It was challenging for Rett Thibodeaux to concentrate before the University of Mary matched up with MSU-Mankato this past weekend in NSIC football action.

Thibodeaux, of La Porte, Texas, was concerned about Hurricane Ike wiping out his family's dwelling and his hometown. La Porte is located southeast of Houston on the Gulf of Mexico coast.

The kicker got word from his family that things were OK shortly before he went through warmups. Thibodeaux also received comfort from other teammates who hail from the Houston area.

"Half of the town is under water or had some kind of damage on it,"Thibodeaux said. "A lot of the houses have windows out, all the piers are gone and one of the elementary schools is flooded."

Thibodeaux's house sustained some damage, but not like a lot of homes. His family flew into Bismarck on Thursday and will attend today's home game against Minnesota-Crookston.

"They have been without electricity and clean water," Thibodeaux said. "Since they got here, they have been grateful to take a shower and eat some hot food. You can only eat so many granola bars and peanut butter and jelly."

Thibodeaux wouldn't have minded seeing a little bit more action against MSU-Mankato to take his mind off Ike. His skills weren't needed much in a 40-0 drubbing.

"We are just trying to keep focus and stick together," said Thibodeaux, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior. "There's been no finger pointing at anybody. We all made mistakes. I think we will be all right."

U-Mary coach Myron Schulz said the Marauders spent Sunday watching film from the blowout. They have since moved on.

U-Mary enters today's game 1-1 in the NSIC and 1-2 overall. UM-Crookston is 0-2 in the NSIC and 1-2 overall. The Golden Eagles were blown out 59-0 by Augustana last week.

"One of the big things is not to let it linger," Schulz said. "We have a 24-hour rule. We talked about a lot of things in detail. Basically it's learning from what we did incorrectly. Kids are pretty resilient. A lot of times they are looking to see how everybody around them is going to react."

Thibodeaux hopes to be more busy today. He has hit his only field goal attempt of the season, a 28-yarder. He is also a perfect 6-for-6 on PAT attempts for nine points on the season.

On kickoffs, Thibodeaux is averaging 47.1 yards per kickoff.

"Not only does he kick field goals, but he can punt a little bit,"Schulz said. "If something unforeseen happens, he's versatile. Rett is a very good athlete, so he can run as good as anybody."

U-Mary and UM-Crookston both sit toward the bottom in some of the statistical categories in the 14-team NSIC.

The Golden Eagles are last in scoring (11.3 points per game) and in scoring defense (42.7). UM-C is second from the bottom in pass offense (134.3 yards per game) and seventh in rushing offense (109.3).

U-Mary is 12th in scoring offense (17.0 points per game) and 12th in scoring defense (36.0). U-Mary is eighth in pass offense (200.7 yards per game) and in the cellar in rushing offense (37.3).

The Golden Eagles have won just four NSIC games since 2004. UM-Crookston hasn't scored on U-Mary in its past two outings since U-Mary has been a member of NCAA Division II. But Schulz said UM-Crookston is no push over.

"Crookston is in the same boat as us," Schulz said. "They got blown out, we got blown out. Crookston has some weapons. There's a lot of encouragement and exciting things in their camp. They're a good club. It's just when you have to go play the Winonas, and those people of the world every week, they come up on the short end of the stick."

UM-C hasn't been an easy opponent to prepare for. Against Mayville, the Golden Eagles got into a two-back formation and ran the ball most of the game in a victory. Against Southwest Minnesota State, they used no backs for the majority of the game. They used one back against Augustana most of the game.

"It's like almost like we have to prepare for three different offenses, which puts a little bit more on our kids' plates," Schulz said. "Defensively, what is so unique about them, is they run a 3-5-3, but they'll play a lot of cover zero, which is man-to-man in the secondary. We don't see a lot of that. There's a little gambling in nature."

n NOTES:At MSU-Mankato, Schulz coached in his 100th game at U-Mary as a head coach. Schulz has built a 76-24 record. In the 2008 edition of the NCAA Football Record Book, Schulz was listed as the 16th winningest active coach by percentage. … Linebacker Willie Wenschlag will not play in today's game. Wenschlag, a junior, was injured last week at Mankato. Schulz believes Wenschlag could be done for the season. If that happens, it will be the second linebacker U-Mary has lost for the season. Joey Olsen, a sophomore from Wolf Point, Mont., tore an anterior cruciate ligament in the season-opener.