The University of Minnesota Duluth will open the home portion of its 2006 schedule this Saturday (Sept. 9) when the Bulldogs take on the University of Mary in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs. Game time is set for 6 p.m. at Griggs Field at Malosky Stadium (4,000) on the UMD campus.

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UMD/UMary Football




THE RECORDS: The Bulldogs, who posted an 8-4 overall record, won a share of their first North Central Conference title with a 4-2 mark, and secured their second NCAA Division II playoff berth in four years last fall, are off to a 1-0 start in 2006. Mary, which is in its first year of membership with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the NCAA Division II ranks, was 7-2 in all games one year ago while playing as an independent. The Marauders, 0-1 this season, were previously aligned with the NAIA I Dakota Athletic Conference.

HOW THEY RANK: UMD received votes in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II Poll and held down the No. 24 spot in Don Hansen's Football Gazette NCAA II Top 40 Poll while Mary was not ranked by either group.

THE BROADCAST: Saturday's Bulldog-Marauder matchup will be carried live locally on KDAL-Radio (610 AM) with Jayson Michaels handling the play-by-play assignment and Dave Walter and Bruce Ciskie providing color commentary. All UMD games during the entire 2006 season can also be heard via the internet at: www.umdbulldogs.com.

THE COACHES: The 2005 NCC Coach of the Year, Kyle \"Bubba\" Schweigert (Jamestown College, 1985) is in his third season at UMD and has a 13-11 overall record to show for it. Last fall, Schweigert directed his troops to an 8-4 overall record (defeating three AFCA Top 20 teams along the way), a share of the school’s initial NCC title, and its second NCAA Division II playoff berth in four years. For his efforts, he was named the D2football.com Northwest Region Coach of the Year and the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year for Region 5. Prior to officially being named the school's fifth head coach on Dec. 23, 2003, Schweigert spent 15 seasons at North Dakota where he helped guide the Fighting Sioux to six NCC titles. During his tenure, North Dakota also secured an NCAA II playoff berth on eight occasions, making it to the semifinal round four times and the title game twice (including in 2001 when it won the national championship). Schweigert began his Fighting Sioux coaching career as the team’s defensive secondary coach before taking over the defensive coordinator duties in 1998. Three years later, he added the title of assistant head coach.

Myron Schulz (Mary, 1987) has rolled up a 62-15 record in his eight seasons of head coaching activity at his alma mater. In 2004, Schulz and the Marauders to the NAIA national title -- the seventh straight year they had qualified for NAIA postseason season play. Before being appointed to the top post with the Mary football program, Schulz spent the previous eight years as Marauder assistant coach

THE SERIES: The Bulldogs and Mary have never met. UMD is 4-1 against NSIC competition since it joined the NCC in 2004.

LAST WEEK: UMD kicked off its 74th season of intercollegiate football by upending Bemidji State University 23-7 Thursday night (Aug. 31) in Bemidji, Minn. Sophomore quarterback Ted Schlafke threw for one touchdown and ran for another in the third quarter to help lift UMD to the win over their former NSIC rivals. The Bulldogs broke a 7-7 halftime tie with a safety off an errant punt snap 5:04 into the third quarter before Schlafke capped off a seven-play, 44-yard drive on the ensuing free kick with a three-yard touchdown scamper. With 55 seconds remaining in that same quarter, Schlafke hit freshman wide receiver Dominque Johnson with a 25-yard scoring strike to make it a 23-7 final. Senior running back Keith Bizzle rushed 12 times for a team-high 58 yards with one touchdown and also paced UMD with six pass receptions.

Mary dropped a 21-3 decision to host Chadron State College in its 2006 season opener Saturday. The Marauders, who did come away with a field goal late in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead before surrendering 21 answered points to the Eagles, were limited to just 161 yards of total offense (including 59 yards on the ground) and eight first downs on the afternoon.

SOUND FAMILIAR?: This marks the seventh straight year UMD has gotten off to a 1-0 start. The Bulldogs are now an impressive 34-6 in season debuts since 1967.

