year Meyer set the school's single season record by averaging 41.7 yards/punt. This season he is averaging 41.4 yards/punt. Meyer currently ranks 18th in NCAA Division II and 2nd in the NSIC. 

ALL AROUND AWESOME
Danny Kittner has provided big plays all season for the Marauders in all facets of the game, perhaps none bigger than a 71 yard punt return for a touchdown in the homecoming win over Upper Iowa. Here are a few highlights and rankings for the sophomore wide receiver/kick returner:
1st in NSIC and 16th in NCAA Division II in All Purpose yards (149.7/game)
1st NSIC/6th nationally in combined punt/kick return yardage (795)
3rd in NSIC in kick return average (22.6)
5th in NSIC/74th nationally in receiving yards (658)
6th NSIC/83rd nationally in receiving yards/game (65.8)
9th NSIC/94th nationally in receptions/game (4.4)
Averages an impressive 13.9 yards/return on ten returns
1st UMary player to post 100 yards receiving and 100 on returns in two consecutive NCAA games (5 catches for 136 yards and 1 TD receiving, two runs for 16 yards and five kick returns for 107 yards for 254 all purpose yards on 12 touches against Minot State; seven catches for 121 yards and a score, returned three punts for 35 yards and had two kick returns for 86 yards for 242 yards at MSU Moorhead)
1st UMary player with consecutive 200+ all purpose yards since All-NSIC WR Elby Pope in final four games of 2014
3 straight 100 yard receiving games (5-136-1 v Minot State, 7-121-1 at MSUM, 3-101-0 at USF), longest streak since Elby Pope in final four games of 2014
Kittner is also among the league leaders in explosive plays. He has six receptions of at least 34 yards. Kittner has three of the 18 longest kick returns in the NSIC this season plus two of the nine longest punt returns. 
Effort of 259 all-purpose yards against Minot State is the top mark in the NSIC this season. The 242 yards at MSU Moorhead ranks third. 

GALLOPING GUPTILL
When senior LB Paul Guptill returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown against Northern State, it was the third straight season Guptill has found the end zone. He scored a defensive TD as a junior on a 49 yard fumble return. As a sophomore while playing running back, he caught a 56 yards scoring pass and ran 54 yards for a TD in the same game against Minnesota Duluth.

LOGAN'S RUN
Since UMary began playing NCAA competition in 2006, the Marauders have had eight runs of at least 60 yards and Logan Nelson owns two of them. The junior QB had a 72 yard run against UIU and 62 yards against Minot State. If you include his runs of 55 and 49 yards, Nelson has four of the top 15 runs- and he's only played in six games... Marauders quarterbacks have run for over 100 yards four times in an NCAA game and Logan Nelson has two of them. He ran for 149 yards against Minot State and 129 against Upper Iowa. The other two: Colton Farmer ran for 175 at Minnesota Crookston in 2018 and Blair Sandy posted 111 against UMC in 2006... Becoming proficient at running and passing, Logan Nelson became the first UMary player to crack 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing against Upper Iowa when he carried the ball for 129 yards and a score and passed for 205 and two touchdowns. Earlier this year he ran for 149 and three scored and passed for 179 and a score. 

IMPORTED FROM ITALY
A native of Bergamo, Italy, Leonardo Vecchi joined the Marauders from Butte Community College and caught his second touchdown of the season for the Marauders against Upper Iowa. He also caught a scoring pass against Bemidji State. For the year he has 22 catches for 324 yards and two scores. 

TRIPLE THREAT
As a multi-purpose player who played a considerable amount at quarterback the previous couple seasons, Garrett Weissinger has ran for six touchdowns in his career and passed for seven. Against Upper Iowa the senior wide receiver caught his first touchdown pass, a 14 yard reception in the end zone from Logan Nelson. For the year the team captain has 19 catches for 221 yards and one TD.

LITTLE PLAYING BIG
Marauders All-NSIC wide receiver Luke Little passed 1,000 career receiving yards this season and now has 1,080 in 22 games for the Marauders. The junior posted TD catches in three straight games this season spanning Minnesota State, Wayne State and Northern State. His season line is 25-356-3. 

YOUNGSTERS
Injuries to the offensive line have provided true freshmen Drake Lalim and Conner Paul the opportunity to play vital roles for the Marauders this season. Lalim has made seven starts at left tackle while Paul has started five times at right guard. Other true freshmen who have played this season include LB/DB Darrin Cotton Jr. and DB Damon Williamson. 

