The San Diego Toreros tallied 521 yards of offense en route to their 41-40 defeat of the Marist Red Foxes. Despite the yardage barrage, sophomore defensive back Jace Williamson finished with 22 tackles, a new program record.
The Red Foxes’ rushing attack did all that it could, but a late missed field goal gave San Diego their fourth win of the season.
Graduate student running back Isaiah Simmons tallied 182 yards on the ground, averaging over eight yards per carry. He displayed patience and acceleration with the ball in his hands throughout his 21 carries.
As the clock trickled down to the two-minute warning, the Toreros held a one-point lead, 41-40. Marist was halted on the first three downs of the drive and needed to go for it on fourth-and-four, which they converted thanks to the legs of graduate student quarterback Sonny Mannino.
Mannino’s 17th completion of the day came with 1:50 left to play in the game. Junior receiver Zach Garmont caught it, and then another where he ran the ball down inside the 20-yard line of San Diego. A Simmons run set up Marist on the 11-yard line with 47 seconds to go. The Red Foxes brought out their true freshman kicker to try and take the lead.
Freshman kicker Luke Stenson missed the 30-yard attempt, and the Toreros got the big defensive stand they needed. It was Stenson’s second miss of the day, including a blocked extra point earlier.
The Toreros started the game with a seven-minute touchdown drive. Senior quarterback Dom Nankil dissected the Marist defense and found graduate student receiver Elijah Taylor in the end zone for the first of five total touchdowns on the day. Nankil was a three-star recruit at Mater Dei High School, a program that produced NFL quarterbacks Bryce Young and Matt Leinart.
The Red Foxes answered with a six-minute drive of their own after four completions to four different players. Senior running back Lincoln Cardillo caught the touchdown, hauling it in on third-and-goal to tie the game at seven.
On the ensuing San Diego possession, junior defensive back Wayne Adair intercepted Nankil. Adair now has an interception in each of his last four games. This set up Simmons’ first touchdown on the day. The SUNY Brockport transfer ran it in from 35 yards out, but Stenson missed the point-after attempt, making the score 13-7.
Another San Diego turnover, this time a fumble forced by Marist’s leading tackler, senior Kade Werner, gave the Red Foxes the ball back with the entire second quarter to play. Mannino made a cross-body throw while shedding tackles to redshirt freshman Jayden Taylor, who scampered away for six.
Marist went for the two-point conversion but could not connect. The score stuck at 19-7.
A 37-yard missile from Nankil set up his 12th passing touchdown of the year. The star signal caller found junior wideout Christopher Hall for the score from five yards out to make it a five-point game.
The game’s first punt came with four minutes to play in the first half after Marist went three-and-out. The punt gave Nankil and company plenty of time to inch closer or take the lead, which they did on a touchdown catch from graduate student receiver Cole Monach.
The Toreros opened the second half with a rushing touchdown from graduate student running back Adam Criter. He punched it in from one yard out. Williamson made his 20th tackle on that drive.
Mannino and the Red Foxes answered, though. Simmons ran for 24 yards on the next Marist drive, capped by a quarterback keeper. It made the score 28-26.
San Diego answered with another deep pass-turned-touchdown, this time from Nankil to wide-open freshman receiver Luke Morgan. This was Morgan’s first collegiate touchdown.
A controversial pass-interference call against the Toreros set Marist up at the 15-yard line: Senior tight end Marco Lainez III went up for a jump ball and was contacted enough for the official to throw the penalty flag.
Mannino then ran the ball to the one-yard line on a read-option, powering his way in from one-yard-out.
Sophomore edge defender Naheem Ridore single-handedly ended the next San Diego drive. He played all three downs, made a key run stop on first down and notched a sack on third-and-six, forcing a punt.
Simmons, who had 120 rush yards on the day already, broke free for a 51-yard touchdown on the second play after the punt.
Nankil endured tough hits on the ensuing San Diego possession, but he had his eyes set on one thing: the end zone. He ran twice in a row, the latter resulting in a highlight juke move, lunging touchdown. He put his team up 41-40 with 2:50 left to play but stayed down on the ground for a bit after the score.
The 41-40 score held up after the missed field goal and helped San Diego stay undefeated against the PFL at home this season. Marist is now 0-10 all time against the Toreros in California.
Marist falls to under .500 and sits at 4-5 on the season after today. The Red Foxes will look to bring the rushing resurgence with them back home to Poughkeepsie when they face Morehead State next Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon.
Edited by Mike Duda
Photo by Michael O’Neil
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