THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
The long-awaited 2021 season opener for the University of Mary is nearly here. When the Marauders visit Wayne State College on Thursday, Sept. 2, it will be 656 days since the UMary has played a game after the pandemic wiped out the 2020 season. Game time for the clash between the Marauders and the Wildcats is 6 pm from Memorial Stadium Bob Cunningham in Wayne, NE. 
 
THE RECORDS/LAST WEEK
This is the season opener for both teams... The Marauders last played Nov. 16, 2019, and rolled over the University of Minnesota Crookston 44-15... On that same day the Wildcats suffered a 41-21 home loss to Sioux Falls. 
 
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 this Saturday's game are available online at www.GoUMary.com.

 
MARAUDERS-WILDCATS SERIES HISTORY
This is the 10th meeting between the Marauders and the Wildcats... Wayne State has an 8-1 edge in the series... UMary's lone win came at Wayne State in 2013... Four of the Marauders losses are by seven or fewer points... In the last meeting, the Marauders suffered a 26-23 home loss to the Wildcats. In a game featuring seven lead changes, Wayne State scored the winning points late in the fourth quarter.   
 
FAMILIAR FACES
The Marauders have 28 players who have donned the Blue & Orange in a game for UMary... The Marauders return 70 players from the cancelled 2020 season.
 
FAMILIAR FACES PART 2
Head coach Craig Bagnell, defensive coordinator Ben Davis and offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Mark Martin are the three Marauders coaches who have roamed the UMary sideline during a regular season game. Recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach Alex Kastens, special teams coordinator/wide receivers coach Nathan Frame, defensive backs coach Jared Gallatin, running backs coach Major Ali, linebackers coach Brady Daigh and asst. defensive backs coach Bryce Jones make their Marauders coaching debut in the season opener at Wayne State College.
 
SENIOR SALUTE
The Marauders roster features six seniors: DL Collintino Andrews, LB Will Blewett, WR Luke Little, QB Logan Nelson, DB Toure' Oliver and DL Su'e Taugavau... Little played as a true freshman in 2017 and is entering his third season as a starter... Nelson claimed a starting role under center in 2019... Blewett saw considerable action as a sophomore and junior, posting two sacks in the Marauders last game played against Minnesota Crookston in 2019... Taugavau moves into a starting role at nose guard after playing nine games in 2019...  Andrews joins the Marauders this season after earning All-Pioneer League honorable mention honors in 2019 at Stetson University.
 
656
When the Marauders take the field in the 2021 season opener against the Wildcats, it will be 656 days since UMary last played after the 2020 season was cancelled due to the pandemic. In the Marauders last game, UMary rolled over the University of Minnesota Crookston 44-15 on Nov. 16, 2019.
 
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 who have played a regular season game for the Marauders
 
ALL-NSIC
The Marauders return two of their five All-Northern Sun performers from 2019... One of the best kick and punt returners in the nation who is a threat to score anywhere on the field, junior WR Danny Kittner earned 1st team honors after averaging 145.8 all-purpose yards/game to rank 24th in the country. He had 685 receiving yards on 46 catches... As a true freshman, tackle Drake Lalim anchored the left side of the Marauders line and earned honorable mention honors after starting nine games.
 
ALL AROUND AWESOME
Wide receiver/kick returner Danny Kittner has provided big plays for the Marauders in all facets of the game in 2019, perhaps none bigger than a 71 yard punt return for a touchdown in the homecoming win over Upper Iowa. Here are a few highlights and rankings for Kittner in the 2019 season:

• 2nd in NSIC and 25th in NCAA Division II in All Purpose yards (143.7/game)
• 1st NSIC/6th nationally in combined punt/kick return yardage (836)
• 4th in NSIC in kick return average (23.0)
• 8th in NSIC/94th nationally in receiving yards (685)
• 6th NSIC/97th nationally in receiving yards/game (62.3)
• 9th NSIC/113th nationally in receptions/game (4.2)
• Averages an impressive 13.4 yards/return on 11 punt returns
• 1st UMary player to post 100 yards receiving and 100 on returns in two consecutive NCAA games (5 catches for 136 yards and 1 TD receiving, two runs for 16 yards and five kick returns for 107 yards for 254 all purpose yards on 12 touches against Minot State; seven catches for 121 yards and a score, returned three punts for 35 yards and had two kick returns for 86 yards for 242 yards at MSU Moorhead)
• 1st UMary player with consecutive 200+ all purpose yards since All-NSIC WR Elby Pope in final four games of 2014
• 3 straight 100 yard receiving games (5-136-1 v Minot State, 7-121-1 at MSUM, 3-101-0 at USF), longest streak since Elby Pope in final four games of 2014

