Sept 11, 2003
Final Stats
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - Guy Smith caught a 3-yard touchdown pass with 17
seconds remaining to lead Marist over St. Peter's 16-14 Thursday night.
Smith's touchdown capped an outstanding game for the sophomore wide
receiver. He caught 11 passes for 194 yards and recovered a fumble in the end
zone for a touchdown in the third quarter to give Marist (1-1, 1-0 Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference) a 10-7 lead.
The efforts of Smith will go into the Marist record books. His 194 yards is the most in a single game in the program history. The all-time recordwas 160, by Dan DelPrete in 1990 agaisnt St. Francis (PA), while the Division I-AA record was held by Joe Calabria, who went for 162 yards against St. John's in 1998. Smith's 11 catches tied the Red Foxes all-time school record for a single game, matching the 1990 effort of Dan DelPrete against RPI. In I-AA history, 1993 and forward, four players had made eight catches in a game, most recently Jason Hooper against Iona in 2001.
James Luft, who was named the starter Thursday after an injury to Brian Kiraly, also wrote his names into the record book. His 279 yards passing ties him with Dan O'Donnell for most in a single-game in the history of the program. O'Donnell set his mark in 1989 against St. John Fisher, when the Red Foxes were Division III. The I-AA record was held by Kevin Chartrand when he threw for 257 yards against LaSalle in 1999. Luft was 15-31 with one touchdown and no interceptions in the contest.
Trailing 7-3, Marist allowed St. Peter's to take the opening drive off the second half, to the one-yard line, where the Peacocks had first and goal. Rookie Nick Salis forced a fumble by Sean Mayers, which Robert Thompson, turning the Peacocks away.
The Red Foxes offense answered with an impressive 11-play, 99-yard drive, capped when Luft fumbled on the one-yard line, before Smith fell on the ball in the end zone for his first collegiate touchdown.
St. Peter's (0-3, 0-1 MAAC) took a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter on a
48-yard pass from Andre Harris to Steven Taylor. Neither team scored in the
fourth quarter until Smith caught James Luft pass to complete a 12-play,
80-yard drive.
The game-winning drive was setup by strong special teams play of the Red Foxes. The Peacocks were 0-3 on field goal attempts, with the Marist blocking the first two attempts and a strong rush forced the last kick wide right, setting up the final drive.
St. Peter's outgained Marist on the ground 304-53, and racked up 454 yards of total offense, as compared to the 332 for Marist. Peacocks running back Sean Mayers rushed 24 times for 198 yards and quarterback Andre Harris gained 108 yards on 21 carries for the Peacocks.
After a scoreless first quarter, Mayers' 41-yard run gave St. Peter's a 7-3
lead after Marist opened the scoring on Adam Tanalski's 27-yard field goal.
Luft caught fire in the second half, after going 5-13 for 117 yards in the first half of play. In the third and fourth quarter, in which Marist was 4-7 on third down conversions, Luft went 10-18 for 162 yards.
