THURSDAY
Playing a Thursday night game for the second straight week, the University of Mary opens its 2019 road slate with a visit to Bemidji State University in a Northern Sun North Division matchup. The Midco Sports Network "NSIC Thursday Night Football Game of the Week," kickoff between the Marauders and the Beavers  is set for 7 pm on Thursday, Sept. 12, from Chet Anderson Field in Bemidji, MN.
 
THE RECORDS/LAST WEEK
The Marauders (0-1 overall/NSIC | 0-1 NSIC North) lost 35-12 to St. Cloud State University in the season opener for both teams... The Beavers (1-0 overall/NSIC | 1-0 NSIC North) defeated Northern State University 33-7 on the road.
MARAUDERS-BEAVERS MEETING THE MIDCO SN NSIC THURSDAY NIGHT GAME OF THE WEEK FOR SEPT. 12
The University of Mary game at Bemidji State University on Sept. 12 is this week's Midco Sports Network's Northern Sun Thursday Night Game of the Week. The Marauders-Beavers matchup will be aired throughout the region on MidcoSN. David Brown will cover the play-by-play and Blake Williams provides the color commentary. The Marauders will also appear on MidcoSN when UMary visits MSU Moorhead on Saturday, Sept. 28. To find MidcoSN on your cable system, visit www.midcosn.com/schedule/channel-finder/
 
WELCOME BACK TO BEMIDJI OLD FRIENDS
University of Mary head coach Craig Bagnell started his collegiate coaching career at Bemidji State University. He joined the Beavers staff as a graduate assistant before the 2014 season and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2015. During this three seasons as the OC for BSU, the Beavers had one of the nation's top offenses... Two other members of the Marauders coaching staff also got their start at BSU. Wide receivers coach Jordan Noskowiak played for the Beavers and was their wide receivers coach in 2017... Defensive backs coach Rufus Saylee also played for the Beavers and was a student coach there after he finished playing.
 
THURSDAY THURSDAY
The Marauders are playing their second straight Thursday night game of 2019 against Bemidji State on Sept. 12. The Marauders opened up the season hosting St. Cloud State on a Thursday... UMary played just one Thursday night game in 2018 after playing three time in 2017.
 
UNDER THE LIGHTS
The Marauders play their first three games of the season under the lights. After opening the 2019 season at night against St. Cloud State, UMary visits Bemidji State University on Thursday, Sept. 12, with game time set for 7 pm. On Saturday, Sept. 21, UMary hosts Minot State University in the Battle for the Big Lake trophy game at 6 pm. 
 
TV TIME
The University of Mary football games will be televised live throughout the state and region five times this season:
Sept. 5      Marauders vs. St. Cloud State   6 p.m.     BEK Sports
Sept. 12    Marauders at Bemidji State        7 p.m.     Midco Sports Network
Sept. 21    Marauders vs. Minot State         6 p.m.     KXMB-TV
Sept. 28    Marauders at MSU Moorhead    1 p.m.     Midco Sports Network
Oct. 26      Marauders vs. Wayne State      2 p.m.     BEK Sports
 
ROGER THOMAS JOINING MARAUDERS FOOTBALL BROADCASTS ON KFYR 550 AM
Bringing his impressive wealth of football knowledge and gregarious personality to the radio booth, former University of Mary athletic director Roger Thomas will team with Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt on KFYR 550 AM as color commentator for UMary games. Tied for the most coaching wins at the University of North Dakota with current UMary athletic director Dale Lennon, Thomas also coached professionally in the Canadian Football League and in NCAA Division I. A member of the UND Hall of Fame, Thomas received the D2 Athletic Directors Association Lifetime Achievement Award this past year.
 
SIX + 1 NUMBERS TO KNOW
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.
 
14 This is the Marauders 14th season competing in NCAA Division II
 
11 Both Dylan Anthony and Richard Bendish had 11 tackles against St. Cloud State and shared a tackle for loss. Bendish had six solo stops and Anthony three.
 
8   So. WR Danny Kittner had a career-high eight catches against the Huskies in the season opener for 64 yards. He also had a 45 yard kick return and posted 66 yards on two his two attempts.
 
