Oct. 20, 2007
Final Stats
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Despite a furious fourth-quarter rally, the Marist football team suffered a 41-34 loss at Sacred Heart on Saturday. Senior quarterback Stephen McGrath (Manasquan, N.J.) threw for a school-record 396 yards and tied his career high with three touchdown passes. McGrath also set a school record with 28 completions and tied the program record with 40 pass attempts.
After Sacred Heart scored a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to take a 41-14 lead, McGrath threw touchdown passes to junior running back Keith Mitchell (Syracuse, N.Y.) and senior wide receivers Daniel Dulac (Newington, Conn.) and Tim Keegan (Middlebury, Conn.). The McGrath-to-Keegan touchdown came with 1:51 to play and brought the Red Foxes to within seven points, but Sacred Heart recovered the ensuing onside kick and was then able to run out the clock.
McGrath also led the Red Foxes with 48 yards rushing. Keegan had a team-high 77 yards receiving on five catches, and senior wide receiver Mark Clavie (Brewster, N.Y.) had five catches for 59 yards. McGrath completed passes to 10 different receivers.
Sacred Heart jumped out to a 28-0 lead before Marist senior running back Obozua Ehikioya (West Hempstead, N.Y.) scored on a four-yard run with 10 seconds remaining in the first half. Ehikioya scored his second touchdown of the day on Marist's first drive of the second half, a one-yard run with 11:28 left in the third quarter to cut Sacred Heart's lead to 28-14.
Running back Jason Payne led Sacred Heart (3-5) with 207 rushing yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard score in the second quarter. Sacred Heart quarterback Dale Fink was 18-for-22 for 204 yards and three touchdown passes, and he also caught a touchdown.
The teams combined 973 yards of total offense, and each side punted just once.
Freshman safety Rory Foley (West Roxbury, Mass.) led the Marist defense with 13 tackles.
The previous Marist school record for passing yards in a game was held by James Luft, who threw for 319 in a 2005 game at Saint Peter's. It was McGrath's second 300-yard passing game of his career, and his first game against Sacred Heart last season, when he threw for 303. The three-touchdown performance was the third of McGrath's career; he also threw for three against Sacred Heart last season and Duquesne on Oct. 6.
Marist (1-7) will return home to Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field next Saturday, when the Red Foxes host Fordham of the Patriot League at 7 p.m.
