Football | 10/19/2016 5:09:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team goes on the road this week to face the University of Mary in the annual Battle for the Paddle. Game time is 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Community Bowl in Bismarck, N.D.

MSUM holds the Paddle for just the second time in the series history after beating the Marauders 37-0 in Moorhead in 2015.

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

A win over Mary would…
—be the Dragons' first road win of 2016
—give MSUM two straight wins over Mary in the series and three overall
—improve MSUM to 2-2 in the NSIC North
—give MSUM its first-ever win in Bismarck over the Marauders.

Series History
MSUM and Mary will meet for an 11th time with the Marauders holding a 8-2 series lead. MSUM regained the Paddle for a second time in 2015 with a 37-0 home win over the Marauders.
 
Previous meetings:
2015: MSUM 37, Mary 0 (in Moorhead)
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 sixth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 20-42 at the school, while Josh Kotelnicki is in his third year at Mary with a record of 7-22.

About MSUM
MSUM fell to 3-4 on the year with a heartbreaking 41-38 loss to St. Cloud State on Oct. 15. MSUM trailed 27-0 at one point in the game before rallying to take a 38-34 lead. The Huskies scored in the final minute to earn the three-point win. Junior quarterback Demetrius Carr threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns for MSUM while Damon Gibson caught eight passes for 172 yards and a touchdown. Senior Cory Ambrose also had 144 receiving yards and a score. Sophomore running back Austin Stone had 145 yards rushing, a career-high, to go with two scores.

Sophomore Austin Stone has rushed for 648 yards and six touchdowns for MSUM while Carr has thrown for 1,394 yards and 16 touchdowns.  Gibson has caught 52 passes for 924 yards and 10 touchdowns while Ambrose has caught 29 passes for 408  yards and six touchdowns. MSUM scores 30.3 points per game and records 435.3 yards of total offense per game.

On defense junior linebacker Abe Roehrich has a team-best 57 tackles to go with two sacks and two interceptions.  Sophomore safety Michael Strand has 52 tackles and two interceptions, while senior Aaron Bohl has 49 tackles and 3.5 sacks while senior defensive lineman Ryan Dahleen also has 3.5 sacks.  MSUM has allowed 30.0 points per game and is allowing 405.7 yards per game of total offense.

About Mary
The Marauders picked up their first win of the 2016 season with a 26-13 road victory over Minnesota Crookston on Saturday. The game was tied at 13-13 after three quarters before Mary scored 13 fourth-quarter points to secure the win. Colton Farmer threw for 154 yards and two scores while also rushing for a touchdown for Mary.

The Marauders score an average 8.4 points per game and 214.9 yards per game of total offense. Zach Podoll leads the ground game with 105 carries for 323 yards. Farmer is 27-of-48 passing for 296 yards and three touchdowns. Zack Graves has caught 11 passes for 72 yards.

Mary's defense allows 40.6 points and 485.6 yards of total offense per game.  Austin Bolton has 52 tackles while Brody Peterson has three sacks. Danielle Whitaker leads with two interceptions.

More about the Dragons
Gibson Ranks Among the Elite
Junior receiver Damon Gibson is having a dominant year statistically with 52 catches for 924 yards and 10 touchdowns.  He ranks second in Division II in receiving yards (924), third in receiving yards per game (132.0), seventh in receiving touchdowns (10) and 11th in receptions per game (7.4). Gibson leads the NSIC in receptions per game and receiving yards per game. He has six 100-yard receiving games this season. Gibson hauled in four touchdown passes in the rout of Minnesota Crookston. That tied a record set three times previously by Rick Manke (1972), Chad Davison (2003) and Bruce Green (2006).  Gibson is 76 yards away from 1,000 yards; he would be the first 1,000-yard receiver for MSUM since Adam Jiskra had 1,039 receiving yards in 2014.

Stone Steps Up
After not playing for the past two seasons, sophomore running back Austin Stone has made a big return to the field in 2016. Stone rushed for a career-high 145 yards and two scores in the loss to St. Cloud State. It was his second 100-yard receiving game of the season. Stone ranks seventh in the NSIC at 92.6 rushing yards per game and is on pace to be MSUM's first 1,000-yard rusher since Zayne Medhaug rushed for 1,127 yards in 2014.

Turnovers and Sacks Key for Defense
MSUM's defense has forced 17 turnovers this season, which is second in the NSIC. That number ranks 26th in all of Division II. MSUM also ranks 26th nationally with 3.00 sacks per game, which is fourth in the NSIC. Senior linebacker Aaron Bohl and sophomore linebacker Joe Rademacher are tied for 10th nationally in fumble recoveries with two. Sophomore defensive back Grant Reuer is 15th in the national with three fumbles forced.

Big Day for the Offense
The Dragon offense had its best day of the season, statistically, in the loss to St. Cloud State on Saturday. MSUM posted a season-high 629 yards of offense, including 462 yards through the air. MSUM averaged 8.0 yards per play and 17.8 yards per reception, both season-bests.

Ambrose Ascending
Senior receiver Cory Ambrose has been one of MSUM's most productive receivers since breaking into the lineup in 2013. With his six catches against St. Cloud State, Ambrose has moved into third in MSUM history with 152 receptions, trailing only Jabari Taylor (214) and Adam Jiskra (201). He also has 25 career touchdown receptions.

Carr Climbs Career Ladder
Carr has moved into the top five in a pair of categories for MSUM. He is third all-time in passing yards at 4,513 and is fourth all-time in total offense at 5,399.  Carr is the fourth player in school history to surpass 5,000 yards of total offense for his career. Carr threw for a season-high 387 yards against St. Cloud State.

Week 8 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 2-3 in Week 8 games under Laqua. In 2011, they lost at Augustana, 35-3 and in 2012, they lost at Mary, 23-7. In 2013 they beat Mary, 48-41 and in 2014, they lost at Mary, 52-45. MSUM got a win in 2015 with a 30-20 victory at Minot State.

Hodge Adds to Records
Senior quarterback Jake Hodge made his first start of the season against UMD and threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns. Hodge also started against St. Cloud State before leaving with an injury. He is the all-time leader in career passing yards and total offense at MSUM. Hodge has thrown for 6,929 career yards and also compiled 8,608 yards of total offense.

Home Grown
With a heavy emphasis on recruiting in the Minnesota-North Dakota area, it's not a surprise the Dragons' 2016 roster features so many players from those two states. A total of 67 players -- or two-thirds total --  hail from either Minnesota (42) or North Dakota (25).

Back to Back?
MSUM's 6-5 record in 2015 marked the Dragons' first winning season since 2006 and the first in Laqua's coaching tenure. The Dragons will aim for back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 1995 (6-3-1) and 1996 (7-3) campaigns.

Team captains
Senior linebacker Aaron Bohl, senior offensive lineman Jack Bixler, senior wide receiver Cory Ambrose and junior linebacker Abe Roehrich will serve as MSUM's captains in 2016. Bohl is a captain for a third straight year.