The Marist Red Foxes traveled to Staten Island on Saturday and defeated the Wagner Seahawks by a score of 21-10.
The Red Foxes looked prepared and played the physical, yet disciplined football that they did in their week one win against New Haven. Head coach Mike Willis has preached calculated aggression throughout the first two weeks of the season, and that continued today.
Wagner stayed in the game due to their potent rushing attack. Marist had only given up 77 yards per game on the ground entering the contest, but the Seahawks tallied an impressive 242 rushing yards on the day—spearheaded by graduate student running back Andre Hines Jr., who finished with 106 yards and a score.
Marist redshirt junior quarterback Sonny Mannino has gone down with an injury in every one of the Red Foxes’ first three games, returning in the first two, but he remained sidelined for the rest of the contest today. He was seen wearing a sling on the sideline, yet there is no word on what the injury was.
Mannino used his legs to his advantage again today, finishing the game with 53 yards on the ground. This is something that often sets up the passing game for success, which was exactly the case on the Red Foxes’ first scoring drive.
The 10-play, 67-yard drive put Marist in front halfway through the first quarter. It was an efficient, fast-paced sequence that ended with graduate student tight end Connor Hulstein reeling in his third touchdown of the year. The former Princeton Tiger also caught a 28-yard pass on the drive. Hulstein has solidified himself as Mannino’s new favorite target, now recording a touchdown in each of the Red Foxes’ first three games.
Wagner responded with a strong drive that was capped off by Hines Jr. The 6-foot-4, 240 pound back rumbled his way in from two yards out to give the Seahawks the equalizer at 7-7.
Wagner sophomore quarterback Jack Stevens likes to throw the ball short, and it was evident today. Going into the contest, Stevens averaged just four-and-a-half yards per pass attempt. He did not complete a deep pass today, but he did attempt a handful. The ones he tried resulted in incompletions and turnovers.
Sophomore captain defensive back Nate Robinson Jr. picked off two of Stevens’ heaves. The San Antonio native now has three interceptions on the year, surpassing his total of two from last season just three games into the 2025 campaign.
Leading up to today’s game, Wagner had been called for 16 penalties through just two games, and they added to that. The Seahawks racked up eight more for a total of 71 yards.
The Seahawks struggled heavily on special teams, and graduate student running back Tristan Shannon took full advantage of that late in the second quarter, returning a kickoff for 99 yards and a touchdown to put the Red Foxes up 14-10.
Shannon was the Second Team All-PFL return-man selection, and he has proven why early this year. The five-foot-eight back is averaging over 25 yards per kickoff return this season.
After a scoreless third quarter, Marist’s defense was thrust onto the field to start the final frame after Mannino’s exit from the game. The Red Foxes got their offense back on the field quickly, but freshman backup quarterback Will O’Dell fumbled the football on a designed quarterback run play.
Two sacks by the Marist defense, one by graduate student Garrett Carter, who had two on the day, put O’Dell and the offense back onto the field with 9:22 left in the game. O’Dell went on to convert on a gutsy first-down deep shot that was caught by redshirt senior wideout Reed Shumpert. The 39-yard completion set Marist up inside the Wagner 20-yard line.
This great field position delivered the dagger, as redshirt junior running back Carter James hauled in a wide-open pass for a touchdown to put the Red Foxes up 21-10.
The score held, and Marist handed Wagner its third straight loss to begin the 2025 campaign. The winless Seahawks will hit the road to take on Central Michigan next Saturday.
As for Marist, they move to 2-1 on the year, already recording more wins than they had last season. The Red Foxes will look to continue their strong play next week at Butler. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Edited by August Lieberman
Photo by Quinn DiFiore
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
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