HOMECOMING!
The University of Mary football team celebrates Homecoming 2024 with a visit from Concordia-St. Paul. The Marauders homecoming game against the Golden Bears kicks off at 2 pm at the MDU Resources Community Bowl.
 
US BANK SPONSORS HOMECOMING GAME, TAILGATING STARTS AT 11 AM
US Bank is the 2024 homecoming gameday sponsor for Marauders football. Tailgating starts at 11 am at the MDU Resources Community Bowl with kickoff at 2 pm. At halftime the University of Mary Alumni Award Winners, Hall of Fame inductees and the homecoming court will be introduced.
 
Overall Marauders athletics will host ten competitions during homecoming week, including a men's and women's golf tournament, three hockey games, two volleyball matches, the home opener for the swim team, a soccer match and one football game.
 
Visit www.umary.edu/homecoming to view all homecoming events.
 
UMARY FOOTBALL'S STEFFAN AMONG 2024 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
The 2024 Marauders Hall of Fame class includes three national champions, two All-Americans and the first UMary team to qualify for an NCAA Tournament.
 
Tyler Steffan (Football 2008-12) is the 1st UMary football player to earn NCAA All-American honors. A devastating weapon at wide receiver, Tyler used his size, speed, and athleticism to make big plays all over the field. He led the nation with 17 TD catches in 2011 and ranks 2nd in career TD catches (30) and 4th in catches (162) and yards (2,494).
 
2007 Marauders Women's Soccer team combined an impenetrable defense with a formidable attack to permanently etch their name in the school's history book as the first Marauders team to qualify for an NCAA tournament. The team tied the school record for wins (16) and won the NSIC tournament for a second straight year.
 
Tiffany (Johnson) Payne (Track & Field 1990-92) left an indelible mark on a rising women's track & field program as the first Marauders national champion in any sport. She won the 1991 NSIC women's indoor shot put title with a throw of 45-3 and is a 3-time All-American.
 
Tanya (Guzman) Black (Softball 2000-02) was an immediate presence at catcher from day one on campus. The 2001 All-American and 2-time regional player of the year led the Marauders to two NAIA Word Series appearances and earned All-Tournament honors in 2002 as UMary won three games.  
 
Melissa (Agnew) Blanchard (Women's Track & Field and Cross Country 2009-13) is a three-time national champion, a 12-time All-American and a 3-time NSIC Athete of the Year who is one of the most decorated scholar-athletes in UMary history and a major key in the Marauders ascension as one of the nation's top NCAA Division II track & field and cross country programs.
 
Jennifer (Agnew) Keller (Women's Track & Field and Cross Country 2009-13) was the first UMary runner to win an NCAA Division II cross country national championship. During her stellar career she was a five-time NCAA All-American and won three Northern Sun individual titles. Jen and her twin sister Melissa were selected to the Northern Sun's 25-year anniversary team in 2017.
 
THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 1-4 overall in 2024 with a 0-4 record in the Northern Sun… The Golden Bears are 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC.
 
LAST WEEK
UMary fell 41-7 at Bemidji State on homecoming for the Beavers… CSP suffered a 33-20 loss on homecoming to #7 Minnesota State.  
 
UMARY-CSP HISTORY LESSON

• This is the 12th meeting between the Marauders and the Golden Bears
• After playing the last two games at Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul, MN, this is the first game in Bismarck since 2021
• UMary leads the series 6-5
• Visiting teams won the first five meetings and seven of 11
• UMary is 4-2 in St. Paul and 2-3 in Bismarck
• Six times the winning team has scored 23 or fewer points
• LAST MEETING UMary closed with 37-34 in the final minute of play but just missed recovering an onside kick in a narrow loss at CSP (Sept. 30, 2023). Mujeeb Rufai caught nine passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. Karsyn Jablonski and Jeremiah Moore also scored for UMary. Sofian Massoud threw for 201 yards and two scores.  

FOLLOW LIVE

• All Marauders home games and home and away Northern Sun games are streamed live online at www.nsicnetwork.com/goumary and at www.GoUMary.com/coverage 
• Live stats for Marauders football are available online at www.GoUMary.com/coverage

 
MARAUDERS ATHLETICS MOVES ALL LIVE ATHLETICS BROADCASTS ONLINE
Beginning with the 2024-25 athletic season, the University of Mary is moving all athletics broadcasts to online streaming only. All Marauders home games and home and away Northern Sun games will stream live and free of charge at www.nsicnetwork.com/goumary and at www.GoUMary.com/coverage. Join Dan Doherty, the Voice of the Marauders, and Hall of Fame football coach and former UMary athletic director Roger Thomas on the call for all home football games. 
 
