THIS WEEK
The University of Mary football team looks to extend their two-game win streak in the season finale at Bemidji State University against a Beavers team in a 3-way tie for first place in the Northern Sun standings and pursuing their first NCAA playoff opportunity. Kickoff is set for 1 pm at Chet Anderson Stadium in  Bemidji, MN.

THE RECORDS/LAST WEEK
The Marauders are 4-6 overall/Northern Sun and 3-2 in the NSIC North after routing Minot State University 49-31 in the Battle for the Big Lake trophy for a second straight win... The Beavers are tied for 1st in the NSIC at 8-2 NSIC and lead the NSIC North 5-0 after a in the NSIC North following a 36-34 win at Northern State. 

FOLLOW LIVE 

• Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt and former UMary athletic director and Hall of Fame football coach Roger Thomas team up to broadcast Marauders games on KFYR 550 AM. The game is also streamed online at www.kfyr.com.
• Free video streaming of Marauders home and Northern Sun games is available  https://nsicnetwork.com/goumary and at www.GoUMary.com/coverage  
• Live stats for Saturday's games are available online at www.GoUMary.com/coverage 

MARAUDERS-BEAVERS SERIES HISTORY
This is the 15th straight season the Marauders have played the Beavers. Bemidji State is one of only three teams UMary has faced every season since beginning NCAA play in 2006. Northern State and MSU Moorhead are the other teams... In their first meeting in 2006, the Marauders went on the road and defeated the Beavers 27-21 despite only 167 yards of offense against a Beavers team that would win the NSIC title (UMary was ineligible for the conference championship that year). Shawn Melland returned a fumble 85 yards for a score and Justin Fleck ran for the winning TD with 41 seconds left in the game... UMary won the first two meetings... The Marauders 3rd win in the series was a 49-21 shellacking of the 20th ranked Beavers in 2011 in what remains the Marauders lone win over a nationally ranked NCAA team. Tyler Steffan caught 8 passes for 202 yards and 3 TDs. Craig Bagnell threw for 315 yards and 2 TDs. 

OLD HOME DAY
University of Mary head coach Craig Bagnell started his collegiate coaching career at Bemidji State University. After he finished his playing career at UMary, Bagnell 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.

QUICK HITTER STORY LINES

• The Marauders have scored 40+ points four times in 2021, the first time UMary has accomplished this feat since 2011 (the school record is 6 in 1995 & 2000)
• The four wins this season is the most for UMary since posting five in 2014
• With a win the Marauders will finish with a winning record in the NSIC North for the first time since 2013. 
• At 3-2 against the NSIC North the Marauders are assured of finishing with a .500 or better divisional record, a 1st since going 4-3 in the NSIC North in 2013
• A win by the Marauders likely ends the Beavers hopes for an NSIC title and hampers the Beavers efforts to reach the NCAA playoffs
• The Marauders regained the Big Lake Trophy with a 49-31 win over Minot State in UMary's final home game of the season. Luke Little caught 4 passes for 156 yards and 3 TDs to earn NSIC Offensive player of the Week honors. Logan Nelson completed 23-of-34 passes for 372 yards and 4 TDs. He also ran for a score. Dave Small Jr. ran for 99 yards and a TD. Danny Kittner caught 10 passes for 107 yards. Tanner Vaughan had 2.5 sacks and forced a fumble. Ty'Rhese Gibson returned an interception for a TD and broke up a pass. UMary had 522 yards of offense to 374 for MSU.
• Three Marauders losses are by 7 or fewer point
• Three times the Marauders have held 4th quarter leads in losses
• UMary ranks 3rd in the nation in passing (342.6 yards/game), 20th in total offense (449 yards/game) and 36th in scoring (34.2) out of 163 teams
• UMary has committed just 10 turnovers this season (7 interceptions, 3 fumbles), the 16th fewest total in the nation

LITTLE SETS UMARY TD RECORD, NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK 
An explosive performance by Luke Little in his final home game earned the University of Mary wide receiver Northern Sun Offensive Player of the Week honors. Little caught three scoring passes on his way to breaking the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season as the Marauders reclaimed the Big Lake Trophy with a 49-31 win over Minot State University... Little caught four passes for 156 yards and three scores. Held without a reception in the first half, he did all his damage after intermission with scoring passes covering 5, 62 and 70 yards... The senior has 18 touchdown receptions this season to lead all three divisions of NCAA football. He broke the UMary school record of 17 by All-American Tyler Steffan in 2011... For the season Little has 73 catches for 1,148 yards and 18 touchdowns. He is the 5th UMary player to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, a figure teammate Danny Kittner also reached earlier this season.

