The Scoop
The University of Minnesota Crookston football team will conclude the 2018 season Sat., Nov. 10 with a 1 p.m. kickoff against the University of Mary. The game will be the season finale for both squads and Senior Day for Minnesota Crookston. The Golden Eagles will look to send off 12 seniors with a win. Ali Alkhatib, Will Cole, Rod Stewart, Jake Newman, Stephen Day, Devante Nutall, Jerrod Miller, Olufemi Obaweya, Derek Hartwigsen, Zach Greenberg, Kevin Evans, and Lincoln Tappe will be honored prior to the game Saturday. The last time the two schools closed out the season against each other was Nov. 10, 2012. The Golden Eagles won the game 37-36 on a walk-off two-point conversion by Minnesota Crookston great Richard Haley. The quarterback that day for the Marauders was current UMary Head Coach Craig Bagnell. 

Previewing the Golden Eagles
Minnesota Crookston heads into the final game of the season with a 1-9 mark. The Golden Eagles are looking to finish with two wins for the first time since the 2013 season. Minnesota Crookston picked up back-to-back two win seasons in 2012 and 2013.

The Golden Eagles into Saturday averaging 229.3 yards of offense on the 2018 season. Minnesota Crookston is notching 80.8 yards per game on the ground and 148.5 yards per contest through the air. At quarterback, Jalin Scott comes in with 1,138 passing yards and three touchdowns. Rod Stewart enters Saturday as No. 2 all-time in receiving yards with with 1,793 career yards. Stewart needs just one reception to move past Carl Aho for sole possession of third all-time for career catches. Andy Groebner has had an outstanding freshman campaign as he has notched 30 catches for 537 yards. On the ground, Kevin Evans has rushed for 134 yards as a senior.

Defensively, Minnesota Crookston is coming off one of their best performances of the season as they limited Northern State to 346 yards of offense last weekend. The Golden Eagles will look to safety Will Cole, who leads the team with 83 tackles. Cole has five tackles for loss and two interceptions on his senior season. He currently ranks fifth all-time in solo tackles with 144. He needs 21 tackles to move past Neil Austin and Nick Starcevic for fifth all-time in total tackles. In addition, senior Ali Alkhatib has had a great senior campaign with 68 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Alkhatib is tied for third all-time with Neil Austin for solo tackles. He is third all-time for total tackles with 290 career tackles. He needs 36 tackles to move past Cecil Brown, Jr. in second place. For solo tackles, Alkhatib needs six to move past Justin Reed for second and 10 to surpass Brown for first all-time. In addition, Skyler Quinn comes into the weekend with 29 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, while Austin Steele has 67 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks.

In the kicking game, freshman Jared McLemore is 4-of-7 with a season long of 47 yards. At punter, Stephen Day comes in averaging 35.6 yards per punt.

Previewing the Marauders
UMary is 0-10 on the 2018 season. The Golden Eagles are looking for their first win over the Marauders since a 37-36 victory over UMary to end the 2012 season at home. The quarterback for UMary on the day was Craig Bagnell, who is in his first season as Head Coach for the Marauders.

UMary has been led by quarterback Jason Hoesktra, who has passed for 1,431 yards, nine touchdowns and 15 interceptions. His top target is Luke Little with 38 catches for 618 yards, while DeShawn Gay has 19 catches for 246 yards. In the run game, Bryan Lumsden leads the way with 292 yards and four touchdowns. The Marauders are averaging 250.0 yards of offense with 184.0 yards per game through the air and 66.0 yards per contest on the ground.

Defensively, UMary is allowing 462.6 yards per game to their foes. They are led by linebacker Grady Blewett with 66 tackles. He also has 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Cyrano Rayfield comes in with 45 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Jarad Zittleman has notched 61 tackles and an interception.

UMary
0-10 Overall
0-6 NSIC North
Head Coach:
Craig Bagnell

Minnesota Crookston
1-9 Overall
1-5 NSIC North
Head Coach:
Mark Dufner

Date: Nov. 10, 2018
Time: 1 p.m.
Site: Crookston, Minn.
Stadium: Ed Widseth Field
Surface: Grass
Capacity: 3,000
Series: UMary leads 11-1
Last: UMary won 30-6 Oct. 14, 2017
in Bismarck, N.D.
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/#liveEventsTab
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM
Leo Blavin (Play by Play)
www.kroxam.com
App: MN Crookston Athletics on Google Play and Apple Store

#5StoryLines
1. Can the Golden Eagles pick up their first win over UMary since Nov. 10, 2012 in Grand Forks, N.D.?

2. Can the Golden Eagles get a strong run game going against the Marauders?

3. Can the senior class make big plays in their final games as Golden Eagles?

4. Will the Minnesota Crookston defense force mistakes by quarterback Jason Hoekstra?

5. Will the Golden Eagles make big plays on special teams?

#StingLikeABee
Ali Alkhatib, might not be the same Ali who floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, but Alkhatib has been a force for the Golden Eagles for the last four seasons. Alkhatib is second on the team in tackles with 68 tackles. He leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss. Alkhatib is third all-time in career tackles with 290. He is 35 tackles behind Cecil Brown, Jr. in second place. Alkhatib is tied for third for solo tackles with Neil Austin with 149 tackles. He needs six tackles to surpass Justin Reed in second and 11 to move past Brown in first. Alkhatib needs five tackles for loss to move past Jim Mages for the record. 

#TheOtherRodStewart
Minnesota Crookston senior wide receiver Rod Stewart is coming to the end of a great career for the Golden Eagles. Stewart moved into a tie last weekend with Carl Aho for third for all-time receptions with 135. Stewart needs 14 receptions to surpass Mark Olsonawski for second. He also moved past Aho for second all-time in receiving yards. Stewart has 1,793 all-time receiving yards. He will unfortunately not catch his former teammate Adam Connette, who holds the record with 2,781 career receiving yards. Stewart will look to make his mark on his final game with the Golden Eagles Saturday versus UMary. He has tallied 20 catches for 315 yards and two touchdowns. So while he may not be the Rod Stewart, who signs famous songs such as Maggie Mae, he is famous in the small town of Crookston and will live on in the record books. 

#HaveADay
Senior Punter Stephen Day has gone into the record books as one of best punters in school history. Day is the all-time leader in career punts with 284, shattering the previous record sent by Chris Secrest with 176. Day actually came into his senior season holding the record already. In addition, he is third all-time in career punting average with 36.6 yards per punt. He has punted for over 10,000 yards in his four-year career. He will look to change field position tomorrow for the Golden Eagles versus UMary.

#WhereThereIsAWill
Will Cole has gone down as one of the best defensive players in the history of Minnesota Crookston football. He is coming off one of his best games as a Golden Eagle. Cole notched two interceptions, 12 tackles, and one tackle for loss. To add to a great game, he also caught an 11-yard pass on a fake punt for a first down for the Golden Eagles. In his career, Cole is fifth all-time in solo tackles with 137. He is 12 solo tackles behind teammate Ali Alkhatib and Neil Austin, who are tied for third all-time. Cole has 257 career tackles, sitting just 21 tackles behind Austin and Nick Starcevic for fifth all-time for the mark. Cole will look to deliver a big game for the Golden Eagles Saturday against the Marauders.