8   Making their first starts for the Marauders in the season opener against the Huskies were WR Leo Vecchi, OL Dylan Thomsen, QB Logan Nelson, DL Anthony Zuniga and Devin Sardelli, LB Paul Guptill, and DBs Daquavian Ross and Richard Bendish.
 
1   The Marauders and the Huskies combined for one turnover in the season opener as UMary lost a fumble in the game. Last season UMary and its opponents combined for nearly five turnovers a contest.
 
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... In his fourth 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 before the 2017 season and now has a career mark of 25-10. A 1998 graduate of Cornell College, Bolte previously served as the Beavers defensive coordinator.
 
YEAR IN YEAR OUT
This is the 14th straight season the Marauders have played the Beavers. Bemidji State is one of five teams Mary has faced every season since beginning NCAA play in 2006. St. Cloud State, Minnesota Crookston, Northern State and MSU Moorhead are the other four teams.
 
THE MARAUDERS-BEAVERS SERIES HISTORY
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 Jamal Lomax ran for 71 yards and a score in a 21-7 loss. Dustin Kroeplin ran for 105 yards and a TD for BSU... 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. Lomax carried 29 times for 88 yards. Kroeplin led BSU with 72 yards and 1 TD rushing... 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. Pope  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. 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: BSU defeated UMary 52-3. Gena Adams opened the scoring with an 86 yard TD run. He finished with two scores and 179 yards rushing. Jordan Hein passed for 174 yards and 2 TDs and ran for 101 yards and a TD... 2017: UMary QB Garrett Weissinger ran for two scores (5 and 1 yards) and threw a 72 yard scoring pass to DeShawn Gay in a 45-19 road loss at Bemidji State. Brock Pittsley had 2.5 sacks. Bailey Meyer hit a career-long 82 yard punt. Jordan Hein passed for three scores for BSU and Andrew Lackowski ran for 163 yards and two TDs. 2018: Visiting BSU claimed a 66-0 win as Brandon Alt threw for three scores ad Sage Booker ran for 163 yards and two TDs. Luke Little caught 12 passes for 199 yards for UMary and Max Askew had three tackles for loss.
 
PAST MARAUDERS-BEAVERS MEETINGS (BSU leads 9-4)
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
2017   Bemidji State 45          Mary 19                        Bemidji, MN
2018   Bemidji State 66          Mary 0                          Bismarck, ND
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE BEMIDJI STATE BEAVERS
The Beavers return 13 starters and 45 players from last year's 7-4 team that finished 5th overall and third in the NSIC North final standings. Fr. QB Brandon Alt, who threw three scoring passes against UMary last year before being injured in the game, is back and tossed four TD passes against Northern State in a 33-7 opening day win. The BSU line is anchored by Nick Niemi, a Don Hansen All-Region selection last year. Two-time All-NSIC linebacker Gabe Ames led a Beavers defense that led the league in turnover margin at +16. In the opener, the Beavers defense forced four turnovers, turning two into touchdowns.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Jr. QB Logan Nelson directed the Marauders to a pair of long scoring drives in the third quarter, capping one drive with a touchdown pass the next with a scoring run. Unable to sustain their rally, the Marauders fell to visiting St. Cloud State University 35-12 in the 2019 season opener for both teams. Nelson, who passed for 210 yards, found Kade Lynch alone down the right sideline for a 56-yard scoring strike for the Marauders first touchdown of the night, capping a 75 yard drive in just five plays. After a defensive stop, the Marauders took over at their own 13 yard line and drove 87 yards for the score, Nelson finished the drive with a 13 yard scoring run to close within 28-12 but the Marauders couldn't continue their rally. Nelson finished 16-for-29 passing for 210 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for a TD. Kittner caught eight passes for 68 yards and returned two kicks for 66 yards, including a 45-yarder that he nearly broke for a score. Luke Little had five catches for 45 yards and Lynch two for 61 yards and a score. Bryan Lumsden led the Marauders ground attack with 41 yards on 11 carries... Richard Bendish and Dylan Anthony made 11 tackles for the Marauders. Marquell Evans broke up a pair of passes and Noah Krebs and Jarad Zittleman both had a tackle for loss. Bailey Meyer dropped four of his nine punts inside the SCSU 20 yard line and hit a long of 48... Dwayne Lawhorn tossed five touchdowns to four different receivers for the Huskies and finished 12-for-22 for 133 yards. Joe Blando ran for 115 yards. John Solberg caught three passes for 10 yards and two TDs. Matthew Lechner had 2.0 TFL.
 