GAME 5 REWIND | #21 Bemidi State 41 UMary 7
The Marauders forced four turnovers by the Beavers but UMary was unable to ruin homecoming for the Beavers. Three of the four turnovers for BSU came in the Beavers red zone.

• Matty Horne had an interception and forced a fumble
• Jakob Petry also had an interception and Antwon Jenkins and Andres Finlayson recovered fumbles
• Luke Bodine caught eight passes for 89 yards and a TD

 
THE TURNOVER TOUCH
The Marauders have forced 11 turnovers this season, the 7^th most in the nation. The last two weeks UMary forced #RV Minnesota Duluth to cough the ball up three times and #21 Bemidji State into four turnovers. UMary has intercepted seven passes and recovered four fumbles. The Marauders are 10^th nationally in interceptions and 16^th in fumble recoveries.
 
PRECIOUS COMMODITY
The Marauders have done a tremendous job taking care of the football while also forcing opponents to not cherish possession of the football quite as much. UMary has committed six turnovers while forcing the opposition to turn the ball over 11 times. UMary is +5 on the season and +1.0 per game to rank 21^st in turnover margin. All six UMary turnovers have been pass interceptions as the Marauders have yet to lose a fumble. The Marauders have intercepted seven passes and recovered five fumbles.  
 
IN A (PASS) RUSH
The Marauders have nine sacks through five games after posting 13.5 sacks in the 2023 season. Mason Phiilips leads the way with 3.5. Grant Collins is right behind with 2.0. Josh Obisui, Christopher Federico and Tofa Wilson also have sacks while Jakob Petry owns 0.5 sacks.
 
RETURNED FOR A TOUCHDOWNNNN!
The Marauders have four touchdowns on returns this season. Justus Breston returned two interceptions to the house in the opener, Andrew Trandahl returned a kick 89 yards for the score at Sioux Falls and Jaylen Martin had a 43 yard fumble return for a touchdown against Minnesota Duluth.
 
DYNAMIC DUO
Mujeeb Rufai and Karsyn Jablonski give the Marauders two of the top 16 players in receiving yards per game in the NSIC. Rufai has 29 catches for 319 yards and two TDs to average 63.8 yards receiving/game. In four games Jablonski has 12 catches for 231 yards and one touchdown, and average of 57.8 receiving yards/game.
 
GROUNDED
The UMary defense allows 144.8 yards rushing per game to rank #5 in the NSIC. Opponents average 4.3 yards/carry.
 
CONNECTION
The Marauders are 14^th in the nation in completion percentage at 66.7% with Sofian Massoud completing 67.5% of his pass attempts (#14 nationally). The junior quarterback is 104-of-154 for 929 yards, four TDs and five interceptions.
 
STOP!
Christian Federico is 4^th in the NSIC with 7.6 tackles per game. The sophomore linebacker has 38 total tackles (30 solo).
 
BLOCK PARTY
Ian Kopf became the Marauders all-time NCAA leader in blocked kicks with five when he rejected a Jamestown extra point attempt in the opener. The junior from Walla Walla, WA, posted a pair of blocks each of the previous two seasons to go with one this year. Kopf was named the NSIC Player of the Week in his freshman season of 2022 when he blocked a pair of extra points in a 27-26 UMary overtime win over Northern State. His second block of the game came in overtime. The Marauders previous NCAA-era leader in blocked kicks was defensive lineman Brock Pittsley. The all-NSIC performer had four from 2014-17.
 
BALL SECURITY
The Marauders have not lost a fumble this season, one of only 16 teams to not lose a fumble this season.
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Mason Phillips owns 5.0 tackles for loss this season, including 3.5 sacks. He ranks 10^th in the NSIC with 1.00 TFL.
 
AIR GUARD
Justus Breson, the NSIC and D2Football.com Player of the week after retuning two interceptions for touchdowns in the Week 0 season opener, is among the NSIC leaders in passes defended. He leads the NSIC with three interceptions and has also broken up three other passes for six total passes defended. His average of 1.20 passes defended/game is 3^rd in the NSIC… Jakob Petry and Tuakoi Mahe rank 21^st in the NSIC at 0.60 passes defended/game.
 
SACKED
With two sacks in the season opener and 3.5 total, Mason Phillips is on his way to cracking the Marauders All-Time career leader board. In his third season, the junior linebacker has corralled opposing QBs 12 times in his career (2.0 in 2022, 6.5 in 2023, 3.0 in 2024). All-American LB Grant Singer is #12 all-time at UMary with 16. 
 
