POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – It might not have shown on the scoreboard, but the seeds of a successful start by the Marist football team's defense were planted in the Red Foxes' season opener at Bucknell.
Although the Red Foxes left Lewisburg, Pennsylvania with a 45-6 loss, their stout run defense allowed just 56 rushing yards on 39 carries. It began a trend of strong defensive performances, which have carried over to wins against Stetson and Georgetown the past two weeks.
| Game - Defensive Totals |
Rushing Attempts |
Rushing Yards |
Yards Per Carry |
| Bucknell |
39 |
56 |
1.4 |
| Stetson |
29 |
69 |
2.4 |
| Georgetown |
25 |
45 |
1.8 |
| Total |
93 |
170 |
1.8 |
As the Red Foxes (2-1 overall, 1-0 Pioneer Football League) prepare to host Jacksonville (1-1, 0-0) on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Tenney Stadium, they have been recognized as one of the top defenses in the Football Championship Subdivision while earning individual accolades as well.
Red-shirt junior linebacker
Willie Barrett was named
PFL Defensive Player of the Week and earned
Honorable Mention from STATS as FCS Defensive Player of the Week after a two-sack performance at Georgetown.
"We game plan very well," Barrett said. "The things we focused on allowed me to succeed in my personal play."
Associate head coach/defensive coordinator Scott Rumsey has emphasized what he calls the "four Ts" to the Red Foxes: tackling, takeaways, third-down efficiency, and toughness. Not only has the Marist defense performed well in these areas, but it has benefitted from solid depth at all positions and the ability to create favorable match-ups.
"We identified what each player is really good at, and we're trying to put them in those positions throughout the game," said Rumsey, who is in his 17
th season as defensive coordinator and 20
th on the Marist staff. "They're really buying into what we're doing."
The commitment to stopping the run has been an emphasis for the Red Foxes, one they have needed to master in order to pursue a PFL championship.
"If we want to be taken seriously as a championship team, we have to stop the run," red-shirt sophomore nose tackle
Eddie Zinn-Turner said. "We took it upon ourselves this off-season to work extra hard."
It will be strength against strength Saturday night, as Jacksonville enters the contest ranked 21
st in the FCS in rushing yards per game at 214.5 yards per game out of their spread option attack. Jacksonville quarterback Rylan Wells is the reigning PFL Offensive Player of the Week, and accounted for 369 yards of offense and four touchdowns in the Dolphins' 41-35 victory over the Red Foxes last season.
"They're one of the most athletic teams we're going to face all year long," head coach
Jim Parady said of Jacksonville. "They have tremendous speed on the field. As it goes back to each opponent, it's about us and executing our assignments."
Saturday's game will be part of
Family Weekend, and fireworks will follow the contest. For ticket information, please click
here.
