Every game of the season is important, but when conference play begins, the intensity rises. Suddenly, every snap means more and every yard feels more valuable.
On Saturday, Marist football rose to the occasion in its Pioneer Football League opener against a Presbyterian team that doubled Marist’s five-win total last season. The Red Foxes had a decisive victory at home, winning 42-7 over the Blue Hose.
Below is a look at four key plays from the Marist victory.
Play 1
Against Lafayette a couple of weeks ago, Marist was a measly one-for-five on fourth down, a statistic that can be heavily attributed to their loss in the one-possession game.
If head coach Mike Willis wants to continue being as aggressive on fourth down, the team needs to perform more like they did in this game by converting on five of seven attempts.
The Red Foxes’ first fourth-down conversion was also their first touchdown of the game.
This play was a variation of a zone read, leaving senior linebacker Jalyn Turner (No. 3) unblocked as the “read player.” Graduate student quarterback Sonny Mannino (No. 12) has no issue reading him as senior utility man Marco Lainez’s (No. 10) escort block forces Turner to declare himself to either stopping graduate student running back Isaiah Simmons (No. 2) on the inside-zone carry, or holding contain to prevent Mannino from getting outside.
To even further skew the numbers advantage in Marist’s favor, the Red Foxes put fifth year wide receiver Santino Correa (No. 3) in jet motion from the receiver position, giving him momentum to set another escort block in front of Lainez.
If the quarterback keeps the ball on a traditional zone read, it’s usually because the numbers are in his favor anyway. But when the offense can find ways to bring blockers from the play-side to help escort the backside read without sacrificing the legitimacy of the inside-zone run (which the offense would be relying on if Turner set the edge instead of pursuing inside) the numbers advantage can become ridiculous.
Play 2
One of the fundamental concepts of modern football is that fewer people rushing the quarterback will lead to less pressure.
When teams rush just three defenders, the expectation is not for the defensive line to bring the quarterback to the ground. After all, even if the offense doesn’t keep any extra players in protection, they can still double-team two of the defensive linemen and still have a player left over to go one-on-one with the remaining defensive lineman.
When defenses rush just three, they expect to win the play with their secondary. Rushing just three keeps eight bodies in coverage as opposed to the usual seven.
Sophomore quarterback Landon Sharpe (No. 22) holds the ball too long, waiting for a clear open window that never comes due to the extra body in coverage.
Because of Sharpe’s hesitation, the three-man-rush has more time to get the sack. Senior defensive lineman Jordan Mendoza (No. 91) has no issue getting past the double team and forces Sharpe to roll out directly into graduate student defensive lineman Sean Coverdale (No. 92).
When the pass rush can get home with just three players rushing, that’s a sign the quarterback is going to be taking a beating all game long.
Play 3
It’s always clear when linebackers recognize the play that’s coming at them. Things like pulling guards always get linebackers’ heads over their heels.
The second senior linebackers Kade Werner (No. 29) and Nate Furrow (No. 54) see junior offensive lineman Kaleb Ferschke (No. 74) pull, they both explode towards the line of scrimmage.
The instinctiveness of the linebacker room along with the defensive line holding strong gave junior running back Damion Moate (No. 25) nowhere to run. Because of junior defensive lineman Braylen Ricks (No. 98) driving a double-team straight into the backfield and junior defensive back Wayne Adair (No. 42) holding his ground to set the edge, Moate has no choice but to meet Werner in the hole.
That collision ends in the Red Foxes’ favor.
Play 4
The most crucial time to run the ball is also the most difficult time to do it.
Mannino has had success on the ground this year, but, when it came to a traditional running game, the Red Foxes have struggled. Their two leading ball carriers besides Mannino, senior running back Lincoln Cardillo and graduate student running back Isaiah Simmons, respectively, averaged 3.2 and 2.8 yards per carry coming into this game.
For this reason, the Red Foxes enforcing their will in the way that they did late in this game was an important change of pace. Simmons averaged 4.1 yards per carry and Lincoln Cardillo averaged 7.3 in large thanks to an impressive 43 yard run. The huge difference between this game and the last three was highlighted on this play.
No hole necessarily opens up here for Simmons, but that is because every blocker moved upfield in unison. Simmons (No. 2) gets from the 35-yard-line to the 48 without a single Blue Hose defender touching him.
The play was designed to be a power run behind the pulling senior offensive lineman TJ Surace (No. 67) but with this kind of vertical push any run play would have a similar result to this 12-yard carry.
Starting conference play with a home victory is always a good way to get the momentum going, but the dominant fashion in which Willis’ Red Foxes controlled this game can propel this team to an entirely different level.
Although Presbyterian entered this matchup allowing over 53 points per game, Marist needed to take care of business. And they did.
This weekend, they continue conference play on the road against Stetson. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic and photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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