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING: A trio of seniors -- offensive guard Mark Knudsen, outside linebacker Kevin Krenz, and strong safety Trent Scheidecker -- along with sophomore quarterback Ted Schlafke are serving as UMD team captains this fall.

HOME, SWEET HOME: In their last 28 engagements at Malosky Stadium -- dating back to end of the 1999 season -- the Bulldogs have posted a 24-4 record.

NCC FORECAST: Both the media and league coaches have the Bulldogs projected for a middle-of-the pack finish in the NCC race this fall. The media predicted a fourth-place showing for the Bulldogs while the coaches have UMD holding down the No. 5 spot. One year ago, incidentally, the Bulldogs were picked to finish sixth (out of seven teams) by the coaches and media in their respective annual preseason polls. UMD went on to prove those two entities wrong -- and how -- by claiming a share of the 2005 NCC title.Defending co-champion North Dakota was selected as the league favorites by the media and coaches. This season’s media poll marks the 52nd time that the league scribes and broadcasters have made their prognostications. The media have correctly picked the NCC champion on 27 occasions, including 15 of the past 24 seasons. In all, the media have successfully chosen the NCC champion 27 times in the 51 years of the poll’s existence. The NCC coaches, meanwhile, have conducted their poll for the past 23 years and have predicted the eventual titleholder 12 times.

FIRST STARTS FOR EIGHT: Eight Bulldogs made their initial starts as collegians last week in Bemidji. That octet includes sophomore right guard Nate Baier, senior wide receiver Troy Foss, junior left offensive tackle Russell Foster, a transfer from Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Calif., sophomore center Matt Horvath, freshman wide receiver Dominque Johnson, senior left cornerback Boloy Lokombo, junior noseguard Scott Syverson and sophomore left defensive end Dustin Timmersman.

THAT'S AKER, AS IN RECORD BRE-AKER: With five catches for 39 yards against Bemidji State, senior wide receiver Greg Aker moved into third place on UMD's career pass reception charts. The 2005 All-NCC second team pick now has caught 115 passes for 1,575 yards as a collegian and trails only the brother tandem of Tim (189 catches from 2000 to 2003) and Steve (182 from 1999 to 2002) Battaglia in lifetime receptions by a Bulldog. Greg Aker, a Don Hansen’s Football Gazette 2006 Division II Preseason All-America Team, has come away with at least one pass in 24 straight games heading into the 2006 season. Last fall, the Superior, Wis. native latched on to a career-high 67 receptions for 1,005 yards -- becoming only the third Bulldog to ever eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau -- and 15 touchdowns (which was just four of the school single-season record). He also topped the NCC in both scoring (12.0 points per game) and total touchdowns (12). But Aker's athletic prowess hasn't been limited to just the gridiron at UMD. During each of the past three springs, he has been an all-conference (NSIC/NCC) first team honoree and holds a bevy of Bulldog records including runs (177), hits (236), walks (106) and games played (179) in a career.



COACHES CORNER: Over half of the UMD coaching staff are new this fall as Phil Longo (offensive coordinator), who spent the past four years as the head coach at NCAA I-AA La Salle University, Peter Lue (offensive line), an assistant under Longo those four seasons, and graduate assistants Vernard Abrams (wide receivers), Jason Hoskins (running backs) and Mike Lang (defensive backs) join holdovers Bubba Schweigert, John Steger (defensive coordinator) and Tony Biesiot (defensive line).

GETTING DEFENSIVE: Free safety Tyler Yelk was up to his usual tricks last Thursday night in Bemidji as he paced the Bulldogs with eight total tackles. Last fall, Yelk became the first freshman in 13 years to finish as UMD’s leading tackler. The first-year starter was credited with 88 tackles, including a team-high 56 solos -- and also ranked second on the club in pass breakups with eight. He also corralled 2005 All-NCC honorable mention acclaim after placing third overall and first among defensive backs in that circuit in total tackles (10.0 in league play). His 88 total stops were the seventh highest single-season total in club history while junior middle linebacker Nate Fears' 82 tackles were good for the No. 9 spot.

