You could call Marist football’s 2024 1-10 record the most jarring in the program’s Division I history, but it would not be fair without mentioning the several layers of context surrounding head coach Mike Willis’s rebuild and complete restructuring of Red Fox football.
With serious changes in the coaching staff comes an uncomfortable adjustment period, especially in college football. That challenge becomes even tougher when a new coach in an inaugural season cannot award athletic scholarships due to the Pioneer Football League, a situation Marist arrived at with a brand new head coach.
With that, Willis introduced a transfer starting quarterback and several true and redshirt freshmen into the starting lineup. With mysteries surrounding the roster, Marist began the year against monstrous competition in three scholarship programs, including Lafayette, the highest-ranked FCS school Marist had ever played at the time.
The result? Outscored 121-42 in their non-conference games, the 0-3 Red Foxes trudged to their conference opener against the Dayton Flyers. Tied at 14-14, Dayton put up 33 unanswered points against Marist, an early foreshadowing into the Red Foxes’ tough season on defense as a team (10th of 11 in the PFL).
Five of nine straight losses later after the Dayton game, Marist fell to 0-9, the worst start to a season in recorded program history that dates back 46 years. Their ninth loss of the streak came against Drake, the eventual winners of the PFL. Holding the strong team to 19 points–an impressive PFL feat–Marist failed to score and had no answers on the offensive side of the ball.
After reaching the definite low point of the season, Marist went to Stetson in their final away game. While the winless conference record of both teams individually haunted both programs, walking out with a win had the opportunity to save a season that was understandably off the rails for the Red Foxes.
While the offenses went back and forth against the worst-ranked PFL defenses (Marist No. 93, Stetson No. 113 in the FCS in yards per game), Marist’s hot start dwindled. Down 21-13 at the half, it looked as if Marist had the chance for their first winless season ever.
Good thing Sonny Mannino was around.
The Red Foxes would have gone winless without Marist’s No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart to start the season. After starting quarterback Enzo Arjona’s injury against Bucknell, redshirt sophomore Mannino rose to the occasion and scored four rushing touchdowns against the Mad Hatters, securing Mike Willis’ first win of his head coaching career.
Marist lost decisively in their final regular-season game and recorded their first one-win season in Division I football. Their last first-ever one-win season was their inaugural season in Division III football in 1978.
Records and win-loss column aside, the Red Foxes had to play with the cards they dealt themselves. Amid their losing hand, they found some aces in the hole. The most obvious is Mannino who by best chances is the starting quarterback moving forward pending any incoming/departing transfers.
Some other player storylines popped up throughout the season. Marist has the 2024 Pioneer Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year, redshirt freshman James Kratochvil. Leading the Red Foxes in interceptions and tackles, Kratochvil was a force of nature playing linebacker in the box and had two crucial interceptions in the sole Red Fox win against Stetson.
His game awareness and ball-hawking skills should not be taken for granted by the Marist defense moving forward; he will continue to have an impact next season. He joined redshirt freshman tight end Jackson Conners-McCarthy and true freshman cornerback Nate Robinson Jr. on Phil Steele’s list of freshman All-Americans.
As eluded to above, the Red Foxes also boast an Associated Press Press All-American FCS Honorable Mention in Conners-McCarthy. While the accolade alone is impressive, the quick-moving, agile tight end did not record a snap his true freshman year with Bryant and was listed as a linebacker in 2023. He’s now a Second Team All-PFL tight end as a rookie.
Switching positions, he took over as Mannino’s primary target and joins NFL Draftee Terrence Fede and Junior Christian as the only players to receive All-American nods from multiple publications in a freshman season, according to Marist Athletics.
It’s worth mentioning that redshirt junior offensive guard Dominic Perricone received All-PFL First Team honors for the offensive line, starting 22 consecutive games at right tackle for the Red Foxes. He’s an anchor of stability on a team that has gone through the most change year-to-year in its history. Getting recognition on the first team shows he’s no joke.
Graduate Student runningback Triston Shannon also received Second Team All-PFL honors as a return specialist. According to Willis at the end of the season, Shannon still has one more year of eligibility that he could use to return to the Red Foxes, but his decision is unknown.
Six All-PFL Honorable mentions round out the award group: Kratochvil, Robinson Jr., Mannino (who received honors for all-purpose play; interesting considering he had 16 receiving yards on the year and who was the majority starting quarterback), redshirt junior cornerback Austin Trimble, graduate student defensive end Gannon McCorkle, and graduate student defensive lineman Miles Kauderer (who has reportedly declared for the NFL Draft, according to his X account).
There are not many ways that you can frame a 1-10 season as “good”, but there is some undeniable talent that has been recognized at the FCS level by national publications. It’s fair to say that the 2024 season for Marist Football is an expected grace period for the coaching and personnel change.
That grace period does not last forever. You don’t receive medals for mediocrity, over a decade-long curse Marist has dealt with in the PFL.
Willis has a sole win under his belt to begin his Division I coaching career, and despite it coming against the worst team in the PFL in 2024, it’s a win all the same. Beyond the stat sheet were some smaller wins; he turned an all-purpose player into a successful dual-threat quarterback and, a linebacker into his best offensive weapon and produced successful young FCS talent.
The Princeton graduate comes from a program that gave him both champions as a player and coach. He knows what championship-building and successful football looks like; he was part of a staff that had a 40-10 record in his last five seasons at Princeton. He’s matched that loss total in a year with the Red Foxes, but he’s settled in after coaching a full season. It’s up to him and his staff to rebound effectively.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo By Ricky Torres