POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist football team celebrated Senior Day on Saturday afternoon, but was defeated 31-14 by #21/22 San Diego at Tenney Stadium. The Red Foxes closed out their season with a 5-6 overall record, and a 5-3 record in the Pioneer Football League.
- The Toreros struck first, as kicker Aedan Johnson connected on a 25-yard field goal on San Diego's opening possession. The drive was highlighted by a 53-yard completion from Anthony Lawrence to Michael Bandy, setting up the Toreros at the 15-yard line. However, the Red Fox defense was stout, and limited San Diego to just a field goal.
- San Diego extended its lead to 10-0 with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter, as running back Emilio Martinez plunged into the end from three yards out. The score was setup by a 55-yard pass from Lawrence to Bandy, and a fourth-down reception by Dalton Kincaid.
- Marist's best scoring opportunity of the first half came after red-shirt freshman quarterback Austin Day led a 15-play, 55-yard drive, but the drive ended in a missed field goal.
- The Toreros would tack on two more touchdowns before the end of the first half, as Lawrence threw a six-yard touchdown to Dominic Grazini with 4:06 remaining, and then threw a 6-yard touchdown to Martinez with 13 seconds remaining. San Diego took a 24-0 lead into halftime.
- San Diego kept the foot on the gas in the third quarter, as Lawrence connected with Michael Armstead on a 60-yard touchdown making the score 31-0 in favor of the Toreros.
- Marist got on the board with 5:20 left in the third quarter, as Day connected with senior wide receiver Juston Christian on a 30-yard touchdown. Christian would catch another touchdown with 14:55 in the fourth quarter, making the score 31-14, but that closed out the scoring.
- Red-shirt junior wide receiver Anthony Olivencia had a stellar game for the Red Foxes, catching 12 passes for 224 yards.
- Day finished the game 20-for-45 with 321 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
- Lawrence went 20-for-26 on the day, for 289 yards and three touchdowns.
- Bandy led San Diego with 127 yards receiving on five receptions.
- The Toreros had the advantage on the ground, out-rushing Marist 110-37.
- San Diego was 4-for-4 converting in the red zone, while the Red Foxes went 0-for-1.
- Nick Friedel had two-and-a-half tackles for loss and half-a-sack for San Diego.
- Red-shirt senior defensive end Enmanuel Soriano totaled a team-best 10 tackles for Marist, which included a sack and one-and-a-half stops for loss. Red-shirt senior safety Wesley Beans finished with six tackles, a fumble recovery, and a pass break-up.
- Olivencia recorded the sixth 200-yard receiving game in program history. Three came this season, with Christian recording the other two.
- Olivencia's 12 catches ties a program record for receptions in a single game. The record was originally set by Guy Smith at Iona in 2003.
- Today marked Christian's fifth straight game scoring a touchdown.
- Today's game concluded Marist's 10th season in the PFL. They are now 41-39 all-time in PFL games.
- San Diego is now 14-0 all-time against Marist.
"It's kind of surreal," red-shirt senior safety
Wesley Beans said. "You come in here as a freshman, and see all of the seniors leave, and you don't think much of it. But it hits you fast, and it hits you hard. I'm so happy that I was able to play with this group of guys this season and throughout my career. They've been so great to me, and it's just been a blessing."
The following players were honored in Saturday's Senior Day ceremony: Players
Maximilian Cepeda,
Juston Christian,
Drew Daniel,
Peter Delatour,
Kyle Hamrick,
Antonio Hroncich,
Aaron Jackson,
Jon Kanda,
Andrew McElroy,
Brandon Miller,
Anthony Olivencia,
Joe Petro,
Mike Sanchez,
Jake Taparausky,
Isaiah Watson and
Eddie Zinn-Turner; managers Mesha Caldwell and Michaela Landry; and athletic trainers Vittoria Foti, Sean Dorrian, Nicholas Usuriello, and Amy Weinberg.
