Football | 11/4/2015 3:59:00 PM

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Live Audio/Video
The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team returns home to face the University of Mary on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Scheels Field at Nemzek Stadium. The game is the "Battle for the Paddle" which Mary currently holds after a 52-45 win a year ago.

Saturday's game, which is also senior day, will be the 2015 home finale for MSUM.

The game will be televised live on WDAY'Z Xtra with Dragon broadcasters Steve d'Eustachio and Larry Scott on the call. Live video, stats and audio can be heard at msumdragons.com.  

MSUM is 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division; St. Cloud is 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the NSIC North.

A win over Mary would…
—give MSUM five wins in a season for the first time since 2006; would be most wins in the Steve Laqua era
—give MSUM a 3-2 mark at home this season
—give the Dragons just their second win all-time over the Marauders
—help MSUM to its best season mark through 10 games (5-5) since 2006

Series History
MSUM and Mary will meet for a 10th time with the Marauders holding a 8-1 series lead. MSUM's lone win came in 2013 when the Dragons prevailed 48-41.  The combined scores of the last two games between the two teams is 93-93
 
Previous meetings:
2014: Mary 52, MSUM 45 (in Bismarck, N.D.)
2013: MSU Moorhead 48, Mary 41 (in Moorhead)
2012: Mary 23, MSUM 7 (in Bismarck, N.D.)
2011: Mary 52, MSU Moorhead 13 (in Moorhead)
2010: Mary 16, MSU Moorhead 7 (in Bismarck)
2009: Mary 39, MSU Moorhead 13 (Moorhead)
2008: Mary 24, MSU Moorhead 17 (OT) (Bismarck)
2007: Mary 45, MSU Moorhead 31 (Moorhead)
2006:  Mary 21, MSUM 20 (Bismarck)

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his fifth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 15-38 at the school, while Josh Kotelnicki is in his second season at Mary with a 6-14 record.

About MSUM
MSUM is 4-5 on the year after suffering a 59-21 loss at St. Cloud State on Oct. 31. Kayne Griffith and Zayne Medhaug each rushed for touchdowns in the losing effort while sophomore receiver Damon Gibson had two catches for 101 yards and a score.

The Dragons average 26.1 points per game and record 400.0 yards per game in total offense.  Senior running back Zayne Medhaug has rushed for 462 yards and six touchdowns to lead the ground game, while sophomore quarterback Demetrius Carr has thrown for 1,642 yards and 12 touchdowns in six starts. Sophomore Damon Gibson leads the receiving corps with 29 catches for 706 yards and six touchdowns. Junior Cory Ambrose and senior Adam Jiskra each have five touchdown receptions this season.

Redshirt freshman safety Michael Strand leads the defense with 53 tackles and three interceptions. Junior linebacker Aaron Bohl and sophomore safety Abe Roehrich have 52 tackles each. Sophomore defensive tackle Jake Busse leads with four sacks.

MSUM allows 38.1 points per game and 463.9 yards of total offense per contest.

About Mary
Mary enters this week at 1-8 overall and 1-4 in the NSIC with the Battle for the Paddle on tap against MSUM for today. The Marauders picked up their first win of the season on Oct. 31 with a 33-28 victory over Minnesota Crookston. Mary trailed 28-21 going into the fourth quarter before rallying for the win.

Mary is averaging 9.1 points per game and 292.4 yards per game of total offense.  Adam Woroniecki has rushed for 553 yards and two scores for the Marauders while Zach Graves has rushed for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Caleb Buck has thrown for 1,408 yards and four touchdowns and also has thrown nine interceptions.  Brennan Doan is the top receiver with 42 catches for 377 yards and a score.

Preston Tescher has 82 tackles to lead the Mary defense, which allows 36.1 points per game. Danielle Whitaker has three interceptions while Landon Smith has 10.5 tackles for loss.

More about the Dragons
Big-Play Threat
Sophomore receiver Damon Gibson has become a big-play threat in the Dragon passing game. He ranks second in all of Division II at 24.3 yards per catch, a mark that also leads the NSIC. He has 29 catches for 706 yards and six touchdown, leading the Dragons in all three categories.  Gibson had his third 100-yard receiving game of the season on Saturday at St. Cloud State, which is most on the team.

