Sept. 17, 2005
Final Stats
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.-Senior quarterback James Luft surpassed 3,000 passing yards for his career on his way to leading the Marist football squad to a 31-22 victory over CCSU. The Red Foxes came into Saturday's contest ranked 12th in Don Hansen's I-AA Mid-Major National Poll, while the Blue Devils were ranked fifth.
Marist began the back-and-forth scoring with a one-yard plunge by Ehikioya at the 3:54 mark to make the score 7-0 Red Foxes.
CCSU came right back with a 22-yard scoring run by Andre Smith, but missed the extra point to pull to within one with 4:43 to play in the half.
That score was just the beginning of a flurry of action that would occur over final stages of the first stanza, as the two teams combined for 19 more points in the final 2:03. The scoring began when Luft found senior wideout Guy Smith (New Milford, Conn.) for a 40-yard scoring pass to give the Red Foxes a 14-6 advantage.
The Blue Devils used a 60-yard kickoff return on the ensuing possession and took only eight seconds to dent the scoreboard once more when Steve Bergeski caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from CCSU quarterback Timothy Sheard. The Blue Devils missed the two-point conversion, leaving the score 14-12 Red Foxes.
After Marist upman Curtis VanDemark (Brooklyn, N.Y.) took CCSU's short kickoff back 46 yards, Luft capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run of his own as time ran out in the half.
Sheard recorded the third one-yard score of the game with a one-yard dive over the top of the pile on fourth down to bring the Blue Devils within two points at the 9:46 mark of the third quarter.
Luft marched his unit right back down the field, however, and pushed the Marist lead back to nine (28-19) with a high-arching touchdown toss in the right corner to wide receiver Prince Prempeh for a 26-yard touchdown at the 3:54 mark of the third.
CCSU added a 19-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, while Marist a field goal of its own, courtesy of Bradley Rowe's 37-yard try.
Luft threw for 244 yards on 17-of 29 passing with two touchdowns and one interception, while Sheard went 14-for-23 with 176 yards and one touchdown toss.
Ehikioya gained 103 yards on the ground in 28 attempts, while CCSU was led by Sheard in that category as well with 49 yards on 14 carries.
Prempeh caught five passes to lead the Marist receiving corps, while Bergeski's five catches were a team-best.
Matt Grande was the Red Foxes' top tackler with nine tackles and one tackle for loss, while Nigel Monge had 13 tackles, including two tackles for loss.
Marist will travel to Wagner next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
