With a 1-1 record heading into Saturday’s road matchup with Lafayette, Marist head coach Mike Willis and the Red Foxes were hoping to return home with a winning record.
Although graduate student quarterback Sonny Mannino threw for a season-high 291 passing yards, the offense’s struggles on the ground made it difficult to finish drives in the endzone, ultimately leading to a 13-9 loss.
As is the case with any close loss, there were positives with the negatives. The secondary made Lafayette senior quarterback Daniel Lipovski’s job very difficult, limiting him to a mere 38.7% completion rate.
I looked back at the film to find some takeaways, both good and bad, from the Red Foxes’ final game before league play begins.
Play 1
Defensive coordinator Mike Horan dials up unique pressure packages on third-and-long situations. Whether it is a simulated rush or a true blitz like this one, Horan has no issues getting creative with pressure, even if it leads to some unconventional coverage schemes on the backend.
What we see here is a variation of inverted trap coverage out of a three-high look with a six-man rush. The middle field safety, sophomore Chase Hatton (No. 21), drops to close off the middle field. On the outside, the corners drop downfield and the safeties rotate up into the apex, walling off the passing concepts from the open area inside the hashes.
It is very untraditional for a defense to run this type of coverage without anyone in coverage over the middle, but given the amount of three-route passing concepts Lafayette offensive coordinator T.J. DiMuzio runs, this play design was perfect, forcing an incomplete pass with the overwhelming pressure while also preventing any quick answers on the backend.
Play 2
A key reason for Mannino’s effectiveness through the air in this game was the offense’s usage of RPOs. This play is another example of that.
A large part of being an offensive coordinator is understanding the opposing defense’s rules. Marist lines up with three wide receivers to the field side and one to the boundary. Lafayette rotates their safeties towards the passing strength.
This is the perfect look to take advantage of the pass option built into the play, as junior defensive back Dhonte Jackson (No. 1) rotating leaves a one-on-one for graduate student receiver Reece Beauchamp (No. 11). Beauchamp gets a step on sophomore defensive back Christian Watson (No. 5) and gets another 20 yards after the catch.
The highlight of this play is the quick processing of Mannino. He looks at the safety, sees him rotate towards the passing strength and makes an instant decision to throw to Beauchamp. He threads the needle with this throw, as even a split second of hesitation more would’ve led to a pick for Watson.
These RPOs are a reliable way to run the offense to get consistent gains off the threat of the run game. Mannino seems to be way more comfortable and decisive on these plays. The offense has been looking for a more consistent approach down to down, and this can be it.
Play 3
In a low-scoring game, the main thing the defense has to do is limit the explosives.
Although the Red Foxes didn’t get pushed upfield on this run play, they over-committed way too hard to the backside of this counter play. Junior defensive lineman Todd Woodring (No. 53) crashes too far inside. This sets the pulling guard, senior Michael Dincher (No. 75), up for an easy block.
The way these blocks develop, junior quarterback Jason Penza (No. 15) easily gets up to the second level. There’s no linebacker to meet Penza because senior linebacker Nate Furrow (No. 54), the lone linebacker on this play, hesitates to follow the pulling guard to the point of attack.
Ultimately, sophomore defensive back Jace Williamson (No. 32) ends up as the only Red Fox in proper position to make a play, but he is unable to get by the lead blocker, senior tight end Ethan Hosak (No. 85). The Red Foxes were completely unprepared for this designed QB run, and that’s why it went the distance.
Play 4
One of the recurring themes of this game was the Red Foxes’ fourth down struggles. Willis and his staff opted to go for it on fourth-down five times, yet the offense only had one conversion.
Among their fourth-down failures was this last effort at victory: A fourth-and-six incompletion.
Mannino decided where he was going to throw this ball before it was snapped. Again decisiveness from a quarterback can be a good thing, but only when they’re correct.
Instead of reading senior defensive back Jalen Edwards (No. 2), Mannino pulls the trigger too early. Edwards never commits upfield and sits on junior wide receiver Zach Garmont’s (No. 5) route for the entirety of the play.
These are the moments where elite processors are willing to move on to the backside reads, like the open dig from senior utility man Marco Lainez III (No. 10), who replaces the blitzing linebacker.
Mannino doesn’t do this and the potential game-winning drive ends.
There is not one specific reason the Red Foxes lost this game. The loss was a result of a culmination of issues that have been appearing a lot throughout these three weeks. With a bye this week, Willis and his staff have more time to evaluate the tape and assess exactly which changes the team should make.
There is a lot to build on, like the fiery play of the linebacker room and the depth across the defensive line. The secondary has stepped up at multiple key moments, and the red zone defense overall has been the best in the PFL.
Offensively, the play of Mannino will always give the unit a spark, but their down to down operations can stand to improve. They have specifically struggled in the run game, where their lead senior running back Lincoln Cardillo is averaging just 3.2 yards per carry, a stat that is more reflective of the run game as a whole than it is of Cardillo.
They have time to improve on their points of weakness and maximize their areas of strength. Coming out of the bye the Red Foxes get into their league schedule, starting with Presbyterian on Sept. 26.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Michael O’Neil
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