There’s a number for every game. Kobe’s historic game is forever linked to 81. Wilt, 100. The “45” games refer to the nights Jordan changed his iconic jersey number. Let’s slap the number four on this afternoon’s 31-7 loss for Marist at the hands of the San Diego Toreros.
Four. That’s the number of interceptions Austin Day threw in the second half prior to being benched.
Four. That’s the number of losses the team has this season, a number that makes a winning season increasingly difficult.
And four. The number of straight losses Marist has against San Diego.
Obviously, not every game’s number is positive.
Reid Sinnett and the San Diego offense were able to get their game rolling early. On their opening drive, Sinnett connected with Alex Spadone for a 40-yard touchdown pass to give the Toreros an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Sinnett was then able to find Spadone again for a 49-yard touchdown on their first play of the second quarter to increase San Diego’s lead to 14-0.
The Red Foxes briefly made it a game, their only score coming soon after the Toreros took the lead. Day completed an eight-yard pass to Ethan Carpenter — who tied his season-total in receptions today alone, with eight catches for 83 yards — to give the Red Foxes a first down at the SD 26-yard line. Hunter Cobb was able to finish off the drive with a punctuated one-yard plunge to cut San Diego’s lead in half, 14-7 halfway through the first.
In last year’s season finale against San Diego, Anthony Olivencia tied the program’s single-game reception record with 12 receptions and had a career-high 224 receiving yards. San Diego must have remembered. In the first half, Olivencia had one reception for seven yards. He finished the game with four receptions for 24 yards. The plan going in was clearly focused on the Red Foxes’ top receiver; he was a non-factor, his offensive production lessened by a defense that covered him like white on rice.
San Diego answered Marist’s scoring drive with a long drive of their own. Sinnett was able to find his tight end, Dalton Kincaid, for a 20-yard reception to set the Toreros up at Marist’s 49-yard line. Sinnett then found running back Jojo Binda Jr. in the endzone for a seven-yard touchdown reception to put San Diego up 21-7.
For Marist, Day completed 19 of 34 passes for 192 yards. A serviceable day… but that number. The four second-half interceptions stand out, each coming on his final four drives. The last of the four was intercepted by David Tolbert, who took the ball 46-yards to the endzone to seal the game, 31-7. Cassius Johnson had two interceptions and Daniel Tolbert, twin brother of David, had one interception. Day was eventually benched for Luke Strnad, who has now appeared in all five of Marist’s games this season.
Marist head coach Jim Parady said of Day, “he was trying to make a couple of plays.”
Coming into today’s matchup San Diego quarterback, Reid Sinnett ranked top-five in the FCS in passing yards (346.3 ypg), completion percentage (69.6%) and passing efficiency (174.49). Sinnett didn’t disappoint today as he completed 19 of 29 passes for 341 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sinnett was a presence in the pocket all game long as he was able to pick the defense apart. San Diego head coach Dale Lindsey said of his quarterback, “the game is slowing down for him and he’s making great decisions.”
“Give this kid credit,” Parady said in praise of Sinnett. “He sat [at San Diego] for many years without playing. Now it’s his turn and he’s ready and he’s running their offense very efficiently. I thought we had coverage on him a couple of times but he just shredded the ball. He was as advertised.”
Heading into the bye week, Coach Parady plans to give his underclassman more reps in practice to give them an opportunity to move up on the depth chart. As for San Diego, they continue to dominate the Pioneer Football League, as the Toreros have now won 30-straight games, the longest active streak in the FCS.
Following the bye, Marist will host Dartmouth on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Edited by Will Bjarnar