VALPARAISO, Indiana – In his final game as a Red Fox, redshirt senior safety
Andrew McElroy intercepted a Chris Duncan pass for a 90-yard touchdown to help Marist dispatch Valparaiso 26-14 in Saturday afternoon's 2019 season finale at Brown Field.
The win pushes the Red Foxes to 4-4 in the PFL to close the year, and 4-7 overall. The Crusaders end their campaign at 1-11, including 1-7 against conference foes.
Valparaiso occupied the red zone with the game clock approaching 30 seconds in the fourth quarter in a 19-14 Marist advantage. Duncan tossed to his right looking for Kyle Cartalis. McElory jumped the route and burst down the sideline 90 yards into the endzone with his first-career interception.
Redshirt freshman running back
Hunter Cobb scored two first-half touchdowns, including a 60-yard run in the second quarter, to finish the season with 13 touchdowns, which are the sixth-most in a single season by a non-quarterback.
Duncan finished with 232 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Deuce Larose led the Crusaders with 90 receiving yards.
- Defensive ends Aaron Acosta and Mark Gordon teamed up for two sacks on the same Valparaiso drive early in the game.
- Marist ignited the scoring when sophomore wide receiver Dwayne Menders returned a punt 34 yards in the first quarter, setting up a 16-yard touchdown run from Cobb off the left of the line in the first 5:04 of the contest.
- Redshirt sophomore Luke Strnad connected with redshirt senior Joe Petro for 46 yards at the end of the first, setting up a 28-yard field goal from redshirt freshman Luke Paladino to make it 10-0 in the second frame.
- On Second and 10 from the Marist with 5:42 left until halftime, Cobb made a cut behind the line and sped up the middle for his 60-yard score. A blocked extra point put the score at 16-0 Marist.
- Duncan connected with JD Koehler for three yards at the end of the second quarter and converted the two-point conversion to Brett Bittner.
- Neither team scored in the third quarter.
- Valparaiso came within a two-point conversion of tying the game midway through the fourth after a nine-yard touchdown reception for Ollie Reese, but redshirt junior safety Justice Seales intercepted Duncan's pass in the endzone to hold it to 16-14.
- Replacing Strnad in the second half, redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Edwards found redshirt senior Anthony Olivencia for 30-plus yards on consecutive drives, the latter leading to a Paladino field goal from 37 yards out for a 19-14 Marist edge.
- The Red Foxes outgained the Crusaders 321-244. Strnad and Edwards combined for 230 passing yards.
- Cobb paced all rushers with 92 yards, while Olivencia gathered 102 receiving yards.
- The Marist defense had a season-best 10 tackles for a loss and four sacks; redshirt senior linebacker Peter Delatour leading both categories with 2.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks.
- Redshirt junior captain Grant Dixon led all players with 13 total tackles.
- Valparaiso was held to 12 rushing yards.
- The 14 points allowed are a season-low for the Red Fox defense.
- In his first-career start, redshirt junior linebacker Colin Moran snagged his first interception.
- Dixon matched his career-high in tackles from last week's affair against Jacksonville.
- Olivencia concludes his Marist tenure with four-career 100-receiving yard games.
- Paladino becomes the third Red Fox kicker to eclipse double digits in field goals in a single season, finishing with 11, third-most in one year.
- Strnad started the second game in his collegiate career. He had 105 passing yards in the first quarter.
- Marist is now 8-1 all-time against Valparaiso.