KITTNER SETS NSIC SINGLE SEASON RECEPTION RECORD
Records keep falling for Danny Kittner. Already the owner of several Marauders game and season marks, Kittner has now etched his name in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference record book... The NCAA national all-divisions leader in catches and receiving yards in 2021, Kittner has already caught 109 passes for 1,439 yards and 14 touchdowns this season with one game left to play. Not only did he shatter the UMary record for receptions, Kittner is now also the Northern Sun single season record holder... The former record was 104 catches by Daniel Davis of Southwest Minnesota State University in 2019... Kittner also has a shot to break the NSIC record for receiving yards of 1,549 yards by Damon Gibson of MSU Moorhead in 2016. He needs a total of 110 yards in the game to tie the record, a total the Gilbert, AZ, native has exceeded seven times in 2021.

NCAA ALL-DIVISIONS HEADLINERS

• Danny Kittner leads all NCAA players across every division (FBS, FCS, II, III) in catches (109), receiving yards (1,332) and all purpose yardage (1,899) and is 4th in touchdown receptions (14)
• Luke Little is 1st among all NCAA players across all divisions in TD receptions with a school-record 18

MARAUDERS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
The Marauders potent attack has the team and several individuals charting high in NCAA Division II. Here's a look at where UMary ranks among the national leaders in several key categories:
NCAA DII /NSIC RANKINGS - TEAM

• #3 NCAA /#1 NSIC Passing Offense (342.6 yards/game)
• #6 NCAA / #1 NSIC First Downs (245)
• #14 NCAA / #2 NSIC Completion Percentage (65.2%)
• #6 NCAA / #2 NSIC Red Zone Offense (91.7%)
• #16 NCAA / #1 NSIC Turnovers lost (10)
• #20 NCAA / #5 NSIC Total Offense (449 yards/game)
• 36 NCAA / #5 NSIC Scoring Offense (34.2)

NCAA Dll /NSIC RANKINGS - INDIVIDUAL
Danny Kittner 

• #1 NCAA / #1 NSIC Receptions/game (10.9)
• #1 NCAA / #1 NSIC Receiving yards (1,439) and receiving yards/game (144)
• #2 NCAA / #2 NSIC TD receptions (14)
• #1 NCAA / #1 NSIC All Purpose Yards (189.9 yards/game)

Luke Little

• #1 NCAA / #1 NSIC TD receptions (18)
• #4 NCAA / #2 NSIC Receiving Yards (1,128)
• #6 NCAA / #2 NSIC Receiving yards/game (112.8)
• #8 NCAA / #3 NSIC Receptions/game (7.3)
• #5 NCAA / #1 NSIC Total TDs (18) and Points (108)

Logan Nelson

• #3 NCAA / #2 NSIC Passing touchdowns (35)
• #4 NCAA/ #2 NSIC Points responsible for (228)
• #7 NCAA / #2 NSIC Total Offense (328.1 yards/game)
• #3 NCAA / #1 NSIC Passing Yards (3,247)
• #4 NCAA / #1 NSIC Passing Yards/game (324.7)
• #9 NCAA / #1 NSIC Completions/game (25.2)
• #12 NCAA / #2 NSIC Completion percentage (65.6%)

Tylen Small

• #41 NCAA / #3 NSIC Solo Tackles (5.0)

UMARY RECORDS
Here are team records broken this season and some that may fall:

Game

• Receptions - 17 Danny Kittner at Wayne State 9/2/21
• All Purpose yardage - 378 Danny Kittner v Winona State 9/25/21
• Touchdown passes in a game – 6 by Logan Nelson at Northern State 10/2/21 (tied record by Paul Cronin (1994) and Zach Roberson (2x in 2014)

