Nov. 10, 2007

Marist-Iona Game Notes

THIS AFTERNOON'S TILT: Marist (2-8) takes on Iona (7-2) at 1 p.m. at Mazzella Field in New Rochelle, N.Y. With a victory, the Red Foxes will earn a share of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League championship for the second straight year. Iona is ranked fifth in The Sports Network FCS Mid-Major Poll.

ON THE AIR: This afternoon's game will air live on WKIP 1450 AM, with Ed Weir providing the play-by-play and Mike Ferraro handling the color analysis. The broadcast will also be available online at GoRedFoxes.com free of charge through Stretch Internet. The pregame show starts at 12:45 p.m.

WHO THEY'RE PLAYING: Marist has assembled its most challenging schedule in program history this season. The Red Foxes faced an Ivy League school for the first time in program history when they took on Columbia on Sept. 22. Marist has four Patriot League opponents (Lafayette, Bucknell, Fordham, Georgetown), two Northeast Conference foes (Wagner, Sacred Heart) and a Pioneer League game (San Diego) on its slate in addition to its three Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League contests (Duquesne, La Salle, Iona).

LAST YEAR'S RINGS: The Red Foxes earned a share of the MAAC Football League title last season, their second MAAC crown in program history. Marist won the MAAC outright in its first year in the league (1994).

THIS YEAR'S LEADERS: The Red Foxes have four captains on this year's squad, all of whom are seniors: left tackle Dan Cooper, running back Obozua Ehikioya, inside linebacker Dan Smith and cornerback Daniel Diaz.

INSIDE THE SERIES: This is the 26th all-time meeting between Marist and Iona, with the Gaels holding a 14-12 all-time series lead. This is the 18th consecutive year the teams have met, making it the longest running rivalry the Red Foxes have with any team. Marist has won the last three meetings, and eight of the last 11. Four of the last six meetings have been decided by seven points or less. This is the second consecutive season Marist has played Iona in the season finale with the opportunity to earn a share of the MAAC Football League championship with a victory.

LAST TIME OUT: Marist earned a 37-34 triple overtime home victory against Georgetown to improve to 2-8 on the season.

OVERTIME, AND MORE OVERTIME: Marist's triple overtime game against Georgetown last Saturday marked the first time in program history the Red Foxes had ever played a game that had gone past one overtime. The last three times Marist has played an overtime game are the last three times the Red Foxes have hosted Georgetown (2007, 2001, 1999).

CLEAN SWEEP: Marist swept the MAAC Football League awards this past week, as senior running back Bo Ehikioya was named Offensive Player of the Week, senior linebacker Dan Smith was named Defensive Player of the Week and freshman defensive back Rory Foley was named Rookie of the Week. The awards were the first of the season for Ehikioya and Smith, and the second for Foley.

RECORD SHATTERED: Dan Smith broke the single-game school record with 20 tackles against Georgetown. Smith and John Healy previously shared the record, which was 17.

OFFENSIVE STARS: Bo Ehikioya had a season-high three rushing touchdowns to go along with 177 rushing yards against Georgetown. Senior wide receiver Tim Keegan set career high with 108 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

CHASING DOWN RECORDS: Senior quarterback Stephen McGrath has a couple of single-season records within his grasp. He needs 13 completions to break James Luft's record of 163, which was set in 2005. McGrath also needs 29 pass attempts to break Luft's record of 292, which was also set in 2005. McGrath needs 265 yards passing to reach the 2,000-yard mark for the season and become just the third Marist quarterback to reach that milestone. McGrath threw for 2,014 yards last season, and Luft racked up a school-record 2,232 yards in 2005.

MITCHELL STEPS UP: Junior running back Keith Mitchell had a career-high 107 yards rushing against Fordham on just 11 carries. Mitchell also had two receptions for 18 yards.

PASSING PERFORMANCE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Marist senior quarterback Stephen McGrath set program records at Sacred Heart on Oct. 20 by throwing for 396 yards and completing 28 passes. McGrath also tied the program record by throwing 40 passes and tied his career high with the third three-touchdown game of his career.

THEN THE HONORS ROLLED IN: As a result of his performance against Sacred Heart, Stephen McGrath was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League Offensive Player of the Week and NCAA I-AA Mid-Major National Player of the Week by the Football Gazette.

FRESHMAN FOLEY LAUDED: Marist freshman defensive back Rory Foley was named MAAC Football Rookie of the Week after leading the Red Foxes with 13 tackles at Sacred Heart on Oct. 20.

