Oct. 10, 2009

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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- With seven seconds to play and his team facing a 4th-and-12 from the Jacksonville 26, Marist senior quarterback Chris Debowski (Fountain Valley Calif.) found sophomore wide receiver Kevin Fitzpatrick (Columbia, Md.) for a 26-yard touchdown pass, lifting the Red Foxes to a 31-27 victory over defending Pioneer Football League champion Jacksonville at Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field on Saturday.

The touchdown catch was the first of Fitzpatrick's career, and it capped an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 3:11. On the first play of the drive, senior running back O'Neil Anderson (Dorchester, Mass.) ran for 28 yards into Jacksonville territory at the 47. Faced with a fourth-and-six at the Jacksonville 32 with 1:30 to play, Debowski completed an eight-yard pass to senior tight end Chris Ortner (Southington, Conn.) to keep the drive going. Faced with another fourth down four plays later, Debowski found Fitzpatrick for the winning score.

Debowski was 20-for-34 for a career-high 327 yards passing and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver James LaMacchia (Bronx, N.Y.) set a program record with 195 receiving yards on a career-high 10 receptions

After Jacksonville's Josh McGregor threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a four-yard strike to Christopher Kuck with 8:30 remaining, Jacksonville took a 27-17 lead. On Marist's ensuing drive, the Red Foxes turned a fourth down into a touchdown pass, as Debowski connected with LaMacchia on a 43-yard catch-and-run on a fourth-and-four, making it a one-score contest at 27-24. A six-play drive on Jacksonville's ensuing drive ended in a punt, setting up Marist's game-winning march.

Jacksonville opened the scoring just 2:31 into the game, as McGregor found Elliott Finkley with a 62-yard touchdown pass to give the Dolphins a 7-0 edge. Marist tied the game with 8:53 left in the second quarter on Debowski's 44-yard touchdown pass to Ortner, which was the first touchdown of his career. With 20 seconds left before halftime, sophomore running back Ryan Dinnebeil (River Vale, N.J.) scored his fourth touchdown of the season on a two-yard plunge, giving the Red Foxes a 14-7 lead going into the locker room.

Just 1:38 into the third quarter, McGregor's 19-yard touchdown pass to Josh Philpart tied the score at 14 apiece. The score remained that way until early in the fourth quarter, when a 26-yard field goal by freshman kicker Jason Myers (Chula Vista, Calif.) gave Marist a 17-14 lead. Touchdown passes by McGregor on consecutive drives gave Jacksonville a 10-point advantage with 8:30 to play.

The game included 891 yards of total offense, with Marist holding a 471-420 edge in total yards. Anderson led the Marist ground game with 97 yards on 17 carries, and Debowski added 36 yards rushing. Debowski completed passes to eight different receivers.

For Jacksonville, McGregor finished 21-of-32 for 294 yards. Philpart led the Dolphins with five receptions for 82 yards. Running back Rudell Small carried the ball 24 times for 121 yards.

Defensively, junior safety Nick Andre (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) had 11 tackles apiece for the Red Foxes. Andre also had 2.5 tackles for losses and a pass breakup. For Jacksonville, Jason Wood had a game-high 13 tackles, while Shaun Lewis finished with 11 tackles, 3.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and a pair of sacks.

Marist improved to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in PFL play in front of a crowd of 3,089 on Alumni Weekend. It was the Red Foxes' first Alumni Weekend victory since 2005. Jacksonville fell to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the PFL.

After a bye week, Marist will return to action on Oct. 24, with a PFL game at Morehead State. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.