EXPLOSION
It's not a matter of if but when the Marauders will strike for a big play as UMary has generated several big plays on offense this season. QB Logan Nelson has been involved in 23 plays of 20+ yards, including four runs of 49+ yards and 18 pass completions...  Danny Kittner has 11 catches of at least 20 yards... Breakdown by game: SCSU (2), BSU (3), Minot State (5), MSUM (5), USF (3), UIU (8), MSU (5), WSC (6), NSU (4) and UMD (2)... Here is a list of all 43 UMary plays over 20 yards:
72 yards - Logan Nelson run vs. UIU
62 yards - Logan Nelson run vs. Minot State (TD)
56 yards - Kade Lynch catch from Logan Nelson vs. SCSU (TD)
55 yards - Leonardo Vecchi catch from Avery Gould at NSU
55 yards - Logan Nelson run vs. Minot State (TD)
49 yards - Logan Nelson run vs. UIU (TD) 
49 yards - Scott Tripp run at Sioux Falls
48 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Logan Nelson vs. Minot State
47 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Avery Gould at Sioux Falls
46 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Logan Nelson vs. Minot St. (TD)
44 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Avery Gould at Sioux Falls
44 yards - Bryan Lumsden run vs. UMD (TD)
43 yards - Luke Little catch from Avery Gould at MSU (TD)
43 yards - Leonardo Vecchi catch from Logan Nelson vs. WSC 
42 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Jordan Velarde at MSUM
40 yards - Leonardo Vecchi catch from Logan Nelson at BSU (TD)
39 yards - Luke Little catch from Avery Gould at NSU 
39 yards - Leonardo Vecchi catch from Logan Nelson vs. SCSU
34 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Jordan Velarde at MSUM
32 yards - Bryan Lumsden run vs. Minot State
32 yards - Kade Lynch catch from Logan Nelson at Bemidji State
30 yards - Garrett Weissinger catch from Logan Nelson vs. UIU
30 yards - Garrett Weissinger catch from Logan Nelson at MSU 
29 yards - Scott Tripp catch from Logan Nelson vs. UIU
29 yards - Luke Little catch from Avery Gould vs. UMD
28 yards - Brandon McFarlane catch from Logan Nelson vs. WSC
27 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Logan Nelson vs. WSC 
27 yards - Logan Nelson run vs. WSC (TD) 
27 yards - Luke Little catch from Logan Nelson vs. UIU
26 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Avery Gould at NSU
25 yards - Scott Tripp run vs. UIU 
25 yards - Luke Little catch from Logan Nelson vs. UIU
25 yards - Avery Gould run at MSU
24 yards - Luke Little catch from Avery Gould at MSU
21 yards - Scott Tripp run vs. WSC
21 yards - Garrett Weissinger catch from Jordan Velarde at MSUM
21 yards - Kade Lynch catch from Jordan Velarde at MSU Moorhead 
20 yards - Jaden Andresen catch from Logan Nelson at Bemidji State
20 yards - Garrett Weissinger catch from Jordan Velarde at MSUM
20 yards - Leonardo Vecchi catch from Logan Nelson vs. UIU
20 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Logan Nelson at MSU
20 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Logan Nelson vs. WSC
20 yards - Danny Kittner catch from Avery Gould at NSU

ON THE SPOT
Jr. safety Richard Bendish has taken over the Marauders team lead in tackles following several big games. With 82 tackles, he is 4th in the NSIC with 8.2 tackles/game... Sr. LB Paul Guptill is the 10th leading tackler in the Northern Sun. The former Marauders fullback is averages 7.2 tackles per game. For the season he has 72 tackles (29 solo) and 8.5 tackles for loss while forcing two fumbles... Several Marauders are also among the NSIC leaders in tackles per game. Jr. LB Dylan Anthony is 18th (6.4) and Sr. DL Cyrano Rayfield is 20th (6.3).    

BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Paul Guptill is 22nd in the NSIC in tackles for loss (8.5) and Isaiah Hubbard is 24th with 7.5. 

RANGING NEAR AND FAR 
Jr. DB Richard Bendish posted both an interception and a sack against Wayne State College. He also had nine tackles in the game. The sack was his career first and the interception was his second. He followed up that performance with a career-high 13 tackles at NSU before posting 11 against Minnesota Duluth.  