3 FOR 300: Stephen McGrath 396-yard passing effort at Sacred Heart marked the third 300-yard passing game in Marist program history. McGrath owns two of those performances, both of which have come against Sacred Heart. He threw for 303 yards against the Pioneers last season, giving him 699 passing yards in his two career meetings against Sacred Heart.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: Against Sacred Heart, quarterback Tim Keegan and Mark Clavie leading the way with five receptions apiece. Although no Red Fox had more than 77 receiving yards (Keegan), five had at least 40.

HONORS FOR OG: Junior defensive lineman OG Igbinosun registered a career-high four sacks against La Salle, earning him MAAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Igbinosun had seven tackles in the game, five of which came behind the line of scrimmage. The last time a Red Fox had at last three sacks in a game was Nov. 2, 2002, when Charles Fowler accomplished it at Georgetown.

STEUBING STANDS TALL: Sophomore linebacker Kurt Steubing had a career-high 13 tackles vs. La Salle, the highest single-game total for any Red Fox this season. Steubing also had 1.5 sacks in the game.

STERLING DEFENSIVE EFFORT: As a team, Marist registered eight sacks agains La Salle while holding the Explorers to just 111 yards of total offense.

SPANO'S FIRST SCORE: Sophomore tight end Robert Spano scored his first career touchdown against La Salle when he recovered a fumble in the end zone. The play also marked the first time a Red Fox recovered a fumble for a touchdown since Sept. 20, 2003, when Guy Smith recovered one in the end zone against Siena.

COLLINS ADDS NEW DUTIES: Chris Collins, who had been serving as the team's kickoff specialist, has handled place-kicking duties the last four weeks, going 14-for-15 on extra points and going 2-for-4 on field-goal attempts. Collins has served as the Red Foxes' kickoff specialist all season, and has booted seven touchbacks. Bradley Rowe, who was Marist's placekicker since 2004, is averaging a career-high 38.3 yards per punt and has dropped 12 punts inside the 20-yard line.

SPECIAL DAY: The Red Foxes played their first game at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field when they hosted Duquesne on Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 6. The name change was made to honor Tim Tenney, President and CEO of Pepsi Cola of the Hudson Valley and a longtime Marist trustee. Tenney provided the lead gift for the stadium renovation project.

CAREER HIGHS FOR MCGRATH, DULAC: Senior quarterback Stephen McGrath tied a career high by throwing for three touchdowns against Duquesne on Oct. 6. Senior wide receiver Daniel Dulac hauled in two of those scoring passes for the first two-touchdown game of his career.

LET'S STAY HOME: The Red Foxes have just concluded a stretch in which they played four out of five games at home after starting the season with five straight road games. Marist had home games vs. Duquesne on Oct. 6, La Salle on Oct. 13, Fordham on Oct. 27 and Georgetown on Nov. 3. The only road game in that stretch was a contest at Sacred Heart on Oct. 20.

SLOW STARTS HAVE HURT: Marist has been outscored 101-13 in the first quarter so far this season. The La Salle game marked the only time this season Marist has scored first in a game.

LOSING THE TURNOVER BATTLE: Marist has a minus-15 turnover ratio in its first 10 games of this season. The Red Foxes have forced a total of just eight turnovers this season, including just three interceptions.

RED ZONE WOES: The Red Foxes have scored on just 19 of their 34 drives when they have advanced the ball inside the opponents' 20-yard line this season. Conversely, Marist opponents have scored on 31 of their 38 trips into the Red Zone.

MARIST IN THE MAAC: Marist has posted a 10-4 mark in MAAC competition the since 2004, earning a share of the league title last season.

RARE ROUGH START: This season marked the first time in Head Coach Jim Parady's 16 years at the helm that the Red Foxes started a season with six consecutive losses.

RECORD-TYING ROAD TRIP: The Red Foxes played their first five games on the road this season, tying the program record for most consecutive road games since the program attained varsity status in 1978. In 1988, Marist also had a stretch of five straight road games (Pace, FDU-Madison, Siena, Coast Guard and RPI), going 1-4 in that span. This marks the most consecutive road games Marist has had to open a season. The previous high was three (Siena, Pace, C.W. Post), which occurred in the 1992 season. Marist went 2-0-1 in that stretch.

BO'S PRODUCTION: Running back Bo Ehikioya set a Marist single-game Division I record with

38 carries at Columbia on Sept. 22. He ran for 212 yards in the game, becoming the first Red Fox to run for over 200 yards in a game since he ran for 253 vs. La Salle on Oct. 8, 2005. Ehikioya played in just Marist's first two games of the 2006 season before being sidelined with an injury. In 2005, Ehikioya ran for 1,017 yards, becoming just the fourth Marist back in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. In the 2004 and 2005 seasons, Ehikioya combined to run for 1,703 yards and 25 touchdowns.

