After a disappointing first season, head coach Mike Willis knew he needed to head to the drawing board to lead a more successful campaign in year two. With a new offensive emphasis on running the football under first year offensive coordinator T.J. Weyl and more experience on the defensive side of the ball, there was reason for optimism, and the Red Foxes’ dominant 31-14 win over the Chargers validated that.
Improvement is a necessity for this Marist squad, and in their season opener the Red Foxes were able to put on a show and start to reveal the brand of football this team wants to play.
Play #1
The Red Foxes’ first touchdown of the game was an explosive one—A G/Y counter play in which the offensive line dominated and opened a lane for graduate student running back Tristan Shannon. G/Y counter is a great play to create ideal angles for your offensive line. With two players, the backside guard and the tight end, pulling across the formation to take care of playside defenders, the rest of the blockers have an easier time just needing to wall players away from the playside gap. This specific run blocking concept doesn’t ask linemen to get vertical displacement and move defenders five yards back from the line of scrimmage. It simply asks players to block down, prevent backside penetration, and not get moved back. The offensive line did that excellently.
The success of this blocking concept is highly dependent on two players, one being the backside tight end—six-foot-eight graduate student Devin Kennedy (#95)—who was responsible for blocking the playside linebacker. Kennedy cannot get to that linebacker if the playside edge gets in the way. This is where the backside guard, graduate student Dominic Perricone (#65), comes into play. He pulls across the formation to kick out the edge, and he does so in dominant fashion. Perricone’s dominant block on the edge, combined with New Haven linebacker Sebastian Conwell (#5) failing to replace the B gap and instead opting to contain outside, created the opening for Shannon to burst free on a 59-yard touchdown.
This play is a microcosm for the transformation of this offense. Perricone is one of the best weapons on this team, and the decision to transition from a primarily zone-scheme rushing attack to one that is far more willing to incorporate pullers and play power-scheme football allows them to rely on him to spark the run game consistently.
Play #2
Marist’s dominance on the line of scrimmage wasn’t exclusive to their offense, as they were excellent against the run throughout the game. On New Haven’s 18 rushing attempts, they averaged a measly one yard per carry.
Run stops like this one in the mid-first quarter against an inside zone concept from New Haven display just how disciplined Marist’s defensive front was in the contest. Inside zone is a run-blocking scheme in which every offensive lineman is responsible for their playside gap. Inside zone is a very difficult run blocking concept to master because of how much of a factor timing plays in it. It is a great way to generate double teams along the line of scrimmage, but if blockers slightly hesitate to get up to the second level a play can easily get blown up. Instinctive linebackers like redshirt sophomore James Kratochvil (#59) punish that hesitation extremely well.
That is exactly what last year’s PFL defensive rookie of the year does on this play. With redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jordan Mendoza (#91) stalemating a double team from New Haven’s right guard and tackle, sophomore Success Chikezie (#67) and senior Brian Hannibal (#77), neither were able to go to the second level. Kratochvil was free to shoot the rushing lane with no one to block him but an insert player from the backfield, who was unable to move him back.
Kratochvil being able to step up and engage the blocker on the line of scrimmage instead of a few yards back leaves the running back with nothing to do but bounce it outside to the unblocked overhang defender freshman safety Chase Hatton (#21).
The play was designed to go to the left side, but graduate student linebacker Garrett Carter (#8) and redshirt junior lineman Joey Patierno (#94) made sure any rushing lanes front side quickly evaporated. Forcing a play designed to go into the right A or B gap to get bounced outside the left tackle is evidence of a quality rep by the defense.
Play #3
Redshirt junior quarterback Sonny Mannino (#12) established himself as this team’s starter last year because of what he offered the team in terms of athleticism. Since his first start, it has been his ability with his legs that really separates him. Plays like this one that use misdirection to make defenders hesitate are a great way to take advantage of having an athlete like Mannino under center.
The fake handoff to the jet motion receiver, redshirt freshman wideout Jeremy Decaro, forced the backside edge, junior lineman Tyler Hammel (#97), to hesitate. Mannino’s sheer speed allows redshirt junior tackle Chris Leonardo (#76) to work playside instead of worrying about the backside edge blowing up the play.
The quarterback keeping the ball in his hands also allows the running back, redshirt junior Carter James (#9), to get involved as a blocker. This is the best thing about having a quarterback that can run the football—the sheer quantity of blockers that you can get to pave lanes for the ball carrier is a huge advantage. On this outside zone concept, Mannino is nearly able to score because the Red Foxes were able to win the numbers game up front.
This was just one small showing of Mannino’s success on the ground, as he finished the game with 109 yards on 21 carries.
Play #4
When a team is able to generate 230 yards on the ground, they will use that to help their passing attack. Very few things help an offense quite like misdirection. On this second and ten passing play, The Red Foxes line up in a three x one receiver set with three receivers to the field side. This makes the defense prepare heavily for a pass to the “passing strength” (in this case the field side). As a result, when the Red Foxes use jet motion to shift from this trips set the Chargers have to readjust and prepare for a run around the perimeter, making the play action run-fake even more effective.
New Haven sent immense pressure from the field side, with both a linebacker and a safety blitzing. This left a huge hole in the defense for just senior linebacker Sebastain Conwell (#5) to cover up. This job becomes even harder when he’s trying to fit a run play going the opposite way. This wasn’t just a perfect play design—with the tight end drag route going the other way from the run fake—it was a perfect play call, taking advantage of the Chargers’ aggressive tendencies on second and long situations.
The execution was great too, with Mannino (#12) and graduate student tight end Connor Hulstein (#84) encapsulating the team’s gritty identity. As mentioned earlier, the defense put a lot of pressure on this play with a safety blitz, so it is on the quarterback to get the ball out quick—even with defenders in his face. That is exactly what Mannino did, hitting Hulstein right before contact. Hulstein maintained his balance through traffic and kept the chains moving with his lumbering 250 pound, six-foot-six frame.
Although T.J. Weyl didn’t make passing the ball a point of emphasis in the game, Hulstein was the Red Foxes’ go-to guy, leading the team in receiving yards and being the recipient of Mannino’s sole passing touchdown.
This was the type of start the Red Foxes needed. Not only did they win in dominant fashion, they also finally showed glimpses of what their identity could look like. The ground game, whether Mannino was carrying the ball, or if they were leaning on their committee of running backs, was great, averaging nearly five-and-a-half yards per carry. Physicality on defense shined, making it tough for the Chargers’ rushing attack to get going all night. They were best of all on special teams, blocking a field goal, forcing two turnovers and finishing the day with a special teams touchdown.
Game one for the Red Foxes showed the perfect blend of great play design, coaching, and execution in all three phases, the question now is how often we can see this from them.
Edited by Hayden Shapiro and August Lieberman
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
Photo by Quinn DiFiore
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