With homecoming and alumni weekend complementing the celebration of the inaugural Marist Athletics Hall of Fame celebration, the Red Foxes (4-4, 3-1 PFL) dropped their first conference game of the season to St. Thomas (6-2, 3-1 PFL), 35-13.
Marist entered play in sole possession of first place in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) as the league’s only undefeated team after beating Drake 27-22 in Iowa last week. This was the first time since joining the PFL in 2009 that Marist had sole possession of first place. Today’s game could have been a standings accelerator, but it did not finish in favor of Marist and third-year head coach Mike Willis.
“I’m disappointed with the result. Anytime you see a scoreboard light up this way, you have to first examine what you could have done better for your players. I’m eager to get to the tape,” said Willis.
Since St. Thomas moved up from Division III to the PFL in 2021, they have beaten Marist all six times, including a 45-0 victory in Minnesota last season.
It was a faceoff of one of the Pioneer League’s best offenses against one of its best defenses. The Tommies entered play leading the conference in points per game with 37.1, almost four more than second-place Butler. Marist, however, entered the game allowing the second-fewest points in the conference with 19.6. When it played out, the battle was thoroughly won by St. Thomas and their 429 total yards.
Though Marist lost by three scores, they stayed in the game until the start of the fourth quarter and even held a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The lone touchdown came for the Red Foxes on a 22-yard run-pass-option (RPO) pass from graduate student quarterback Sonny Mannino to redshirt freshman receiver Jayden Taylor. He hauled in a season-high 91 yards on 5 receptions, including a 22-yard touchdown.
Mannino finished 13 of 25 passing, for 193 yards and the lone touchdown.
St. Thomas dominated Marist on the ground, gaining 227 yards. Graduate student running back Gabriel Abel led the way with 123 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Peipert added 85 yards and a touchdown rushing.
“I own that issue today. I’m gonna make sure that I’m allowing our defensive staff to be in the structure that they need to stop the run. It’s been a hallmark of our program, and we’re going to look forward to getting back to that standard,” said Willis.
The ground game of St. Thomas led them to keep control of the clock. Combined with their third-down efficiency, 10-for-14 compared to Marist’s 2-for-9, they possessed the ball for nearly 39 minutes.
The Tommies began to run away with the game in the second quarter. With the ball in the red zone to start the quarter, they quickly faced a fourth-and-three from the Marist five-yard line. Lining up for what would have been a 23-yard field goal resulted in junior wide receiver Stefano Giovannelli, the holder, keeping the ball and running it in for the score.
Trickery was a theme for St. Thomas. Abel took a multitude of direct snaps and, earlier on the first touchdown drive, a double pass led to a first down.
Marist went into halftime down 21-10, after Peipert ran in a touchdown with four seconds on the clock to put the Tommies up by multiple scores.
Both of Marist’s first-half scoring drives came off of turnovers. The touchdown drive was preceded by a junior defensive back Wayne Adair interception on the opening drive for St. Thomas. Adair tallied an interception in each of the last three games.
In the second quarter, Marist freshman wide receiver, filling in at punter, Ryan Brooks kicked a bouncing ball that a Tommie hit inside his own forty, leading to a Marist recovery.
That drive ended in a 36-yard field goal by redshirt freshman kicker Luke Stenson to make it 14-10. Late in the fourth, Stenson kicked his career-high, a 45-yarder.
A key turning point in the game came with 12 minutes left in the third. Mannino found Taylor again for a 24-yard gain, but after being tackled at the St. Thomas 25-yard line, Taylor fumbled, and the Tommies recovered. Marist fumbled three times, including losing possession twice.
The game was put out of reach at the start of the fourth. One minute into the quarter, Peipert notched his only passing touchdown on a 38-yard catch-and-run to junior wide receiver Quentin Cobb-Butler to put his team up three scores.
Marist and St. Thomas now join the mesh of teams tied at one loss in the Pioneer Football League: Marist, St. Thomas, Butler and Dayton.
The Red Foxes will head to San Diego next week to face off against the Toreros at 4 p.m. EST.
Edited by Mike Duda
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photo by Celia Green
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