SURGICAL STRIKES
Logan Nelson completed a couple long passes in his Marauders debut. The junior connected wIth Kade Lynch for a 56 yard touchdown pass and also his Leo Vecchi for a 39 yard gain to show the Marauders big play potential.
 
EIGHT NOT ENOUGH
So. WR Danny Kittner caught a career-high eight passes in the season opener, covering 68 yards, both team-highs. He also returned two kicks for 66 yards with a long of 45 yards that he was close to breaking for a touchdown. The eight catches is the third-best total in the NSIC and his 33.0 yard average per kick return is fifth. Kittner also ranks fifth in al-purpose yardage (133.0 yards/game)
 
 
 
11s
Richard Bendish and Dylan Anthony registered 11 tackles in the opening game, which is a career-high for both players. The two are tied for fourth in tackles in the NSIC.
 
TOUCH
All-NSIC punter Bailey Meyer dropped four punt attempts inside the 20 yard line against the Huskies and none reached the end zone for a touchback. Only two of nine punts were returned - for a total of 14 yards - and there were three fair catches. The longest travelled 48 yards as Meyer average 40.1 yards/attempt. Meyer is the Marauders career punting leader with an average of 39.2 yards/kick and also holds records for singe season average (41.8 in 2018), single season attempts (77 in 2018) and career attempts (211).
 
LINE MATES
Offensive linemen Hunter Hanson and Tyson Lytle enter their fourth season as starters. Adding to a veteran front line, fellow senior Rory Olson is starting at center for the second straight year after starting a combined nine games as a freshman and sophomore. 
 
NSIC FAMILIARITY
Of the ten coaches on Craig Bagnell's staff, eight have either coached at or graduated from a Northern Sun school. Bagnell, Jordan Noskowiak, Matthew Splon, Rufus Saylee and student assistant coach Jackson Grad all have played and coached in the NSIC. Mark Martin and Tristian Johnson all coached in the NSIC at other schools before joining UMary. Ben Davis is back at UMary for his sixth season after spending last year at Benedictine University.  
 
BROTHERS
The Marauders have three brother combinations on their 2019 roster. Sr. Noah Krebs and R-Fr. Jonah Krebs are both linebackers from St. Mary's in Bismarck, ND. Soph. OL Dylan Thomsen and R-Fr. TE Dylan Thomas are natives both from Thompson, ND. Sr. LB Grady Blewett and Jr. Will Blewett are from Bozeman, MT.
 
BROTHERS PART 2
The Marauders also have several players who have had older brothers on the squad, including Cru Darrah (older brother Curtis), Paul Guptill (Troy), Ryan Woroniecki (Adam), and Jarad Zittleman (Brady),
 
USS ANCHORAGE
Jr. Daquavian Ross is a veteran of the United States Navy and served on the USS Anchorage, one of the country's newest vessels. Former Marauders player Jordan Beaty served on the USS Anchorage with Ross.
 
UP NEXT...

MARAUDERS LUNCHEON SET FOR FRIDAY, SEPT. 20
The first Marauders Coaches Luncheon of the year is set for Friday, Sept. 20, at Chicks's Place, located in the Lumen Vitae Campus Center on the UMary campus. Open to all Marauders fans, head football coach Craig Bagnell is among the featured speakers.
 
TACKLE HUNGER
Help the Marauders Tackle Hunger when the University of Mary hosts Minot State in the Battle for the Big Lake on Sept. 21. All fans are asked to bring a nonperishable food item to donate when the Marauders host the Beavers. All food items will be delivered to the United Way.
 
BATTLE FOR THE BIG LAKE
The Big Lake Trophy is up for grabs when the Marauders host the Beavers in the Battle for the Big Lake. UMary and Minot State are the lone NCAA Division II schools in North Dakota.
 
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