KARIO'S STRONG PLAY: Freshman defensive lineman Kario Gonzalez led Marist with eight tackles at Columbia.

TYING A RECORD: Quarterback Stephen McGrath tied a Division I program record with 40 pass attempts at Wagner on Sept. 15. McGrath had 16 completions for 170 yards and a touchdown, to go along with two interceptions.

DULAC SNAGS FIRST CAREER TOUCHDOWN AT WAGNER: Senior wide receiver Daniel Dulac had the first touchdown reception in his career in Marist's 24-14 loss at Wagner on Sept. 15. Dulac had four catches for 60 yards in the game.

SMITH'S PRODUCTION: Senior linebacker Dan Smith had 11 tackles at Wagner, which led the team.

STILL GAINING ON THE GROUND, EVEN WITHOUT BO: Without Bo Ehikioya in the lineup, the Red Foxes rolled up 192 rushing yards at San Diego. Junior running back Keith Mitchell tied a theb-career high by rushing for 94 yards, which came on 22 carries. Adam Hansen added 42 yards and a touchdown, and Ray Fiumefreddo gained 36 yards. Marist followed that up with 166 yards at Wagner, as three Red Foxes -- Hansen (55), Fiumefreddo (career-high 55) and quarterback Stephen McGrath (53) -- all rushed for over 50 yards.

ALL-PURPOSE KEITH: Keith Mitchell racked up 188 all-purpose yards at San Diego (94 rushing, 69 kickoff return and 25 receiving), marking the first time in his career that he topped 100 all-purpose yards in a game.

LOTS OF RUSHING (ATTEMPTS): The Red Foxes ran the ball 51 times at San Diego, their highest total of attempts since they had 55 at Wagner on Sept. 24, 2005.

FOLEY, PIZZARELLI ARE TOP TACKLERS AT SAN DIEGO: Sophomore linebacker Kevin Foley and senior defensive back Pat Pizzarelli tied for the team high with nine tackles apiece at San Diego, as both set career highs for tackles in a game. Additionally, Foley had one tackle for a loss of a yardage and a forced fumble.

CAREER HIGHS FOR KEEGAN, BROWN: Wide receivers Tim Keegan each set career highs in receiving yardage at San Diego. Brown hauled in seven passes for 86 yards, while Keegan had 81 yards receiving on four receptions, including a touchdown.

SEMERANO STARTS OPENER: Senior quarterback Stephen McGrath in the second half. McGrath was 8-for-9 for 66 yards with a touchdown pass. McGrath, who started all 11 of Marist's games in 2006, reclaimed the starting job at San Diego. He competed 18 of 33 passes for 233 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

TOUGH OPENER VS. LAFAYETTE: The Red Foxes suffered a 49-10 loss at Lafayette in their season opener on Sept. 1, with Marist's lone score coming on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Tim Keegan. Lafayette outgained Marist in total yardage 405-86 in the contest.

CAPTAINS LEAD IN TACKLES: Senior captains Dan Smith tied for the team lead with eight tackles apiece at Lafayette.

KEEGAN MAKES CATCHES: Wide receiver Tim Keegan led the Red Foxes with four receptions at Lafayette for 29 yards and a touchdown. Keegan is Marist's leading returning receiver, having caught 22 passes last season.

COME ON BACK: Marist returns 14 of its 22 starters from last season, including three First Team All-MAAC honorees: left tackle Dan Cooper, cornerback Daniel Diaz and punter Bradley Rowe. Rowe was also a Second Team All-MAAC choice as a kicker last season.

RUNNING BACK BY COMMITTEE: Although no Marist running back gained 400 yards with Bo Ehikioya out last season, three players ran for at least 200 yards and six topped the century mark. Adam Hansen led Marist last season in rushing yards (312) and touchdowns (seven), averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE: Quarterback Stephen McGrath set a program record last season by completing 63.2 percent of his passes. The previous high was set in 2005 by James Luft's, who hit on 55.8 percent of his passing attempts.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS RETURN: Marist's 2006 leaders in tackles (linebacker Dan Smith - 94), tackles for loss (linebacker Nick Andre - 8.5), passes defensed (Andre - 7) and sacks (defensive lineman Matt Wolfman - 4) are all returning this season.

CONNECTION WITH KETCHAM: The Red Foxes have three players on their squad this season who attended Roy C. Ketcham High School in nearby Wappingers Falls -- senior kicker Chris Collins, senior linebacker Joe Macho and freshman defensive back Daniel Faison. Additionally, running backs coach Casey Lorenz is a Ketcham graduate.