EXPERIENCE
Several Marauders have played more than 20 games for the Marauders:

• Kevin Powell has played in every game since his freshman season in 2021 as the Marauders punter and kicker, a string of 38 straight games
• A starter at right tackle since game one as a freshman, senior Melvin Hudson has played in 35 games, all starts
• Sr. LB Jakob Petry has been a part of 36 UMary football games
• Sr. DL Grant Collins has competed in 33 UMary games
• Junior tight end Luke Bodine has played 28 games
• Sr. Caden Green has appeared in 27 games on the defensive line
• KR Jaxon Feller has appeared in 26 games
• WR Jaxon Young has played in 26 games, missing just one contest in three seasons
• Jr. Mason Phillips has played 25 games at linebacker
• Ian Kopf has played in 25 games on the defensive line
• Jr. LB Eli Heinrich has been in 21 career games
• JR OL Mika Fuamatu has played in 20 games

 
NCAA LEADER BOARD
Sofian Massoud

• #14 completion percentage (67.5)
• #18 completions/game (20.8)

Mujeeb Rufai

• #26 receptions/game (5.8)

Kevin Powell

• #36 field goals/game (1.00)

Justus Breston

• #24 interceptions/game (0.6)

Christopher Federico

• #10 solo tackles (6.0/game)

Andrew Trandahl

• #34 Kick Returns (26.6  yards/return)

 
CAPTAINS
Sofian Massoud, Jakob Petry, Mujeeb Rifai and Mason Phillips have served as the Marauders captains this season.
 
QUICK HITTERS

• Among the 58 Marauders who played in the season opener, 16 were playing in their first game for the Orange & Blue
• 10 of the Marauders 11 game 1 starters on offense started games last season with senior transfer WR Kalani Washington (transfer from Sacramento State) the lone newcomer. Since then Jaydon Coley (TE/G) and OL Leo Togia have also earned starts. 
• 10 of the 11 Marauders game 1 starting defenders also played for UMary last season with JR LB Tuakoi Mahe (transfer from Chabot College) the lone new face. Since then CB Justus Breston has also earned a start. 
• WR Karsyn Jablonski, LT Elliot Kooiker and RB Jeremiah Moore – all sophomores – are the lone underclassmen in the offensive starting lineup
• Defensively the Marauders have started four sophomores – LB Chris Federico and DBs Antwon Jenkins Jr., Abram Jopp and Treyton Horstman
• Head coach Shann Schillinger is in his second season at the helm of the Marauders
• The Marauders opened the season with 98 players on the roster
• UMary returns 64 players from last fall, including 47 Marauders who saw action last season
• BY CLASS: 18 true freshmen, 13 Redshirt Freshmen, 24 sophomores, 25 juniors, 18 seniors/graduate students. 
• 26 players who started at least one game for UMary in 2023 return (15 offense, 11 defense)
• The incoming class features 18 freshmen and 16 transfers

 
FAMILY MATTERS
Ryan Woroniecki's older brother Adam also played football for the Marauders… Cameron Brusven and Karsyn Jablonski are 2nd generation Marauders as their father's played football for the Marauders.
 
TWO TRAVELING TROPHIES
The Marauders play two games annually for travelling trophies. UMary is a combined 12-15 in trophy games. The Marauders are 8-9 in the "Battle for the Paddle" with MSU Moorhead and 4-6 in the "Battle for the Big Lake" against Minot State.
 
BRESTON NAMED NSIC, D2FOOTBALL.COM DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Justus Breston picked up a pair of impressive honors following his stunning Marauders debut. The junior defensive back from Atlanta, GA, returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns (25 and 47 yards) and broke up another pass in UMary's 23-6 Week 0 win over the University of Jamestown.
 
For his efforts Breston was named the D2Football.com national defensive player of the week, a first for a UMary player. The only other Marauders to previously claim D2Football.com weekly honors were Tyler Ryan (special teams in 2013) and Danny Kittner (offense 2021).
 
The transfer from Chabot College was also the Northern Sun defensive player of the week. Breston was the UMary player to earn NSIC weekly accolades since Kittner earned offensive honors on October 24, 2022. The last UMary player to earn defensive honors was Paul Guptill in the final game of the 2019 season.
 
MUJEEB RUFAI NAMED MARAUDERS OFFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH IN NSIC
A transfer from the University of Idaho, Mujeeb Rufai immediately played a major role in the Marauders offense in 2023. The senior wide receiver from Portland, OR, caught a team-high 65 passes for 569 yards and three touchdowns. Rufai snared a season-high 12 passes against the University of Sioux Falls and posted nine receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown at Concordia-St. Paul.
 
MASON PHILLIPS NAMED THE MARAUDERS DEFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH IN NSIC
Mason Phillips provided tremendous pressure in opponent's backfields last year as the junior linebacker led the Marauders with 6.5 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss. The native of Gilbert, AZ, also forced and recovered a fumble. Phillips posted a pair of sacks and forced a fumble against USF while making a sack and forcing a fumble in a win over Southwest Minnesota State University. He was 5th in the NSIC in sacks and 13th in tackles for loss.
 