FOURTH DOWN AND 2 NUMBERS TO KNOW
149 Danny Kittner ranks 16th in NCAA Division II and first in the NSIC in all purpose yardage (rushing, receiving and return) at 157 yards/game 

32 This is the 32nd  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. 

43 UMary owns 43 plays of 20 or more yards on offense this season

14 This is the Marauders 14th season competing in the NSIC and NCAA Division II

24 Cyrano Rayfield owns 24 tackles for loss, 13th all-time at UMary

2 Paul Guptill owns two defensive touchdowns in his career

HEAD COACHES
In his second season as UMary head coach Craig Bagnell was the youngest head coach in the NCAA in 2018 at age 28. 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). He was named head coach at his alma mater in Dec. 2017... A longtime member of the Minnesota Crookston coaching staff, Mark Dufner was named the Golden Eagles head coach before the 2016 season and is in his 17th year overall with the program, including five years as the defensive coordinator. A Maddock, ND, native, Dufner player college football for Valley City State, his alma mater, and was a high school coach in Valley City for 10 years before joining the Golden Eagles staff.

THE MARAUDERS-GOLDEN EAGLES SERIES HISTORY 
(Marauders lead series 15-2)
In a series that started in 1995 when both schools were members of the North Dakota College Athletic Conference, the University of Mary holds a 14-2 advantage over the University of Minnesota Crookston. The Marauders took the first match-up 49-23 and the second 20-13 before the Golden Eagles claimed their first win of the series, 24-14 at home in 1997. UMC snapped Mary's seven game series winning streak in 2012... 2006: Blair Sandy threw for 2 TDs and ran for one in a 24-0 Marauders road win. Sandy ran for 111 yards and passed for 128. Mary's defense allowed just 159 yards and intercepted four passes... 2007: Shawn Melland returned an interception for a touchdown and James Patterson scooped and scored on a UMC fumble in a Marauders 38-0 win at home. UMC gained just 146 yards. Bayland Rippenkroeger ran for 104 yards and Sandy threw for 200 yards and two scores. Jesse Laber had 2.5 sacks... 2008: Jamal Lomax scored twice and ran for 129 yards, Mike Williams caught two of Henry Lau's three touchdown passes and Melland returned a fumble for a score in the Marauders 52-9 home win. UMC managed only 146 yards of offense... 2009: Terry Newsome opened the game with a 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown and later caught one of Lau's four touchdown passes. Lomax ran for 158 yards and Lau completed 21-of-29 passes for 203 yards. The Marauders limited UMC to 200 yards... 2010: The Marauders returned three interceptions and a blocked punt for touchdowns in a 48-0 homecoming win. Lomax ran for 48 yards and a TD. Mary limited UMC to 149 total yards and nine first downs while forcing four turnovers... 2011: On an incredibly windy day, Josh Edwards threw 2 TD passes in his first career start in Mary's 31-0 road win. Dariouse Gravely ran for 108 yards and Josh Murray added 87 yards and a TD. Richard Haley ran for 179 yards for UMC... 2012: Played in the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, ND, UMC won 37-36 on the final play of the game. After a pass interference penalty on Mary on what would have been the final play of the game, Talo Pascal scored on a 1 yard TD on an un-timed play to pull UMC within 36-35. Going for two, UMC's pass failed but Mary was again called for pass interference. Making use of another second chance, Richard Haley scored the 2-point conversion to give UMC the win. The NSIC Defensive Player of the Week, Grant Singer had 3.0 TFL and 16 tackles. Craig Bagnell was 24-of-38 for 328 yards, five TDs and two interceptions. Elby Pope caught 5-143-1 and Tyler Steffan caught two TDs. Haley ran for 87 yards, AJ Barge was 26-of-36 for 318 and 2 TD, Keith McBride was 9-130-0 and Josh Ross was 9-109-0... 2013: Nick Jolliffe caught 3 TDs from Craig Bagnell and the Marauders gave Myron Schulz a 31-15 win over UMC in his final game as Mary head coach. In 15 years as head coach the Marauders were 103-66 under his direction. Bagnell was 29-of-43 for 262 yards and 3 TDs to end his career with a school-record 75 TD passes. Jolliffe caught six passes for 57 yards and three scores. The Mary defense allowed just 248 yards and 14 first downs. Scott Maldonado intercepted two passes. Nik Polski posted 11 tackles and Grant Singer ten. Troy Guptill has 2.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss... 2014: Vince Ferrante ran for 136 yards and 1 TD as Mary ground out a 17-10 win at UMC. The Marauders ran for 229 yards and passed for 188 (417 total yards). UMC generated just 265. UMC scored first but a 50-yard Brody Riggs field goal kept UM within 7-3 at half. Two Marauders 3Q touchdowns - Ferrante from 5 yds out and a Ben Jolliffe to Jake East 13 yd scoring pass - game the Marauders a permanent lead. 2015: The Marauders blasted the Golden Eagles for 323 rushing yards and rallied past UMC 33-28. Trailing 28-21 entering the 4th quarter, Zack Graves scored his 3rd TD of the game on an 8 yard run to pull within a point. Adam Woroniecki scored the winning touchdown on a 26 yard run with 3:00 left in the game. Woroniecki ran for 162 yards on 26 carries. Graves rushed for 149 yards and two TDs on 21 carries and had two catches for 46 yards, including a 40- yard TD pass for the first score of the game. Austin Bolton had 14 tackles. Tra Hearns was 21-of-39 for 247 yards and three TDs for UMC... 2016: Colton Farmer led the Marauders to their first win of the season, passing for two TDs and running for one. He threw for 152 yards and ran for 44. The Marauders ran for 246 of their 400 yards of offense. Zack Graves had 96 yards rushing and Zach Podoll added 66. Defensively the Marauders allowed the Golden Eagles just 14 first downs, 61 yards rushing and 280 yards of total offense. Brady Zittleman led the defense with an interception and two pass breakups... 2017: UMary dominated both sides of the ball in a 30-6 win over visiting UMC as the Marauders set NCAA-era school marks for rushing yardage (417) and rushing defense (-35 yards leyed by eight sacks)... DeShawn Gay had a team-best 88 yards and scored the game's first TD in the 3rd quarter. Bock Pittsley and Jackson Grad both had two sacks. Overall the Marauders generated 443 yards of offense on 77 plays while limiting UMC to 227 on 51 plays... Gay and Luke Little scored 3rd quarter TDs to build a 17-0 lead before UMC scored. Little caught another TD pass from Garrett Weissinger and Devin Hope also found the end zone for UMary in the 4th... 2018 In the final game of the 2018 season played on a frigid, snowy day, the Marauders ran their way to a 34-14 win over the Golden Eagles. Colton Farmer ran for 157 yards and two TDs on 31 carries, Bryan Lumsden had 103 yards on 26 carries. Luke Little caught a pair of scoring passes of 30 and 9 yards from Jason Hoekstra. Casey Uhler returned an interception 20 yards for the final score, one of three Marauders interceptions on the day. Cyrano Rayfield had 2.0 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss as UMary limited UMC to 230 yards of offense. 
 

PAST MARAUDERS-BULLDOGS MEETINGS (UMary leads series 15-2) 
1995        Mary 49             UMC 23            Crookston, MN
1996        Mary 20             UMC 13            Bismarck, ND
1997        UMC 24             Mary 14            Crookston, MN
1998        Mary 26             UMC 20            Bismarck, ND
2006        Mary 24             UMC 0                Crookston, MN
2007        Mary 38             UMC 0                Bismarck, ND
2008        Mary 52             UMC 9                Bismarck, ND
2009        Mary 37             UMC 14            Crookston, MN
2010        Mary 48             UMC 0                Bismarck, ND
2011        Mary 31              UMC 0                Crookston, MN
2012         UMC 37            Mary 36            Grand Forks, ND 
2013        Mary 31            UMC 15            Bismarck, ND
2014        Mary 17             UMC 10            Crookston, Minn.
2015        Mary 33            UMC 28            Bismarck, ND
2016        Mary 26            UMC 13            Crookston, MN
2017         Mary 30            UMC 6                Bismarck, ND
2018        Mary 34            UMC 14            Crookston, MN

QUICK LOOK AT THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON GOLDEN EAGLES The Golden Eagles are searching for their first win of the season. UMC led Northern State 14-7 last week before falling 42-17 the Golden Eagles final home game of the year. Jalin Scott and Tristan Robbins combined to throw for 410 yards, a UMC NCAA era record. UMC averages just 10.8 points and 267 yards per game, lowest in the NSIC. Jonattan Mudd leads the offense with 39 catches for 605 yards and 4 TDs. Scott has thrown for 1,046 yards and 7 TDs with 5 INTs and has run for 243 yards, all team-highs. Austin Steele leads the UMC defense with 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks. He also has forced four fumbles. Tysen White owns a team-best 72 tackles and has two sacks.

LAST TIME OUT
Bryan Lumsden ran for 82 yards, including a 44 yard scoring run, in the Marauders 59-7 loss to visiting Minnesota Duluth. UMD threw eight TD passes in the game. UMD QB John Larson threw for 5 TDs and 225 yards in the first half and also caught a TD pass. UMary DB Richard Bendish had 11 tackles. Cyrano Rayfield had 1.5 tackles for loss and seven total tackles. Paul Guptill and Casey Uhler both had sacks for the Marauders with Uhler posting 2.0 tackles behind the line. Dre Jackson had a team-best three pass breakups. Luke Little and Danny Kittner both had five catches for the Marauders with Little rolling up 55 yards and Kittner 46. Cazz Martin ran for 109 yards for UMD.