The Marist Red Foxes traveled to West Philadelphia for a Friday night matchup, falling to the University of Pennsylvania Quakers 28-9 in the first matchup between the two programs in their histories.
Quaker senior wideout Jared Richardson is one of the best players across all of FCS football—and he proved that in this contest, tallying 15 catches for 190 yards and 2 touchdowns. His role is ever-changing in a Penn offense that loves to shuffle things up; Richardson’s six-foot-two, 220-pound frame provides the Quakers with a versatile threat who can line up anywhere.
Marist took the field without their starting quarterback and all-purpose yards leader, Sonny Mannino. The redshirt junior threw for 291 yards last week in Marist’s family weekend win against San Diego, the second most of his career.
In place for Mannino was freshman quarterback Will O’Dell taking the signal-calling duties. O’Dell completed 14 passes for 118 yards and added 53 on the ground.
Penn senior quarterback Liam O’Brien is an extremely elusive and patient runner, but he did most of his damage through the air today. The Colorado native had 335 passing yards on 26 completions, the most passing yards O’Brien has had in a game this year.
On O’Dell’s first drive, he established a connection with redshirt senior wide receiver Reed Shumpert. A 23-yard reception was one of the Cal Poly transfer’s three catches on the drive, setting up a Marist field goal that was made by freshman kicker Samer Layous. Marist would not score again until the fourth quarter.
An O’Brien to Richardson over-the-shoulder connection got Penn on the board. Richardson is now sixth all-time in receiving yards in Quaker football history after his first-quarter touchdown catch, putting Penn in front 7-3.
With 8:36 left in the first half, Marist ran a bubble screen that was designed to get graduate student receiver Irene Ngabonziza into open space—it backfired as Ngabonziza dropped the ball on the backwards pass and Penn dove on it. The drive started at the 33 and ended with six, extending the Quaker lead to 14-3, as O’Brien scurried 23 yards into the endzone on a first-down QB-draw.
Marist only had 105 total yards in the first half—Mannino had more passing yards in the first half last week against San Diego—while O’Brien and the Quakers put up 214 yards through the air. Penn also had 11 first downs in the first half; they finished the game with 22, seven more than the Red Foxes.
Penn senior linebacker John Lista was all over the field today. He was being sent on blitzes on third down and put his closing speed on full display. The captain defender finished the game with six tackles, including a sack.
A 13-play, 6-minute drive kicked off the second half for Penn, but two holding penalties forced a field goal attempt. Freshman kicker Mason Walters did not have the leg to knock through the 47-yard attempt, and the score remained 14-3.
The fourth quarter started with a strong Penn drive that ended in a Richardson touchdown. He caught four passes on this drive alone and capped it off with a 11-yard touchdown grab, putting the Quakers confidently in front, 21-3.
Some trickery gave Marist their first touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter. Redshirt sophomore running back Jeremy Decaro threw a rainbow pass to a wide-open Santino Correa for his first touchdown of the year. The redshirt junior receiver took a huge hit, but maintained possession of the ball. The two-point attempt was no good, and the Red Foxes trailed 21-9.
The Quakers marched down the field, controlling the clock, and with just 3:03 left in the game, do-it-all senior running back Julien Stokes punched in a one-yard carry for six more. He is now second all-time in Penn history in all-purpose yards. This strengthened the Quaker lead and solidified a 28-9 victory.
A strong showing against a good Marist defense has Penn primed to do damage in the Ivy League this season. The Quakers will travel to New York City to face Columbia next weekend.
Marist now sits at .500 on the year, an even 3-3 record. The Red Foxes hope to get Mannino back next week when they travel to Kentucky to face the Morehead State Eagles. Kickoff is set for 2 pm.
Edited by August Lieberman
Graphic by August Lieberman
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo