THIS WEEK
Hitting the road for the first time this season after playing twice at home, the University of Mary football team visits the University of Sioux Falls Cougars on Saturday, September 14. Game time is 1 pm at Bob Young Field in Sioux Falls, SD, in the home opener for USF.
 
THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 1-1 overall in 2024 with a 0-1 record in the Northern Sun… The Cougars are 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC.
 
LAST WEEK
Hosting the defending NSIC champions, UMary remained close much of the game before falling 35-13 to Augustana… Sioux Falls scored 20 points in the 1^st quarter and took a 34-0 lead enroute to a 34-10 win at Northern State University.
 
UMARY-USF HISTORY LESSON

• This is the 17th meeting between the Marauders and the Cougars
• USF leads the series 12-4 and owns six straight wins
• UMary is 3-7 at home and 1-5 at USF
• The series started in 1988, the first Marauders football season
• After USF won the first two meetings, UMary won the next three, including an NAIA playoff game in 1995
• The two programs met five times in the NAIA playoffs, the last time in 2002
• UMary won the first NCAA D2 meeting between the schools 17-10 in 2013. Craig Bagnell threw for 323 yards and a TD to Nick Jolliffe. Vince Ferrante ran for the winning TD with under five minutes to play. It is the last Marauders win over the Cougars.
• This is the first meeting in Sioux Falls since 2021

LAST MEETING (Sept. 9, 2023) Mason Phillips had a pair of sacks and Traivon Dyson caught two touchdown passes in a 36-17 UMary loss to visiting Sioux Falls.

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 2 REWIND | #14 AUGUSTANA 35 UMARY 13
A one-score game at halftime, the University of Mary contested their Northern Sun opener against defending conference champion and 14^th ranked Augustana deep into a 35-13 loss. After a scoreless opening quarter, Augie scored a touchdown for the first points of the game. UMary responded with a 21 yard field goal. After a second Vikings touchdown, Powell connected from 35 yards out as time expired to send the Marauders into halftime down 14-6. Augie scored twice in the 3^rd quarter before Mujeeb Rufai reached the end zone on a 66 yard touchdown pass to start the fourth quarter and close the gap to 28-13. UMary stopped the next two drives by Augie but the Marauders couldn't take advantage.  

• UMary had scoring drives of 17 plays (71 yards) and 13 plays (61 yards) in the second quarter with both drives ending in field goals
• Marauders defense held the Vikings to 100 yards rushing and 336 total yards
• Christopher Federico led UMary with nine tackles (six solo), including one for loss
• Grant Collins had a sack for the second straight game and two tackles for loss
• Mason Philips and Josh Obisui also had sacks
• Massoud was 21-of-33 passing for 240 yards and one touchdown without an interception
• Jakob Petry and Tuakoi Mahe both knocked down two passes
• Rufai had two catches for 75 yards and Karsyn Jablonski added four catches for 60 yards
• Kevin Powell md both field goal attempts (21, 35), hit his extra point attempt and averaged 40 yards/punt, hit a long punt of 57 yards, downed one inside the 20 yard line with no touchbacks and didn't have any of the seven punts returned

 
IN A (PASS) RUSH
The Marauders have six sacks through two games after posting 13.5 sacks for the whole 2023 season. Mason Phiilips leads the way with 3.0. Grant Collins is right behind with 2.0. Both have a sack in each game. Josh Obisui has the other UMary sack. The Marauders are 16^th in the nation with an average of 3.0 sacks/game.
 
GOUNDED
The UMary defense is allowing 88.0 yards rushing per game to rank #4 in the NSIC and 41^st in the nation. Through two games opponents are averaging 3.1 yards/rush.
 
OUR BALL
The Marauders have committed just one turnover in two games, throwing an interception in the opener. UMary has not lost a fumble. For the season the Marauder are +2 overall and +1.0 per game (27^th in nation, 3^rd in NSIC). UMary has forced three turnovers (three interceptions) and committed one turnover (one interception).
 
CONNECTION
The Marauders are 11^th in the nation in completion percentage at 71.2% with Sofian Massoud completing 72.4% of his pass attempts. The junior quarterback is 42-of-58 for 418 yards, two TDs and one interception.
 
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.
 
NCAA LEADER BOARD
Sofian Massoud

• #11 completion percentage (72.4)
• #19 completions/game (21.0)

Jaxon Feller

• #23 Combined kick return yards (114)

Mason Phillips

• #14 sacks/game (1.5)

Grant Collins

• #27 sacks/game (1.0)

Kevin Powell

• #31 field goals/game (1.0)

Justus Breston

• #10 interceptions/game (1.0)

 
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 starters on offense started games last season with senior transfer WR Kalani Washington (transfer from Sacramento State) the lone newcomer
• 10 of the 11 Marauders starting defenders also played for UMary last season with JR LB Tuakoi Mahe (transfer from Chabot College) the lone new face
• WR Karsyn Jablonski and LT Elliot Kooiker – both sophomores – are the lone underclassmen in the offensive starting lineup
• Defensively the Marauders 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

 
SACKED
With two sacks in the season opener and another in game two, 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 11.5 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
All 11 projected offensive starters for the Marauders earned starts for UMary. Leading the way is Melvin Hudson. The senior right tackle moved into the starting lineup week one of his freshman year in 2021. Hudson started 28 straight games before his streak was halted by injury. He returned two weeks later and has started all 33 games he has played in for UMary. Redshirt junior Luke Bodine was limited to three games in 2023 and enters his 4^th season as a starter at tight end.
 
On defense, linemen Grant Collins and Caden Green enter their 3^rd seasons as starters.
 
K/P Kevin Powell has played in 35 straight games for the Marauders… LB Jakob Petry has played in 33 career games.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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. 
 
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.
 
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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