Season

• Receptions - 109 by Danny Kittner (80 Seth Meier 1999)
• Receiving Yards - 1,439 by Danny Kittner (1,208 Neil MacDannald 1996)
• Yards passing in a season – 3,267 by Logan Nelson (2,935 by Paul Cronin in 1994)
• Yards passing in a season by team - 3,443 (3,164 in 2014
• Touchdown passes in a season - 35 by Logan Nelson (32 by Paul Cronin 1995)
• Touchdown passes in a season by team (32 in 1995)
• Touchdown receptions – 18 by Luke Little (17 by Tyler Steffan in 2011)

Watch List

• Pass completions 251 Logan Nelson (254 Craig Bagnell 2013)
• Pass completions - Team 264 (277 in 2013)
• Pass Attempts - Logan Nelson 382 (428 by Craig Bagnell 2013)
• Pass Attempts - team 405 (465 in 2013)
• Passing yards per game - team 338.8 (287.7 yards/game in 2014)

NSIC RECORDS
Broken

• Single season receptions - 109 by Danny Kittner

Watch List

• Single season receiving yards - 1,549 by Damon Gibson MSU Moorhead 2016 (Kittner at 1,439 needs 110 yards to tie)
• Single Season TD receptions - 21 Matt Heller Augustana 2016 (Luke Little at 18 needs 3 to tie)
• Single season TD passes - 41 by Trey Heid Augustana 2016(Logan Nelson at 35 needs 6 to tie)
• SIngle season passing yards - 3,582 by Trey Heid Augustana 2016 (Logan Nelson at 3,267 needs 315 to tie)

PRECISION PASSING
The Marauders have created one of the nation's top passing attacks. Behind the arm of Logan Nelson and the hands of Danny Kittner and Luke Little plus an offensive line growing stronger each week, the Marauders are averaging 342.6 yards/game through the air to rank 3rd in the nation. UMary has thrown for over 300 yards in eight of ten games, including efforts of 399 yards against Wayne State, 403 against Winona State and 454 at Northern State. The Marauders have scored a team-record 36 touchdowns through the air with Logan Nelson passing for 35. 

DYNAMIC DUO
Danny Kittner and Luke Little rank among the nation's leaders in receiving (see NCAA rankings above) as both rank in the top six in receptions, yardage and TDs... Kittner and Little became the Marauders first receiving duo to both crack 100 yards in a game for two straight games... Kittner had 202 in the season opener at Wayne State and 135 against Augustana. Little opened the season with 123 at WSC with another 108 against the Vikings in week 2... They also turned the trick against Winona State (Kittner 235 yards, Little 174), at Northern State (Kittner 154, Little 116) and against Minot State (Little 156, Kittner 107)... Since beginning NCAA competition in 2006, the Marauders have only had three total prior instances where teammates cracked 100 yards in the same game - Jake East (174 yards) and Elby Pope 129) against Northern State in 2014, Avan Leday (104) and Tyler Steffan (101) against Southwest Minnesota State in 2011 and Roman Penirian (108) and Erik Kruse (125) at Bemidji State in 2008. 

SIX SHOOTER
Danny Kittner's run of six straight 100 yard receiving games - the longest in school history - ended with a 90 yard day at Sioux Falls, Here's his game-by-game totals this season: 
@WSC | 17 catches - 202 yards - 2 TDs | school record for catches
Augie | 10-135-1
@SMSU | 7-125-1
WSU | 13-235-3 | NCAA era record for receiving yards
@NSU | 9-153-2
UMD | 13-133-3
@USF | 9-90-0
@MSUM | 10-80-1
CSP | 11-179-1
MINOT | 10-107-0
TOTAL | 109 catches | 1,439 yards | 14 TDs

KITTNER BREAKS UMARY, NSIC SINGLE SEASON RECORDS 
Over three straight games Danny Kittner broke single season receiving records for the Marauders and the NSIC. In the MSU Moorhead game, Kittner broke Seth Meier's record of 80 catches in 1999... Against Concordia-St. Paul, Kittner set a new UMary record for receiving yards in a season, passing the mark of 1,208 yards by Neil MacDannald in 1996... Against Minot State he set a new NSIC record for receptions in a season (old mark 104 by Daniel Davis of SMSU in 2019...  Kittner now has 109 catches for 1,439 yards with a game left to play... In the opening game of the season Kittner broke the school record for receptions in a game with 17... He set a school record for all purpose yards with 378 against Winona State... Kittner also set the school's NCAA era mark for reception yardage (235) against the Warriors.  

