MARSHALL, MN – Clicking in every phase of the game, the University of Mary rolled over Southwest Minnesota State University 40-9. UMary claimed a victory on the road at SMSU for a second straight season as six different Marauders scored touchdowns, including a punt return by Jaxon Feller. Defensively the Marauders intercepted three passes that led to two touchdowns in UMary's first Norther Sun win of the season.
 
Hudsen Sheldon, making his first collegiate start and his second appearance, threw for four touchdowns to four different receivers. The freshman from Mandan, ND, completed 10-of-17 passes for 213 yards with one interception. He also ran for a team-best 71 yards.
 
Defensively UMary (2-2 overall, 1-2 NSIC) held its opponent to under 300 yards for the third time in four games as the SMSU earned just 256 yards total and only 58 on the ground. The Mustangs (1-2 overall, 1-2 NSIC) managed a scant 15 first downs and score on only one of their 13 possessions in the game.
 
The Mustangs opened the scoring with the only points of the first quarter. Pinned back on the shadow of their goal line by the first of two straight Christian Jangula punts that would be downed by the Marauders on the SMSU 4 yard line, the Mustangs marched 96 yards on 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead.
 
The rest of the game belonged to UMary as the Marauders scored 40 of the next 42 points while limiting SMSU to just 160 yards.
 
Feller set up the Marauders first points of the day with a 16 yard punt return to the SMSU 32. Kicked off by a 14 yard run by Xavier Brackenridge, Andrew Trandahl closed the drive when he busted into the end zone from 1 yard out to pull UMary even at 7-7.
 
A pair of big pass plays produced the next UMary score. After finding Damani Wilks for 32 yards on first down from the UMary 20, Sheldon hit Karsyn Jablonski over the top of the Mustangs defense for a 36 yard scoring strike for a 14-7 lead.
 
Following a safety for SMSU, UMary entered intermission leading 14-9.
 
The Marauders took control of the game in the third quarter as Sheldon connected on scoring passed of 28 yards to BJ Phillips and 38 yards to Wilks for a 28-9 UMary advantage. The second score was set up by a Mason Phillips interception of an SMSU screen pass behind the line of scrimmage which he returned 28 yards to the SMSU 40.
 
Feller punctuated the Marauders third quarter dominance with a 43 yard punt return for a touchdown with 59 seconds left in the stanza, sending UMary into the final quarter with a 35-9 lead.
 
The punt return for a touchdown by Feller was the first for UMary since All-American Danny Kittner returned a punt for a score in a 2019 homecoming win over Upper Iowa. For the day, Feller finished with three punt returns for 70 yards.
 
Abram Jopp set up the Marauders final score with an interception at the Mustangs 40 yard line early in the fourth quarter. Taking advantage of the short field, UMary scored on an eight-play drive with Sheldon finding Ethan Heinrich wide open in the end zone for a 16 yard touchdown pass.
 
A balanced Marauders attack finished the day with 365 yards of offense – including 152 on the ground – and 21 first downs. UMary reached 40 points for the first time since a 49-31 win over Minot State on November 6, 2021. The 31-point margin of victory was the largest win for UMary since downing Minot State 45-10 on October 5, 2013.
 
Brackenridge finished with 61 yards rushing on 15 carries for UMary. Wilks posted two catches for 70 yards and a score. Jablonski made two catches for 57 yards and a score. BJ Phillips registered three grabs for 49 yards and a touchdown.
 
Christopher Federico and Tuakoi Mahe led another high-energy defensive performance for the Marauders.
 
One of the top tacklers in the NSIC, Federico made a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss and finished with 11 tackles over, including two solo stops.
 
Mahe also made an impact in the SMSU backfield, recording two tackles for loss, including a sack, and broke up a pass. He had six tackles total, four solo.
 
Phillips, in addition to his interception, had a sack. Tofa Wilson posted 1.5 tackles for loss with one sack.
 
Jangula averaged 37.3 yards on three punts with two downed at the SMSU 4.
 
Colin Maher led SMSU with eight catches for 107 yards. Macloud Crowton passed for 198 yards with three interceptions and ran for 22 yards. Aiden Planer made two tackles for loss.
 
The Marauders next host Northern State University on Saturday, September 27. Kickoff is 2 pm at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck, ND.
 
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