BATTLE FOR THE BIG LAKE GAME
In their final home game of the season, the University of Mary football team hosts Minot State University in the annual Battle for the Big Lake game on Saturday, November 6. Also Senior Day for the Marauders, kickoff is set for 2 pm at the MDU Resources Community Bowl. 

THE RECORDS/LAST WEEK
The Marauders are 3-6 overall/Northern Sun and 2-2 in the NSIC North after routing Concordia-St. Paul 42-17 for the Marauders first home win of the season... The Beavers are 1-8 overall and 0-4 in the NSIC North following a 34-21 home loss to the University of Minnesota Duluth.  

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 

BATTLE OF THE BIG LAKE
This is the 8th annual "Battle of the Big Lake" travelling trophy game between the University of Mary and Minot State University. UMary has played Minot State 28 times, more than any other school. The series began in 1988 when Mary joined the North Dakota College Athletic Conference and went on a hiatus in 2005 when the Marauders moved to NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun. After a seven-year break following the 2005 contest, the two schools resumed the series in 2012 when Minot State was admitted into the Northern Sun.

BIG LAKE TROPHY
The Marauders won the first two "Battle of the Big Lake" travelling trophy games;  45-10 at home in 2013 and 31-29 on the road in (2014). The Beavers claimed the trophy for the first time in 2015 with a 15-9 overtime road win.

TWO TRAVELING TROPHIES
The Marauders play two games annually for travelling trophies. UMary is a combined 10-12 in trophy games. The Marauders are 8-7 in the "Battle for the Paddle" with MSU Moorhead and 2-5 in the "Battle for the Big Lake" against Minot State. 

SENIOR DAY
The Marauders will honor seven scholar-athletes on Saturday for their commitment and dedication to UMary football as they get set to play their final home game in the Blue & Orange. Seniors who will be honored on the field at 1:30 pm prior to kickoff are DL Collintino Andrews, LB Jack Barry, LB Will Blewett, WR Luke Little, QB Logan Nelson, DL Su'e Taugavau and RB Royce Verkuehlen... All-NSIC receiver Little (Bismarck, ND | Finance and Banking/MBA) played as a true freshman in 2017 and is a 3-year starter... Nelson (Billings, MT | Biology Education) claimed a starting role under center in 2019 and is setting team records this season... Blewett (Belgrade, MT | Civil Engineering) has been a key contributor at LB for three years... Barry (Bismarck, ND | Business Administration) moved into the starting lineup this season and had a sack at Northern State to seal the win... Taugavau (South Hayward, CA  | Criminal Justice) anchors the defensive line this season in a starting role in his second season at UMary... Andrews (Hampton, GA | MBA) joined the Marauders this season as a starting defensive lineman after earning All-Pioneer League honorable mention honors in 2019 at Stetson University... Verkuehlen (Larimore, ND | Accounting, Masters in Project Management) is a 5th year Marauder who saw limited action in 2018 as a contributor on special teams with injuries curtailing his career... Barry, Blewett, Little, Nelson and Verkuehlen have played their whole careers at UMary. 

FIRST INTERNATIONAL BANK & TRUST IS THE MARAUDERS BATTLE FOR THE BIG LAKE GAME SPONSOR
First International Bank & Trust is the game day sponsor for the Marauders-Beavers Battle for the Big Lake game on Nov. 6. Complimentary tickets are available at area First International Bank & Trust locations.   
 
MARAUDERS TO HONOR UNIVERSITY OF MARY SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT NOV. 6 GAME 
15 Marauders are pursuing degrees from the University of Mary School of Arts & Sciences. During the Marauders-Beavers game on Nov. 6, Arts & Sciences faculty will be recognized throughout the game. UMary football scholar-athletes pursuing a degree from the Arts & Sciences school include: Grant Collins, Jesse    Forknell, Mikaele Fuamatu, Raphael    Hamilton, Jadon    Hanzal, Samuel Harris, Melvin Hudson, Ian Kopf, Logan Nelson, Estevan Quintana, Austin Richter, Jacob    Thomsen, Johnny    Tillman and Luke Tuala. 

