Nov. 10, 2007
Final Stats
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Marist football team defeated Iona 17-14 on Saturday to clinch a share of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League championship for the second straight season. A 29-yard field goal by senior kicker Chris Collins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) with under two minutes to play provided the winning score for the Red Foxes. Marist scored the game's final 17 points after falling behind 14-0 in the second quarter.
Marist and Iona both finished MAAC play with 2-1 records, as did Duquesne, which defeated La Salle 51-8 on Saturday to make it a three-way tie for first place in the league.
With 1:23 remaining until halftime, Marist got on the scoreboard when senior cornerback Daniel Diaz (Newfield, N.Y.) intercepted a Nick Rossetti pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown. The interception was the second of the day for Diaz and the third in the first half for the Red Foxes, who also received one from sophomore cornerback Kwame Carlor (Southbridge, Mass.).
After a scoreless third quarter, the Red Foxes tied the game with 11:06 remaining in the fourth, when a six-yard touchdown run by senior running back Obozua Ehikioya (West Hempstead, N.Y.) capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive.
Collins' field goal came at the end of a 12-play, 76-yard drive which ran 4:39 off the clock. On the ensuing drive, Iona reached the Marist 25, but a 42-yard field goal attempt by the Gaels' Chris Lofrese fell short with 29 seconds remaining. The Red Foxes then ran out the clock.
Ehikioya ran for 89 yards on 26 carries. Marist quarterback Stephen McGrath (Manasquan, N.J.) was 17-for-23 for 183 yards and two interceptions. McGrath broke the single-season school record for completions in a season, as he finished the 2007 campaign with 168. Senior wide receiver Mark Clavie (Brewster, N.Y.) had a team-high seven catches for 64 yards, and fellow senior wide receiver Tim Keegan (Middlebury, Conn.) had a team-best 88 receiving yards on four receptions.
Defensively, freshman defensive back Dan Smith (Reston, Va.) finished with 11. Smith concluded his Marist career second on the program's all-time tackles list with 259.
Marist finished its season at 3-8 overall, ending the season by winning its last two games following a 37-34 triple overtime win against Georgetown last Saturday.