UMARY PICKED 13^th IN NSIC PRESEASON POLL
UMary was picked to finish 13th in the 2024 NSIC Football Preseason Coaches' Poll. Minnesota Duluth sits atop the rankings, followed by Augustana, Minnesota State, Wayne State, Bemidji State, MSU Moorhead, Winona State, Sioux Falls, Northern State, Concordia-St. Paul, Southwest Minnesota State, Minot State and UMary. 
 
MARAUDERS FOOTBALL QUICK FACTS
History | 36th varsity season (JV season 1987, varsity 1988)
Record - overall (through 2023) | 191-181-1
Record - conference | 132-145
Record - postseason | 6-10
Playoff appearances | 9 (1993, '95, '96, '98, '99, '00, 01, '02, '03)
Conference Titles | 7 (1992, '96, '98, '99, '01, '02, '04)
Home Field (capacity) | MDU Resources Community Bowl (7,000)
Surface | FieldTurf
 
FOOTBALL STAFF
Head Coach | Shann Schillinger, 2^nd year (Montana, '10)
Offensive Coordinator | David Schramm, 2^nd year (San Diego State, '88)
Defensive Coordinator | Ben Davis, 10^th year (MacMurray, '11)
Offensive Line | Mark Martin, 6^th season (St. Cloud State, '01)
Wide Receivers | Renato Diaz, 1^st season (University of South Florida, '83)
Special Teams/Safeties | Van Cooper, 2^nd year (Montana, '07)
Inside Linebackers | Tom Johnson, 3^rd year (University of Mary, '17)
Outside Linebackers / Pro Scout Liaison | Eli Alford, 1^st year (Montana, '23)
Running Backs / Recruiting Coordinator | Gavin Robertson, 1^st year (Montana, '22)
Tight Ends | Eli Stewart, 1^st year (United States Naval Academy, '22)
 
Equipment Manager | Wayne Norman
Chaplain | Father Jarad Wolf
 
STAT CITY | NCAA DIVISION II FINAL 2023 RANKINGS FOR RETURNERS

• Mujeeb Rufai #19 receptions/game (5.9)
• Eli Heinrich #22 fumble recoveries (2)
• Jaxon Feller #6 combined kick return yards (772)
• Ian Kopf #16 blocked kicks (2)
• Kevin Powell #47 in punting (39.1 yards/punt)
• Kevin Powell #14 field goal percentage (.769) and #38 in field goals made/game (0.91)
• Sofian Massoud #36 completion percentage (0.619)

 
TEAM STAT CITY | NCAA DIVISION II FINAL 2023 RANKINGS FOR RETURNERS

• #20 4^th down conversion (.591)
• #16 Blocked kicks allowed (1)
• #49 Blocked kicks (3)
• #33 Completion percentage (,619)
• #16 Fewest penalties/game (4.82)
• #28 fewest penalty yards/game (48.3)
• #28 Fumbles lost (5)
• #32 fumbles recovered (9)
• #14 kickoff return defense (16.0) 
• #36 Turnovers lost (15)

 
SHANN SCHILLINGER – YEAR 2 LEADING THE MARAUDERS
Former NFL player and Baker, MT, native Shann Schillinger leads the Marauders onto the field for his second season in 2024 after taking over as UMary head coach in 2023. A former star at the University of Montana and the 8th head coach in UMary program history, Schillinger has coached in both the NCAA Division I Big Ten and Big Sky conferences and is a Montana Football Hall of Fame inductee.
 
Winning is a common theme throughout Schillinger's career. Between high school and college Schillinger's teams posted 100 victories and only seven defeats. A team captain, Schillinger won three state titles during his four years at Baker HS (2001-04) as quarterback and defensive back while coached by his uncle Don Schillinger, one of the winningest prep coaches in Montana history.
 
Dubbed "the fastest man from Baker, MT," his accolades made him a highly recruited college prospect before signing on with the Grizzlies as a safety. Schillinger helped lead the Grizzlies to two Football Championship Series (FCS) title games while also earning All-Big Sky Conference honors. Twice he was honored with the Tony Barbour Award, given annually to the "player who best exemplifies outstanding practice habits and makes an unselfish contribution to the betterment of the Grizzly football team." He ranks among the best in Montana history with 257 career takedowns and 11 career interceptions.
 
After a star-studded career with the University of Montana Grizzlies, NFL fans heard Schillinger's name called on national TV by the Atlanta Falcons in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Drafted as the 171st overall pick, Schillinger played four years in the NFL as a safety from 2010 to 2013 with the Falcons and Tennessee Titans.
 
Schillinger's full-time coaching career began after the NFL in 2015 as a special teams and defensive backs assistant for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. He returned to his alma mater in Missoula to coach special teams and safeties from 2016 to 2021 and served as the team's pro scout liaison.
 
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