GETTING DEFENSIVE, PART II: The linebacker trio of junior Jon Rufledt, junior Cody Ahmann and senior Kevin Krenz combined for 18 total tackles and 1.5 sacks last Thursday for the Bulldogs, who limited Bemidji State to 203 yards of total offense and just 2.3 yards per play.

GETTING DEFENSIVE, PART III: Sophomore strong safety Jim Johnson also was major contributor to the Bulldog defensive cause against Bemidji State by coming away with two interceptions, equalling his entire theft total from a year ago. Johnson picked off his first pass as a Bulldog in last year's season opener and recorded another interception the following weekend.

NO PASSING FANCY: Sophomore quarterback Ted Schlafke has now managed to throw at least one touchdown pass in each of the 13 games over the past two seasons. Schlafke, who ran for just this third touchdown as a collegian at Bemidji State -- and his first seven games, turned a season for the ages one year ago, breaking almost every major Bulldog passing and total offense record along the way. An NCC Offensive Player of the Week honoree on three occasions, he established single-season marks for pass completions (305), pass attempts (490), passing yardage (3,335), total offense (3,591 yards) and total plays (625) and surpassed the team single-game records in those same five categories as well. Schlafke, who was named the D2football.com National Offensive Player of the Week twice last fall (Oct. 31 and Nov. 7), also topped the NCC in passing yardage (308.0 yards per game in league play) and per game pass completion percentage (an NCC-record 26.16). In his last appearance of 2005, a 23-12 NCAA II playoff setback at North Dakota on Nov. 12, Schlafke was involved in virtually all of UMD’s offensive plays as he matched an NCAA II playoff record with 64 pass attempts and rushed another 14 times.

INJURY UPDATE: Junior wide receiver Ross Schumacher, who suffered a season-ending injury (sprained knee) in the opening quarter at Bemidji State, is the only Bulldog expected to sit out Saturday's game with Mary.

BULLDOG BITS: Junior placekicker Britt Baumann has converted his last 33 extra point kicks after having one attempt blocked against MSU-Moorhead on Sept. 19, 2005 ... Senior running back Keith Bizzle, who missed the final seven outings of 2005 (his first year with the Bulldogs) with a banged-up knee, established career highs for rushing yards (58), attempts (12), pass receptions (six) and receiving yards (26) against Bemidji State ... Both senior co-captains Kevin Krenz and Mark Knudsen have started all 24 games over the last three years -- the only two Bulldogs to do so. Krenz, who was also entrusted with captaincy responsibilities as a junior, is the Bulldogs' first repeat captain since Gus Novotney turned the trick in 1942 and 1946 ... Since the opening of the 2005 season, the Bulldogs are a perfect 9-0 since when they led after three quarters, 7-0 when they went into halftime on top, and 9-1 when they scored first ... Running back Marek Seta paced UMD in rushing last fall as true freshman with 340 yards on 84 carries. It was the first time a Bulldog failed to eclipse the 400-yard ground yardage barrier since 1967 when Gary Egerdahl carried the football 76 times for 381 yards ... Senior defensive tackle Brandon Culpepper had a hand in a personal-best six tackles (all assists) in the 23-7 triumph over Bemidji State ... UMD has won each of its past six home openers, including a 31-10 decision over Concordia University-St. Paul one year ago.



COACH SCHWEIGERT SAYS: \"Our goal right now is to be more consistent and improve as a team in that department. Mental breakdowns hurt us last week in Bemidji and we can't continue to make some of those kinds of mistakes.\"

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will begin defense of their NCC title with a Sept. 16 engagement at the University of South Dakota. The Coyotes are ranked 12th in the latest AFCA Division II poll and shared the 2005 conference title with UMD, North Dakota and the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

COACHES SHOW: The UMD Coach's Show, featuring \"Bubba\" Schweigert, airs each Wednesday/Thursday night during the entire 2006 season at 6 p.m. on KDAL-Radio (610 AM). Jayson Michaels and Ray Schow host the one-hour program, which can also be heard via the internet at: umdbulldogs.com.