THIS WEEK
The University of Mary closes out September with a road trip to Northern Minnesota for a meeting with #21 Bemidji State University. After playing three of their first four games at home, the Marauders visit the Beavers for the BSU homecoming game on Saturday, September 28. Game time is 2 pm at Chet Anderson Stadium on the BSU campus in Bemidji, MN.
 
THE RECORDS
The Marauders are 1-3 overall in 2024 with a 0-3 record in the Northern Sun… The Beavers are 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC.
 
LAST WEEK
UMary dropped a home game to Northern Sun preseason favorite University of Minnesota Duluth 43-7… Bemidji State went on the road and defeated Sioux Falls 28-24.
 
UMARY-UMD HISTORY LESSON

• This is the 18th meeting between UMary and BSU
• The Beavers own a 13-4 series lead
• UMary won the 1st meeting 27-21 in 2006 to ruin BSU's homecoming. Shawn Melland returned a fumble 85 yards in the game.
• The Marauders lone win over an NCAA ranked team was over #20 BSU 49-21 in 2011. Tyler Steffan caught 8 passes for 202 yards and 3 TDs as Craig Bagnell passed for 315 yards and 2 TDs on an 18-for-26 effort.
• BSU has won the last 9 meetings
• This is the first meeting between UMary and BSU in Bemidji since 2021 when Danny Kittner set Marauders receiving records with 19 catches for 284 yards and four TDs in a 62-40 Beavers win. Logan Nelson passed for six TDs and 465 yards.
• The Marauders are 2-7 at home and 2-6 on the road against the Beavers
• The Marauders last defeated the Beavers 26-17 on Oct. 12, 2013, as Craig Bagnell passed for 311 and both threw and ran for touchdowns to lead visiting UMary. Nick Jolliffe caught seven passes for 137 and a TD while Grant Singer and Troy Guptill combined for 3.0 sacks and 5.0 tackles for loss.
• LAST MEETING (Sept. 23, 2023) Seth Jarrett had six tackles and a pass breakup, Mason Phillips added a sack and Jason Stoddard forced and returned a fumble 44 yards in a 41-10 UMary loss to #7 BSU.

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 4 REWIND | #RV MINNESOTA DULUTH 43 UMARY 7
Just a two-score deficit at intermission with UMary trailing visiting Minnesota Duluth 14-0 got away from the Marauders in the third quarter as the Bulldogs reached the end zone three times.

• Mason Phillips paced the Marauders defense with two tackles for loss
• Jaylin Martin returned a fumble 43 yards in the 4^th quarter for the Marauders lone touchdown of the game
• Mujeeb Rufai caught eight passes for 82 yards, including a long gainer of 31 yards
• Christopher Federico had a sack and nine tackles
• The Marauders forced three turnovers with Martin and Matty Horne recovering fumbles and Maleik Bradford making an interception

 
IN A (PASS) RUSH
The Marauders have eight sacks through four 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 and Christopher Federico 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.
 
RETURN MEN
The Marauder average an impressive 26.2 yards per kick return to lead the NSIC. Andrew Trandahl tops the conference leader board with an average return of 32.8 yards on five returns, including an 89 yard touchdown. Jaxon Feller has five returns for an average of 19.6 yards.
 
DYNAMIC DUO
Mujeeb Rufai and Karsyn Jablonski give the Marauders two of the top eight players in receiving yards per game in the NSIC. Rufai has 26 catches for 311 yards and two TDs to average 77.8 yards receiving/game. In three games Jablonski has 12 catches for 231 yards and one touchdown, and average of 77 receiving yards/game.
 
GROUNDED
The UMary defense allows 132 yards rushing per game to rank #5 in the NSIC. Opponents average just 4.1 yards/carry.
 
OUR BALL
The Marauders have committed just five turnovers in four games, all on interceptions. UMary has yet to lose a fumble. For the season the Marauder are +2 overall in turnovers, intercepting five pases and recovering two fumbles.
 
CONNECTION
The Marauders are 19^th in the nation in completion percentage at 65.7% with Sofian Massoud completing 66.7% of his pass attempts (#16 nationally). The junior quarterback is 84-of-126 for 801 yards, three TDs and four interceptions.
 
STOP!
Christian Federico is third in the NSIC with 8.3 tackles per game. The sophomore linebacker has 33 total tackles (26 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 23 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 6^th in the NSIC with 1.25 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 two other passes for five total passes defended. His average of 1.25 passes defended/game is 4^th in the NSIC… Tuakoi Mahe is close behind with three breakups.
 
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
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 35 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 37 straight games for the Marauders… LB Jakob Petry has played in 35 career games.
 
NCAA LEADER BOARD
Sofian Massoud

• #16 completion percentage (66.7)
• #15 completions/game (21)

Mujeeb Rufai

• #17 receptions/game (6.5)

Mason Phillips

• #29 sacks/game (0.88)

Kevin Powell

• #36 field goals/game (1.00)

Justus Breston

• #9 interceptions/game (0.8)

Christopher Federico

• #7 solo tackles (6.5/game)

Andrew Trandahl

• #20 Kick Returns (32.8 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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