Sept. 25, 2004
Box Score
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.-Obozua Ehikioya and Brad Rowe to hammer the visiting Gaels of Iona 41-14 Saturday evening at Leonidoff Field. Marist moved to 1-2 (1-0 MAAC) with the win, while Iona fell to 0-3 (0-1). The Red Foxes' win stopped a three-game winning streak in the series by the Gaels.
Junior wideout Guy Smith (New Milford, Conn.) began the scoring on a 25-yard scoring toss from senior quarterback James Luft (Lake Peekskill, N.Y.) with 4:05 remaining in the first stanza.
After the Red Foxes pinned the Gaels inside their own 20, senior linebacker Gary Flynn (Hawthorne, N.J.) broke through the Iona protection and blocked the punt by Iona's Chris Lofrese. Flynn then scooped up the ball and dove across the goal line to put the Red Foxes up by a score of 14-0.
After both teams traded possessions, Rowe, a tailback from Seabrook, N.H., finished off a seven-play, 65-yard drive to put the Red Foxes up 21-0. The score stayed that way throughout the remainder of the half.
West Hempstead, N.Y. native Ehikioya then went to work, scoring on runs of three and two yards a minute and 32 seconds apart to give the Red Foxes a commanding 34-0 lead.
Rowe followed up with a two yard run with 2:52 left in the third quarter to salt the game away. Iona tight end Dan Campbell and wideout Dennis Calacione each caught touchdown passes from Michael Biehl for the final margin.
Marist, which came into the contest ranked 17th nationally against the pass, allowed just 120 yards through the air. The Red Foxes continued their defensive success, tallying five sacks and four interceptions.
Biehl led the Gaels with nine completions in 26 attempts for 120 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Luft led Marist with seven completions in 13 attempts for 144 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Ehikioya led the Marist rushing attack with 59 yards on eight carries, while Iona's Rudy Arcara racked up 113 yards on 19 carries. Smith notched 111 receiving yards on four catches, while the Gaels' Matt Miller had 48 yards on three catches.
Senior linebacker Robert Thompson (Paramus, N.J.) and junior defensive back William Doll led the Red Foxes with eight tackles, with Thompson notching a pair of sacks.
"I thought we really did a wonderful job of putting all three phases of the game together tonight," said Parady. "We were able to move the ball on the ground and through the air and when you do that, combined with big plays on special teams, it gives you the opportunity to be very successful."
With seven completions in the game, Luft now has 141 career completions, moving him past Kevin Chartrand for second on the all-time Marist I-AA list. Smith, who set the all-time school record for receptions in a game (12) against Iona last season, moved past Chris D'Autorio (1993-96) for Marist career receiving yards with 1,113. Jon Reed (1994-97) holds the career mark with 1,685.
The Red Foxes will travel to Central Connecticut State next Saturday, October 2nd for a 6 p.m. kickoff. Iona will host Monmouth at 1 p.m. that same day.