NELSON ON RECORD PACE
Through 10 games Logan Nelson has thrown for 3,267 yards and 35 touchdowns to set UMary records in both categories, both NCAA era school records. Next on his list is Head Coach Craig Bagnell's single season mark for completions of 254 (Nelson has 251). 

DANNY THE HANDY MAN
Not only is Danny Kittner among the nation's leaders in receptions, receiving yardage, all purpose yards and 4th in TDs, he also...

• Returns kicks and punts
• Holds on field goals and extra points
• Recovered an onside kick at Wayne State
• Set a school record with 378 all purpose yards vs Winona State
• Threw a 41 yard pass against the Warriors
• Scored a 2-point conversion against Minot State

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Luke Little and Danny Kittner are climbing the career receiving charts at UMary. Little is 5th in receiving yards (2,289) and 6th in catches (146). He also has 28 career TD receptions (3rd). Little is also now 6th all-time in touchdowns... Kittner is 3rd in receptions (182) and 5th in receiving yardage (2,381). He has 21 career receiving TDs (8th)... Elby Pope is the Marauders all-time leader in receptions (193) and receiving yards (2,781)... Jake Pfau is the all-time leader in receiving TDs (34).   

LITTLE LOOMS LARGE 
An All-NSIC receiver in 2018, team captain Luke Little is having a tremendous senior season. The Bismarck, ND, native owns 73 catches for 1,148 yards and 18 TDs through ten games... He opened the season with 9 catches for 123 yards and 2 TDs at Wayne State, followed with a line of 7-108-1 against Augie, 7-84-2 at SMSU, 13-174-1 vs. Winona State, 6-113-3 at Northern State, 5-60-0 vs. UMD, 2-152-3 at Sioux Falls, 5-85-2 at MSUM, 5-93-2 v CSP and 4-156-3 against Minot State to win NSIC Offensive Player of the Week honors... He has set career-highs for catches, yardage and TDs and the school record for TD catches (18).

HOT ROUTE RECOGNITION
Hot Route Analytics graded Danny Kittner as the #1 receiver in NCAA Division II last week with a mark of 92. Fellow wide out Luke Little tied for 2nd with a 90.

LOGAN'S RUN PASS
Known for his ability to make huge plays with his legs, Logan Nelson has relied on his arm to make the Marauders offense go in 2021... He opened the season completing 34-of-59 passes for 399 yards and 4 TDs without an interception at Wayne State, all career highs... he followed by throwing for 205 yards and a TD with no interceptions against Augie. Nelson also ran for a score... Against SMSU he was 20-for-28 for 249 yards and 4 TDs... Facing one of the top defenses in the NSIC in Winona State, Nelson was 31-of-43 for a career-best 403 yards and 4 TDs... Nelson earned NSIC Player of the Week for his 24-of-34 for 454 yards and 6 TD effort at Northern State... playing an excellent Minnesota Duluth defense Nelson was 22-of-30 (season-best 73.3% completion mark) for 244 yards and 3 TDs with 0 interceptions... he was 30-of-46 for 310 yards and 2 TDs at Sioux Falls... at MSUM Nelson was 28-for-4 2 for 299 yards and 3 TDs... back home against CSP he had a line of 22-31-332-4 and ran for a score... Against Minot State his line was 23-34-372-4 with a rushing TD... Climbing up the season and career passing charts this year, Nelson has also made an impact with his legs in his Marauders career. 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 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 in only seven games in 2019... Nelson owns two of the four 100 yard rushing games by a Marauders QB in an NCAA game. He ran for 149 yards against Minot State and 129 against Upper Iowa. Also in 2019 Nelson became the first UMary player to crack 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing in the same game against Upper Iowa when he carried the ball for 129 yards and a score and passed for 205 and two touchdowns. He also ran for 149 three touchdowns and passed for 179 and a score against Minot State.