Block Party
MSUM has blocked four field goals and two punts this season. Senior defensive lineman Steve Schutz has blocked four field goals, which is tied for second in the nation, while sophomore receiver Damon Gibson and redshirt freshman linebacker Joe Rademacher have each blocked punts. Rademacher's block against Minot State led to a touchdown return by Tyler Lazarz in the first quarter which proved vital in the Dragons' 30-20 win.

Week 10 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 2-2 in Week 10 games under Head Coach Steve Laqua.  The Dragons lost to Northern State, 42-21 in 2011 and lost at Bemidji State, 35-25 in 2012 before beating Bemidji State 35-17 in 2013.  A year ago, the Dragons beat Bemidji State, 27-21.

Medhaug Climbing Scoring Charts
Senior running back Zayne Medhaug now has scored 234 career points during his MSUM career. His latest touchdown run in the second half of the St. Cloud State game pushed him past the 230-point plateau. Medhaug is just four points away from fourth-place Bob Jones on the MSUM all-time list. Randy Sullivan is the all-time leading scorer at 316.

Seniors being honored
MSUM will honor 17 seniors and one student coach who are participating in their final home game on Saturday. Here is the list that will be honored.
-OL Bennen Bierman (four year starter on offensive line)
-DB Anthony Binford (has appeared in more than 40 games in career)
-DB Chris Binford (four-year starter at cornerback)
-OL Joe Bromenshenkel (two-year starter on the offensive line)
-QB Jake Hodge (school's all-time leader in passing yards and total offense)
-WR Adam Jiskra (school's all-time leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns)
-LB Chris Lee (has recorded 174 career tackles)
-RB Zayne Medhaug (is fifth on MSUM's all-time scoring list at 234; team)
-TE Myles Montplaisir (converted to tight end, key contributor on special teams)
-DB Brandon Nelson (has appeared in 37 games in MSUM career)
-DL Jorden Pangram (three-year member of Dragon defensive line)
-OL Troy Peterson (four-year starter on offensive line)
-WR Preston Prince (has 50 career catches in Dragon career)
-DB Jaylen Raye (four-year member of Dragon secondary)
-DL Steve Schutz (Air Force veteran and four-year member of defensive line, has blocked six field goals in career)
-DB Garrett Shelley (has compiled 127 tackles since moving to defensive back three years ago)
-DL Wade Youngblom (four-year Dragon player, moved to defensive line prior to 2014 season)
-Student coach Tyler Rivard (three-year student assistant after injury cut short his career)

Jiskra Surpasses 200
Senior receiver Adam Jiskra had two catches for 14 yards against SMSU before leaving the game with an injury that has left him out indefinitely. Those two catches put him at 201 for his career, making him just the second Dragon receiver to surpass 200 receptions for his career. Jiskra is also one of three players in NSIC history with 200 receptions or more. The Grafton, N.D., native already holds MSUM records for receiving yards (2,925) and receiving touchdowns (31).

Starting on the Right Foot
MSUM's 3-0 start was the Dragons' first since 1987. Those three wins — all coming against NSIC South Opponents — came against teams picked to finish ahead of the Dragons in the preseason poll - Augustana (4th), Winona State (6th) and Concordia-St. Paul (eighth). MSUM finished the month of September with a 3-1 mark, their first winning September in the Laqua era. Winona State and Augustana both beat teams ranked in the top five of the nation on Oct. 24

Stalwarts Up Front
Seniors Bennen Bierman (left tackle) and Troy Peterson (right tackle) have each started all 42 games over the past three seasons on the offensive line -- combining for 84 starts in their careers.. The offensive line play is among the keys to the Dragon offense's growth over the past two seasons.

Team captains
Junior linebacker Aaron Bohl and senior running back Zayne Medhaug were selected as MSUM's 2015 team captains. It is the third straight year Bohl has served as team captain.