Arts & Sciences faculty and a guest will be admitted free to the game with their MCard. Throughout the year the Marauders will honor each of the five University of Mary academic schools and their faculty during a home game. 

MARAUDERS ALLEY TAILGATING STARTS AT 10:30 AM
Saturday's game day festivities begin when the Prairie Farms Dairy tailgating area opens at 10:30 am in the north parking lot at the MDU Resources Community Bowl. The UMary football team walks through Prairie Farms Dairy Marauders Alley at 11:45 am. Laughing Sun Brewery will operate the beer garden inside the MDU Resources Community Bowl during the game.   

MARAUDERS-BEAVERS SERIES HISTORY
This is the 29th meeting between the only two NCAA Division II athletic programs in the state... UMary has played Minot State 28 times, more than any other school... The series began in 1988 when Mary joined the North Dakota College Athletic Conference... The series went on hiatus in 2005 when the Marauders moved to NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun. After a seven-year break following the 2005 contest, the two schools resumed the series in 2012 when Minot State was admitted into the Northern Sun... Minot State leads the series 16-12... the Beavers won the first four meetings and the last five... UMary has won the only two playoff meetings (31-20 in 1993, 21-18 in 2002). 

QUICK HITTER STORY LINES

• The Battle for the Big Lake is the 2021 home finale for the Marauders, who will honor eight players on Senior Day
• After winning their first home game of the season last Saturday 42-17 over Concordia-St. Paul, the Marauders remain at home to host Minot State University in the Battle of the Big Lake trophy game  
• UMary held CSP to 275 yards of offense on Saturday, the fewest yards allowed by the Marauders defense since the final game of the 2018 season
• Three Marauders losses are by 7 or fewer point
• Three times the Marauders have held 4th quarter leads in losses
• UMary ranks 2nd in the nation in passing (338.8 yards/game), 24th in total offense (440.8 yards/game) and 48th in scoring (32.6) out of 163 teams
• UMary has committed just nine turnovers this season (6 interceptions, 3 fumbles), the 20th lowest total in the nation
• The current combined record of the Marauders first eight opponents is 45-27. Only SMSU (2-7) and MSUM (4-5) have losing records with Augustana, Minnesota Duluth and Wayne State all cracking the nation's top 25 polls this year.
• The combined record of the Marauders last three opponents is 9-18. Bemidji State (7-2) the lone team with a winning record and has received poll votes
• In a resurgent season for UMary football, the Marauders three wins with two more games to go is the most in a season since posting five in 2014

NCAA ALL-DIVISIONS HEADLINERS
Danny Kittner leads all NCAA players across every division (FBS, FCS, II, III) in catches (99), receiving yards (1,332) and all purpose yardage (1,772) and is 3rd in touchdown receptions (14)
Luke Little is 2nd among all NCAA players across all divisions in TD receptions (15), trailing only the 17 caught by Joey Owens (D3 Rockford)

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

• #2 NCAA /#1 NSIC Passing Offense (338.8 yards/game)
• #6 NCAA / #1 NSIC First Downs (224)
• #16 NCAA / #2 NSIC Completion Percentage (65.1%)
• #8 NCAA / #2 NSIC Red Zone Offense (90.1%)
• #20 NCAA / #2 NSIC Turnovers lost (9)
• #24 NCAA / #5 NSIC Total Offense (440.9 yards/game)
• #48 NCAA / #6 NSIC Scoring Offense (32.6)

NCAA Dll /NSIC RANKINGS - INDIVIDUAL
Danny Kittner 

• #1 NCAA / #1 NSIC Receptions/game (11)
• #1 NCAA / #1 NSIC Receiving yards (1,332) and receiving yards/game (148)
• #2 NCAA / #2 NSIC TD receptions (14)
• #1 NCAA / #1 NSIC All Purpose Yards (198 yards/game)

Luke Little

• #1 NCAA / #1 NSIC TD receptions (15)
• #6 NCAA / #2 NSIC Receiving Yards (972)
• #7 NCAA / #2 NSIC Receiving yards/game (108)
• #6 NCAA / #2 NSIC Receptions/game (7.7)
• #6 NCAA / #1 NSIC Total TDs (15) and Points (90)

Logan Nelson

• #4 NCAA / #3 NSIC Passing touchdowns (31)
• #5 NCAA/ #3 NSIC Points responsible for (198)
• #10 NCAA / #2 NSIC Total Offense (322.8 yards/game)
• #3 NCAA / #1 NSIC Passing Yards (2,875)
• #4 NCAA / #1 NSIC Passing Yards/game (319.4)
• #8 NCAA / #1 NSIC Completions/game (25.4)
• #14 NCAA / #2 NSIC Completion percentage (65.4%)

Tylen Small

• #23 NCAA / #2 NSIC Solo Tackles (5.4)

RECORDS
Here are the 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

Season
Receptions - 99 by Danny Kittner (80 Seth Meier 1999)
Receiving Yards - 1,332 by Danny Kittner (1,208 Neil MacDannald 1996)
Touchdown passes for team - 32 (Ties team record of 32 in 1995)

Watch List
Touchdown passes 31 Logan Nelson (32 Paul Cronin 1995)
Passing yards 2,895 Logan Nelson (2,933 Paul Cronin 1994)
Completions 228 Logan Nelson (254 Craig Bagnell 2013)
Passing yards - Team 3,066 (3,164 in 2014)
Completions - Team 240 (267 in 2013)
Passing yards per game - team 338.8 (287.7 yards/game in 2014)
Touchdown receptions 15 Luke Little (17 Tyler Steffan 2011)

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 338.8 yards/game through the air to rank 2nd in the nation. UMary has thrown for over 300 yards in seven of nine games, including efforts of 399 yards against Wayne State, 403 against Winona State and 454 at Northern State. The Marauders have scored 32 touchdowns through the air with Logan Nelson passing for 31. 

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 seven 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) and at Northern State (Kittner 154, Little 116)...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
TOTAL | 99 catches | 1,332 yards | 14 TDs

KITTNER BREAKS SINGLE SEASON RECORDS
In back to back weeks Danny Kittner has broken single season receiving records for the Marauders. 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.... Kittner now has 99 catches for 1,332 yards with two games 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 9 games Logan Nelson has thrown for 2.895 yards and 31 touchdowns, both NCAA era school records. He is fast approaching the all-time school marks in both categories:

• The single season UMary record for TD passes is 32 in 1995 by Paul Cronin (Nelson is 1 from tying record)
• The single season record for passing yardage is 2,933 yards by Cronin in 1995 (Nelson is 38 yards from tying the record). 
• The single season mark for completions is 254 by Craig Bagnell in 2013 (Nelson is 26 from tying the record)

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

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Luke Little and Danny Kittner are climbing the career receiving charts at UMary. Little is 6th in receiving yards (2,133) and 6th in catches (142). He also has 25 career TD receptions (3rd)... Kittner is 3rd in receptions (172) and 5th in receiving yardage (2,274). 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 69 catches for 992 yards and 15 TDs through nine 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 and 5-93-2 v CSP ... He has set career-highs for catches, yardage and TDs.

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 3rd with a 90... Logan Nelson remains to the QB list at #10 with a mark of 87. 

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... 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 61 tackles (49 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 (2.0) and tackles for loss (7.5). 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 seven games Small has cracked 100 yards four times and just missed in a 5th (130 yards and a TD against SMSU, 95 yards and a TD against Winona State, 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). 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 (41) and pass breakups (4).

EXPLOSION
The Marauders offense is starting to rev up in 2021 and has already generated 47 chunk plays of 20 or more yards in nine games, including 18 by Luke Little and 7 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

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