With six minutes to go in the third quarter, Morehead State nursed a comfortable 20-0 lead; over the next 21 minutes, it disappeared—but they only needed 31 seconds to get it back.
Back-to-back costly turnovers coupled with the awakening of an explosive Red Fox offense found the Eagles suddenly trailing 21-20 with half a minute to go.
The Eagles were not finished. Redshirt freshman defensive back Sidney Webb reversed field, returning the kick all the way to midfield. That was not all—a late-hit penalty tacked on another 15, and the Eagles found themselves in field goal range in ten seconds. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Carter Cravens hit graduate student wide receiver Ryan Upp on a slant for nine more, and they could taste the victory.
With 41 yards between redshirt junior kicker Thomas Schwartz and the uprights, the newly renamed Phil Simms Stadium held its breath.
The snap was good. The hold was good. It would’ve been good from 50.
After relinquishing a 20-point lead in the blink of an eye, the Eagles clawed back to snatch the win just as the Red Foxes believed they had done the same.
It didn’t take long for the chaos to start.
On the second play of Morehead State’s first drive, the targeted wide receiver batted the ball into the air on a missed curl route hookup, and sophomore cornerback Tyrell Powell reeled it in for an early Marist turnover.
Marist is tied for second in the Pioneer Football League for defensive interceptions after this contest; the defense also added two forced fumbles to their three-turnover day.
Redshirt junior quarterback Sonny Mannino wasted no time after the pick, hitting redshirt freshman wide receiver Jeremy Decaro on a go-route for 20 yards.
Mannino looked exceptional in his first game back from injury: he finished 21-for-33 for 207 passing yards and a passing touchdown and also led the team in carries (17) and rushing yards (76) and tacked on a score on the ground as well.
The drive stalled in the red zone, as the Eagles’ defense sacked Mannino twice in three plays. Marist failed to capitalize on the early turnover in friendly field position, as freshman kicker Samer Layous sent the 37-yard attempt wide left.
A methodical, 15-play Morehead State drive came to an end in the red zone; Freshman kicker Jordan Price converted a 39-yard field goal to put the Eagles ahead 3-0.
On their next drive, redshirt sophomore running back Isaac Stopke ripped off a 31-yard gain, followed by a Cravens keeper, who cut up the field for 21 yards before being tackled on the 1-yard line. Stopke leaped over the Marist pile, breaking the plane to extend their lead to 10.
At risk of another drive stalling out, Marist head coach Mike Willis kept the offense out on the field for a fourth-and-two conversion, but the play went backward, as Mannino lost three yards on the carry.
Fresh off their fourth-down stop, Cravens flipped the field, dropping a 41-yard pass right into Upp’s hands. The offense came up empty despite the explosive play, as Price shanked his field goal attempt from 36 yards out.
On the next Marist drive, Willis elected to go for another fourth-down conversion, this time from midfield, and the result was again disastrous. Senior linebacker Dillon Schobourgh screamed up the middle, sacking Mannino for a loss of ten.
The Eagles did not get their offense started despite the drive beginning at Marist’s 26-yard line. Not liking what he saw from Price, head coach Jason Woodman brought in Schwartz, and he buried it from 40 yards out to give Morehead State a 13-0 lead.
At the half, the two teams were dead even at 15 minutes of possession each, but the Eagles’ offense was clicking. They had yet to punt, totaling 202 yards of offense and an impressive 5.6 yards per carry. On the other side, Marist struggled. Having yet to produce a scoring drive, the Red Foxes averaged just 1.9 yards per carry and had turned the ball over on downs twice.
After both teams traded punts to open the second half, Morehead State marched 80 yards in 10 plays, capped by a Cravens touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Cannon Dinger from 15 yards out. The Eagles had full control, leading 20-0 with six minutes to go in the third quarter.
Needing a spark, the Red Foxes came out aggressive, stringing together three plays of 10 or more yards down to Morehead’s 9-yard line. On third down, Mannino found redshirt junior running back Carter James leaking out of the backfield for a walk-in touchdown. The 69-yard drive took just four minutes.
Still up 20-7, the Eagles looked to play conservatively and continue their successful rushing attack. However, Cravens fumbled the ball on a zone-read keeper; graduate student linebacker Garrett Carter peanut-punched it out of his arms, and it bounced forward into the hands of sophomore defensive back Nate Robinson Jr.
With momentum in their favor, Mannino zipped one up the seam to graduate student tight end Connor Hulstein for a chunk play of 38 yards. Once again, the offense petered out as it encroached the Morehead State endzone, as the Red Foxes failed their third fourth-down conversion attempt.
In an almost exact re-enactment of the previous Eagle drive, Cravens lost his second fumble, this time ripped from his arms by freshman safety Jace Williamson, giving Marist yet another chance to cut into Morehead State’s 13-point lead.
Slipping out of the backfield once again, James hurdled a man en route to the five-yard line. Two plays later, Mannino rolled out right and rumbled his way in for his third rushing touchdown of the season to make it 20-14. Somehow, the Red Foxes were just one touchdown away after trailing 20-0 less than a quarter ago.
The Red Fox defense came up with a clutch stop, and with three minutes to go and all their timeouts, 79 yards and an extra point separated Mannino and the offense from an improbable comeback.
At the two-minute warning, it was 55 yards. A late hit after a short completion to graduate student wide receiver Irene Ngabonziza added another 15 for Marist. A third-and-4 catch-and-run to Decaro took them to the 1-yard line; James cruised in with confidence for the score—what the Red Foxes thought was the game-sealing touchdown.
However, that all changed on the next kickoff.
Following the Eagles’ improbable comeback, Marist (3-4, 1-2) has dropped to 7th in the PFL with five conference games left.
Marist will look to put this heartbreaking loss behind them, facing top-seeded Drake at Tenney Stadium next Saturday at noon.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by August Lieberman
Photos via Quinn DiFiore
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