BISMARCK, ND – An explosive start punctuated by a Paul Guptill interception return for a touchdown carried the University of Mary football team to a 44-15 win over the University of Minnesota Crookston on Senior Day. Bryan Lumsden had a career day with 190 yards rushing and three touchdowns for UMary and the Marauders offense and defense both posted season-best marks.
 
The Marauders set an early tone on both sides of the ball. After the UMary defense held UMC without a first down on the opening possession of the game, the Marauders took over at their own 47 yard line. UMary opened the drive with back-to-back 18 yard runs by Garrett Weissinger and Lumsdan. Two plays after Lumsden caught a 14 yard pass from Avery Gould, the sophomore running back crashed into the end zone from 2 yards out for his first touchdown of the day.
 
Five plays later, Guptill stepped in front of a Jalin Scott pass and brought the crowd to their feet with a 39 yard interception return for a touchdown, boosting the Marauders lead to 14-0. It was his second defensive touchdown of the season and third of his career.
 
The Marauders defense continued to play big, stopping the Golden Eagles first foray into the red zone. Taking over at its own 18, UMary quickly drove the field, picking up 41 yards in the process when Gould hit Little deep down the right sideline. Isaiah Hilliard capped the drive with a 1 yard scoring plunge, pushing the Marauders advantage to 21-0 at the end of the opening quarter.
 
Following another red zone stop by the Marauders defense, UMary took possession of the ball at its 17 yard line and rammed the ball downfield to the UMC 22 yard line, setting up a 39 yard field goal by Brody Riggs. It was the first of three field goals on the day for Riggs, who scored 14 points in the game. At intermission, the Marauders comfortable led 24-7.
 
Ripping off big chunks of yards on the opening possession of the second half, the Marauders drove 75 yards in five plays. After Gould connected with Wessinger for 29 yards to convert on 3^rd down and 3, Lumsden ran for 25 and 14 yards on consecutive carries, the second resulting in his second score of the day.
 
The Golden Eagles immediately retaliated, driving 75 yards for the touchdown and 2-point conversion to narrow the gap to 31-15. It proved to be the final points of the game for UMC.
 
Finishing strong, the Marauders scored on three of four possessions in the fourth quarter. Riggs booted field goals of 38 and 25 yards and Lumsden cracked the goal line for the third time on a 15 yard run.
 
Lumsden spearheaded a Marauders offense that generated a season-best 329 yards rushing and 493 yards of total offense. His 190 yards on 28 carries is the most prolific day by a UMary runner since Josh Murray posted 216 yards at MSU Moorhead in October 2011. Lumsden also caught two passes for 21 yards to generate 211 all-purpose yards.
 
Hilliard added 65 yards and a score on 12 carries, including a 32 yard burst. Gould threw for 164 yards and ran for 24.
 
Weissinger wrapped up his senior season with 52 yards receiving on four catches and 38 yards on three rushing attempts. Little caught two balls for 56 yards. Danny Kittner, the NSIC leader in all purpose yardage, caught two passes for 27 yards, ran for 8, returned a punt for 8 and a kick for 33 to total 84 yards.
 
Defensively the Marauders held the Golden Eagles to 326 yards and 3.8 yards per play while posting six sacks and nine tackles behind the line.
 
Guptill wrapped up his career with an interception, a sack and nine tackles. Fellow senior linebackers Noah Krebs had nine tackles and Grady Bewett seven, including a tackle for loss.
 
Will Blewett had two sacks for the Marauders and Casey Uhler and Cyrano Rayfield each had 1.5. UMary also had season-best four interceptions in the game with Marquell Evans Dre Jackson and Jarad Zittleman also picking off UMC passes.
 
Scott led the UMC offense with 68 yards rushing and 155 passing. He accounted for both UMC scores, running for one and throwing for the other. Nathan Coy was the favorite target, making seven catches for 87 yards. Defensively Will cross had 12 tackles with 1.5 for loss. Austin Erdmann added 10 stops with two for loss.
 
Twelve Marauders played their final game on Saturday, including 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).
 
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