BEMIDJI, MN – Delayed by lighting and played in a downpour, the University of Mary's Thursday night Northern Sun North Division contest at Bemidji State University started 40 minutes later than planned. Unable to get on track after the delay, the Marauders were limited to a single score on a deep ball from Logan Nelson to Leonardo Vecchi in a 52-7 setback to the Beavers.
 
Producing a long touchdown pass for the second straight week, Nelson found Vecchi over the top of the defense for a 40-yard scoring strike late in the third quarter. The touchdown capped a 3-play, 54-yard scoring drive.
 
With the Marauders attempting to find their offensive footing early in the game, the Beavers scored on their first two possessions of the game to lead 14-0 after the first quarter.
 
The Marauders defense then stepped forward, limiting the Beavers to two yards on their nest two possessions combined. The first drive ended on a third down sack by Anthony Zuniga and Isaiah Hubbard. The next drive was stifled by a pair of BSU penalties.
 
Forced to punt again, the Beavers found fortune when the ball took an awkward hop and bounced off a Marauders player into the arms of Bemidji State at the UMary 30 yard line. The Beavers found the end zone on the subsequent play. Three plays later, the Beavers returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown to seal the game.
 
Kade Lynch, who caught a 56 yard touchdown in the opener, posted two catches for a team-high 47 yards. His longest grab was 32 yards. Vecchi has shown big play capability in his two games with the Marauders. The junior from Italy has a 37 yard gainer in the opener to go with his 40 yard touchdown against the Beavers. Bryan Lumsden (34 yards) and Danny Kittner (23 yards) tied for team-high honors in catches with three.
 
Nelson completed 9-of-17 passed for 139 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
 
Isaiah Hubbard had 2.0 tackles for loss to lead the Marauders defense. He also had seven stops. Dylan Anthony posted eight tackles with one tackle behind the line. Paul Guptill added six tackles with one for loss.
 
Bailey Meyer had another strong performance for UMary. The senior punter averaged 44.1 yards on nine attempts with a long of 50 yards and two downed inside the 20 with no touchbacks. Marquell Evans added a long kick return of 36 yards and had 61 total yards on two attempts.
 
Inserted into the starting lineup after an injury, Jared Henning threw for four touchdowns and was 17-for-22 for 191 yards for the Beavers. Bryce Duffy caught a pair of touchdown passes and had 56 yards receiving. Jalem Frye and Sherrod Kpahn both ran for 93 yards.
 
The Marauders return home for a third straight night game when UMary hosts Minot State University in the Battle for the Big Lake Trophy at 6 pm on Saturday, Sept. 21. The Marauders also look to Tackle Hunger and ask that all fans bring a non-perishable food item to donate to United Way to help feed those in need.
 
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