DAVIDSON, North Carolina – The Marist football team earned a 27-21 victory at Davidson in a Pioneer Football League contest on Saturday at Richardson Stadium.
 
Red-shirt freshman Hunter Cobb ran for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, and the Marist defense forced two key turnovers against one of the top rushing offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision.
 

Summary

• Marist's first drive covered 70 yards in nine plays in 4:56, and culminated in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Austin Day to Sean Gaffney.
• A 23-yard field goal from Luke Paladino capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive in 7:56, which put Marist up 10-0 with 5:01 left in the second quarter.
• Davidson answered on its ensuing drive with a 38-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Phelps to Eli Turner. The Wildcats then drove into Marist territory on their next drive, but Ryan Webb intercepted a pass at the Davidson 2 in the closing seconds of the first half.
• At the 13:04 mark of the third quarter, Cobb's 89-yard touchdown run gave Marist a 17-7 lead.
• With 2:28 left in the third quarter, Clayborne Fields III recovered a fumble at the Davidson 22. Two plays later, Cobb's 15-yard touchdown run put Marist up 24-7.
• Davidson scored touchdowns on each of its next two drives, which cut the Red Foxes' lead to 24-21.
• Marist then started its next drive at its 19 with 7:16 remaining. The Red Foxes gained three first downs on their drive, which covered 11 plays and 75 yards in 5:57, and ended with a 24-yard field goal by Paladino with 1:19 to go. Cobb had a 33-yard carry on third-and-four on the drive.
• Davidson did not drive into Marist's territory on its final drive, which included a sack by Grant Dixon.

 

Key Stats

• Davidson entered the game ranked second in the FCS in time of possession and third in rushing offense. Marist held a 30:36-29:24 advantage in time of possession, a 232-163 edge in rushing yards, and a 380-362 lead in total yards.
• The Red Foxes did not commit a turnover.
• Day finished 14-for-22 for 148 yards and a touchdown. His leading receiver was Joe Petro (four receptions, 51 yards).
• Justice Seales led Marist with 10 tackles. Dixon had nine tackles, including two stops for loss and a sack. Webb finished with six solo tackles, an interception, a tackle for loss, and two pass break-ups.
• Tony Collins had a game-high 13 tackles for Davidson.

 

Notes

• Marist is now 11-0 all-time in the state of North Carolina, with seven wins at Davidson and four at Campbell.
• Marist is now 11-1 against Davidson, with nine straight wins.
• Cobb's 89-yard score with the fourth-longest touchdown run by a Red Fox in the program's 27-year FCS history, and longest in the last seven years.
• Gaffney has scored touchdowns in back-to-back games.

 

Up Next

• Marist returns home for a PFL contest against Butler on Saturday, Nov. 2.
• Kickoff is set for noon, and tickets are available on MaristTickets.com.
• The contest will be Marist's second annual #SetTheExpectation game, a campaign started by Brenda Tracy that engages male athletes and their coaches as the solution to end sexual assault and physical violence.