Head coach Mike Willis’ Red Foxes, coming off their worst loss of the season against the University of Pennsylvania, aimed to bounce back as they faced off against a Morehead State team that had a 0-3 conference record. This had the potential to be a get-right game, as Marist had star redshirt junior quarterback Sonny Mannino returning and propelling the offense back to full strength.
The game did not go well for the Red Foxes, though, as they lost 23-21. In a defensive game, Morehead dominated time of possession, which is usually the key in lower-scoring matchups. Marist showed some strength, like their passing offense gaining 254 total yards with nine players getting involved on the receiving end, but losing to an in-conference opponent like Morehead State is detrimental to the outlook of Marist’s season.
The Red Foxes blatantly struggled from the offensive end, as they did not get on the board until just two minutes left in the third quarter. Marist’s first drive ended with a missed field goal from 37 yards out. During that drive, the Red Foxes discovered that the Eagles’ defense presented them with a real threat, so they prepared a trick play for the next drive.
That trick play is what they run on this second-and-six. Marist lined up its quarterback, Mannino (No. 12), out wide. They then motion him across the formation for a jet sweep, hand it off to him and have him reverse field as he rolls out for a pass, which ultimately fell incomplete.
TJ Weyl, the team’s offensive coordinator, has had several creative playcalls throughout the season, like the one that got redshirt freshman receiver Jeremy Decaro a passing touchdown last week. But the design of this one just did not make sense from a fundamental standpoint.
Not having Mannino behind center could confuse the defense and make them play very heavily against the run and be unprepared for the pass, but with Mannino running straight to the left to take the handoff, then needing to turn around and roll out the other way, Morehead State had enough time to recover and get in position to defend the pass.
A big part of the Red Foxes’ offensive struggle came from a flawed protection plan. Mannino got sacked five times during the game, and the team only scored on one drive in which he took a sack. This fourth-and-3 is a clear display of how easily Wil Truelove, the Morehead defensive coordinator, got pressure on Mannino.
Before the ball is snapped, senior linebacker Dillon Schobourgh (No. 10) walks up to rush the quarterback. Post snap, he does not get picked up by a lineman and gets home, bringing Mannino down.
This isn’t a disguised blitz; the offense should have recognized that Schobourgh was going to rush, however, it seems like they had no plan to account for him. Graduate students Will Aaronson (No. 53) and center Brandon Furey (No. 66) have a miscommunication here.
The offense is operating a “scat” protection. This is a five-man protection scheme that asks two offensive linemen, both on one side of the center, to block one specific man. The center, along with the guard and tackle on the other side, is responsible for a gap as opposed to a man. On this play the right side of the line is man-on, while the three other linemen slide left (meaning they block the man a gap to their left).
An issue arose, though, because three defensive players rushed from the left side. Even though Furey is normally supposed to block the man on his left, which would be Schobourgh in this case, because the offensive line is outmanned on the right side, he has to block back. Aaronson does not recognize this, giving inside help for the tackle and leaving Schobourgh untouched.
The defense had to get overaggressive to compensate for the offensive struggle. On third-and-4, the Eagles line up in an empty formation, meaning there is no running back in the backfield and an extra receiver out wide. This gives the quarterback more options to throw the ball and makes it easier for him to get the ball out quickly, as the five-wide look generates more one-on-one matchups.
For these reasons, coaches do not like to run man blitzes against empty sets. Why make it easier for the ball to get out fast? The blitz won’t have enough time to get to the quarterback anyway.
However, defensive coordinator Mike Horan tends to be aggressive on third down, and given the deficit that the team is at during this point in the game, one can understand why the team feels a need to force the issue. As expected, the crosser from freshman slot receiver Cannon Dinger (No. 85) got open quickly.
Even though one of the six defenders showed blitz pre-snap, junior linebacker Kade Werner (No. 29) dropped back after the ball was snapped, the play simply hit too quickly. Freshman safety Chase Hatton (No. 21), who has been exceptional in the box safety role, got beat, and with everyone else in the secondary responsible for their own one-on-one man matchup, there was no one to make the tackle after Dinger caught the ball and Morehead extended their lead to three possessions.
Marist turned it on offensively after that, but, at the worst time possible, they allowed a big play on special teams. All season long, special teams coordinator John Audino has had the Red Foxes line up in a unique way with only one player, freshman Cam Walter (No. 11), beyond the right hash.
This untraditional alignment puts more pressure on Walter to contain the return, because if the returner gets past him, they have a lot of empty grass in front of them. For this reason, sophomore kicker Connor Mendini (No. 43) has to kick the ball high, giving the kicking team more time to get into position to make a tackle. He also has to send the ball far left, making it more difficult for the return man to get around Walter’s contain.
On this play, redshirt freshman Sidney Webb (No. 35) returns the kick. In an act of overcompensation, Walter overextends outside and leaves a large lane to his left, which Webb runs through. As is usually the case on a kick return, Webb allowing his blocks to develop leads to a huge return that set up the offense for a game-winning field goal drive.
Marist’s inability to turn it on offensively led to a disappointing final result against an in-league opponent. They allowed five sacks and finished with just 15 minutes of possession time. Lackluster offensive performances like this one affect the whole team. The defense got exhausted and became extra aggressive to create opportunities for the offense, while the special teams allowed a huge return in a crucial moment.
Earlier in the year, Mannino and the offense were on fire, and if the team wants to bounce back after two disappointing weeks, it will start on that side of the ball.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photos via Carlisle Stockton
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