Kittner is also among the league leaders in explosive plays. He has six receptions of at least 34 yards. Kittner has three of the 18 longest kick returns in the NSIC this season plus two of the nine longest punt returns. His total of 259 all-purpose yards against Minot State is the top mark in the NSIC this season. The 242 yards at MSU Moorhead ranks third.

He finished the 2019 season with 46 catches for 685 yards and 3 TDS, ran 10 times for 60 yards, and returned 30 kicks for 689 yards and 11 punts for 147 yards and 1 TD.

For his career Kittner has 73 catches for 942 yards and 6 TDs
 
LOGAN'S RUN
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... Nelson owns two of the four 100 yard rushing games by a Marauders quarterback in an NCAA game. He ran for 149 yards against Minot State and 129 against Upper Iowa. The other two: Colton Farmer ran for 175 at Minnesota Crookston in 2018 and Blair Sandy posted 111 against UMC in 2006... Becoming proficient at running and passing, Logan Nelson became the first UMary player to crack 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing against Upper Iowa when he carried the ball for 129 yards and a score and passed for 205 and two touchdowns. Earlier this year he ran for 149 three touchdowns and passed for 179 and a score against Minot State.
 
LITTLE IS A BIG MAN
Marauders 2018 All-NSIC wide receiver Luke Little has passed 1,000 career receiving yards. The senior has totaled 1,141 yards receiving on 73 catches with 10 touchdowns in 25 games. He caught 6 passes for 72 yards and 3 TDs as a freshman in 2017, had 40 catches for 657 yards and 4 TDs in 2018 and had a line of 27-412-10 in 2019. 
 
LINE PLAY
As true freshmen in 2019, Drake Lalim and Connor Paul moved into the starting lineup. Lalim played all 11 games and started the last nine at left tackle to earn All-NSIC honorable mention honors. Paul started seven times at right guard. Now sophomores, the duo anchors the Marauders offensive line in 2021, with Lalim remaining at tackle and Paul moving to center.
 
EXPLOSION
The Marauders demonstrated impressive big play capability in 2019, generating 51 chunk plays of 20 yards or more during the season, including as many as 8 big plays in wins oer Upper Iowa and Minnesota Crookston. QB Logan Nelson was involved in 23 plays of 20+ yards, including four runs of 49+ yards and 18 chunk pass completions...  Danny Kittner has 11 catches of at least 20 yards.
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
656 It will be 656 days since UMary has played a regular season football game
 
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
 
BROTHERS
The Marauders have a pair of brother combinations on their 2021 roster... Jr. OL Dylan Thomsen and Soph. DL Jacob Thomsen are natives of Thompson, ND... Soph. cornerbacks Ty'Rhae and Ty'Rese Gibson transferred to UMary last year from Montana State. The Los Angeles, CA, natives are the Marauders starting cornerbacks.  
 
BROTHERS PART 2
The Marauders also have several players who have had older brothers play for the Marauders, including Will Blewett (older brother Grady), Cru Darrah (Curtis), Jonah Krebs (Noah) and Ryan Woroniecki (Adam).
 
COUSINS
Soph. DB Tylen Small and Jr. RB David Small, Jr. are cousins.
 
TICKETS: Game tickets for Marauders home games are available online at www.UMaryTickets.com and at the door. Adult tickets are $15 and youth (13-18) and senior citizens are $8. UMary students with their M-card and children 12 and under are free. UMary faculty and staff are admitted free with their M-Cards and get 50 percent off all tickets purchased. Tickets are also for sale on gamedays at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.

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