SMALL MAKING BIG IMPACT
Tylen Small had a big debut for the Marauders. A transfer from NCAA D1 FCS South Dakota State University, Small made 12 tackles, including 11 solo stops at Wayne State. The Marauders free safety also had a tackle for loss in the game... he followed w/ 9 tackles (4 solo) against Augustana, 3 at SMSU, 5 vs. Winona State, 7 (1 TFL) at NSU, 9 against Minnesota Duluth and a season-best 13 at Sioux Falls. He leads the Marauders with 63 tackles (50 solo) and has 2.0 tackles for loss. 

PUNISHING PITTMAN
Redshirt freshman Isaiah Pittman is making his presence felt on the Marauders defense. The safety posted a career-high 12 tackles against Minnesota Duluth. He owns a team-high two interceptions. He is second on the Marauders in tackles (49) and pass breakups (5). 

BARRY BREAKS THROUGH
Jack Barry has moved into the Marauders starting lineup this year and is making a major impact. The junior from Bismarck, ND, is the team leader in sacks (3.5) and tackles for loss (8.5). His most notable play is sacking the Northern State on 4th down on the Wolves last possession to guarantee UMary's 49-42 win. 

SMALL PLAYING LARGE
Dave Small Jr. has made a major impact on the Marauders running game. A transfer from NCAA Division I University of South Florida and a cousin of Marauders safety Tylen Small, Small has rushed for a team-high 684 yards and 5 TDs on 129 carries. In his last eight games Small has cracked 100 yards four times (130 yards and a TD against SMSU, 19-115-1 at Northern State, punished Minnesota Duluth for 133 yards and 1 TD on 18 carries and ran for 103 and a TD at MSUM) and just missed twice (95 + TD v Winona State, 99 + TD v Minot State), He also has a tackle on kick coverage.

ESCHLEMAN ELEVATES
In his 1st year with the Marauders, Nate Eschleman is making plays across the field. The linebacker is 2nd on the team with 5.0 tackles for loss and 3rd in tackles (45) and pass breakups (4).

PRESSURE
Freshman Tanner Vaughan has moved into the starting lineup and has made an impact on the defensive line. Vaughan had 2.5 sacks and forced a fumble in the Minot State win.   

EXPLOSION
The Marauders offense is starting to rev up in 2021 and has already generated 53 chunk plays of 20 or more yards in nine games, including 20 by Luke Little and 19 by Danny Kittner... UMary had a season-best nine chunk plays against Northern State, including three by Little and two by Kittner and Jaden Andresen... UMary generated 51 chunk plays in 2019 with as many as 8 big plays in wins over Upper Iowa and Minnesota Crookston... QB Logan Nelson was involved in 23 plays of 20+ yards in 2019, including four runs of 49+ yards and 18 chunk pass completions while Kittner has 11 catches of at least 20 yards. 

LINE PLAY
The Marauders offensive line has remained intact since the second game of the season and has keyed one of the nation's top offenses. Sophomore returning staters Drake Lalim (tackle) and Conner Paul (guard) have anchored the left side of the line with three newcomers to the lineup. Freshman Alex Rodriguez has handed center with junior guard Sam Harris - a transfer from MSU Moorhead - and 2nd year freshman tackle Melvin Hudson cementing the right side.  

BY THE NUMBERS | ROSTER BREAKDOWN

• 108 players
• 6 seniors
• 27 juniors
• 17 sophomores
• 6 redshirt freshman (on 2019 roster and did not play)
• 52 freshman (16 returning freshmen from 2020, 36 new freshmen in 2021)
• 28 players previously played in a UMary regular season game

5 ALIVE
The Marauders offense featured five tremendous performances in the win at Northern State. For what is believed to be the first time in school history, the Marauders had a 300 yard passer (Logan Nelson 454 yards), a 100 yard rusher (Dave Small Jr. 115 yards) and three 100 yard receivers (Danny Kittner 154, Luke Little 116, Jaden Andresen 106) in a single game. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW

• 33 This is the 33rd 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. 
• 15 This is the Marauders 15th season competing in the NSIC and NCAA Division II