We have seen two different Red Fox teams this year. For the first few weeks, Marist was a well-oiled machine. Their offense was led by an explosive run game, while the defense benefited from strong play from their star-studded secondary, with consistent play from their front against the run.
After a rough four-game stretch, head coach Mike Willis got the team back in shape. While the offense played a solid game, especially the offensive line, which had its best game of the season, the defense took charge. The Red Foxes forced three interceptions, and the strong Red Fox run game complemented the defensive play to catapult them to a convincing victory.
Freshman safety Chase Hatton (No. 21) has been an outstanding player in the box, stepping up and defending the run at a remarkably high level. On this second-and-9 play, the Marist secondary is running quarters coverage. This is a form of coverage in which the safeties play over the top and latch onto any vertical route from a slot receiver in man coverage.
On this play, however, Hatton isn’t lined up as a safety; instead, he’s a nickel defender, meaning that he stays underneath, in zone coverage. The key difference between zone and man coverage is the attention of the defender being on the quarterback instead of a receiver. This is why the majority of interceptions happen when defenders are in zone coverage. When the defenders’ eyes are on the quarterback, it is much easier for them to make a play on the ball.
Hatton does a phenomenal job reading the quarterback’s eyes on this play. Despite no one else in the field being in range to cover junior receiver Malachi Townsend (No. 80), Hatton quickly jumps a pass 20 yards upfield and picks off senior quarterback Gavin Rupp’s (No. 17).
This was one of many amazing plays that allowed Hatton to win PFL Defensive Player of the Week and earn FCS Freshman Player of the Week honors.
The Red Foxes play much better when they are generating explosives. This 78-yard touchdown reception from graduate student tight end Connor Hulstein (No. 84) was the Red Foxes’ biggest play from scrimmage all season.
While big plays like this can always be the product of Herculean individual efforts, a lot of them are often generated with great schemes on the whiteboard. This play is an example of the ladder.
Hulstein is running a slant to get behind the hook defender, senior linebacker Jackson Berry (No. 7), after he steps up due to the play-action fake. This would traditionally leave senior captain defensive back Julian Sampson (No. 2) as the last line of defense to prevent the completion, but he also has to respect any vertical route coming from that side of the offense.
This is where graduate student tight end Devin Kennedy (No. 95) comes into the equation. When he first starts running his route, he gets a natural rub on junior defensive back Justin Rodriguez (No. 28), leading to him falling behind Hulstein in man coverage.
This brilliantly drawn route concept works like a charm and leaves Hulstein wide open with nothing but grass in front of him. From there, it is a footrace to the paydirt.
And then there are the other explosive plays. The ones that are less about the play that was called, and more about the guys on the field.
The Red Foxes find themselves behind the sticks, looking at a second-and-16, and junior quarterback Sonny Mannino dropped back. After quickly diagnosing that most of the defense is in man coverage, meaning most of the defense has eyes on their coverage assignments as opposed to the quarterbacks, he breaks contain. From there, it was a footrace, and there aren’t many athletes who can chase down Mannino when he gets the wheels turning.
These huge gains on the ground don’t become touchdowns unless the receivers give the extra effort to prevent the secondary from making tackles. Sophomore wide receiver Jack Melore (No. 1) has a defender with man-on responsibility for him, so he turns upfield and Sampson follows him away from the play. Junior receiver Santino Correa (No. 0) also contributed to this play downfield with a strong block as Mannino goes down the sideline.
Down big, the Hatters looked to go back to basics and get a stable drive going. They relied on the run game to get them going. Their call to get them going was an inside zone play.
In response, defensive coordinator Mike Horan overloaded the tight end side presnap. The Hatters’ offensive line overcompensated, getting so focused on blocking up what was playside, they left the Red Foxes’ most athletic box defender unblocked, even after he repositioned himself to get his arms on the ballcarrier before he got to the line of scrimmage.
The result was exactly what you would expect: Hatton rushed into the backfield and brought down sophomore running back Trey Smith (No. 6) behind the line of scrimmage. Hatton’s explosiveness has separated him from the rest of this defense all year long, and this play is a further display of that. Some players can be left on the backside edge unblocked without them having an impact on the play, but not when they have Hatton’s athleticism.
Hatton got his second pick of the game on the next play, in large part because of how well he shut down an effort to run the ball and get a stable gain on first down. Catching Stetson behind the sticks in a game where they’re down 24 will always make them one-dimensional because any respectable team will run the football under those circumstances.
After losing a lot of the momentum that had fans so optimistic, the Red Foxes needed a win like this, and they needed it badly. It came down to the defense forcing turnovers and the offense generating constant explosives. It is games like this that remind us of the team that beat a strong San Diego team and dominated New Haven earlier this year.
Willis has to continue to rely on the strong play of Mannino, Hatton, and Hulstein while still getting his other star players, like graduate student running back Tristan Shannon and sophomore safety Nate Robinson Jr., involved. As the team looks to make this more than a random flash in the pan, there is a lot to be hopeful about as they head into the homestretch of the season.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo by Quinn DiFiore
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