POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – The Marist football team earned a 26-23 victory over Stetson in its home and Pioneer Football League openers on Saturday.
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Fifth-year senior wide receiver
Anthony Olivencia caught four passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. His second score, a 75-yard reception from red-shirt sophomore
Luke Strnad with 8:52 remaining, accounted for the game's final score.
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- After Stetson went three-and-out on its first series, red-shirt junior John Pierce blocked a punt that rolled out of the side of the end zone for a safety just 29 seconds into the contest.
- Following the ensuing free kick, Marist took over at its own 46 and drove to the Stetson 31. The drive culminated in a 49-yard field goal by red-shirt freshman Luke Paladino.
- With 8:17 left in the first quarter, junior Mekhai Johnson burst through the left side for a 54-yard touchdown run as Marist took a 12-0 lead.
- Jalen Leary's six-yard touchdown run cut Marist's lead to 12-7 just 1:08 later. The score came two plays after a 65-yard completion from Gaven DeFilippo to Steven Burdette.
- Jonny Messina's 20-yard field goal made the score 12-10 at the 8:42 mark of the second quarter.
- With 15 seconds left in the first half, red-shirt junior safety Jack Griffith broke up a pass on 3rd-and-10 at the Marist 39. Stetson then went for it on 4th down, and Griffith recorded a sack for a loss of 16 yards, which set the Red Foxes up at the Hatters' 45 with 10 seconds to play. Red-shirt junior quarterback Austin Day then lofted a pass to Olivencia, who caught the pass at the Stetson 7 and scampered in for a touchdown with no time left on the clock. Marist took a 19-10 lead into the locker room.
- DeFilippo's four-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Nails with 8:14 left in the third quarter made the score 19-17.
- With 9:53 left, Stetson's Jamieson Craske intercepted a pass and returned it to the Marist 6. On the next play, Leary's second touchdown of the day gave the Hatters their first lead on 23-19.
- On Marist's next drive, the Red Foxes faced a 3rd-and-10 from their own 25. Olivencia caught a pass from Strnad just past the first down marker, spun, and raced all the way to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown.
- Marist forced a punt and two loss on downs on Stetson's final three drives.
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- Olivencia and red-shirt senior tight end Jon Kanda (six catches, 107 yards) accounted for 10 of Marist's 15 receptions and 257 of the team's 302 receiving yards.
- Johnson ran for 125 yards on 16 carries.
- Red-shirt junior linebacker Grant Dixon had a game-high 11 tackles.
- Red-shirt sophomore safety Kyle Fleitman had 10 tackles, one tackle for loss, three pass break-ups, and a forced fumble.
- Red-shirt junior cornerback Alex Bergan had three pass break-ups to go along with five tackles.
- Stetson outgained Marist, 471-421. The Hatters ran 102 plays from scrimmage, while the Red Foxes had 60.
- DeFilippo completed 35 of 60 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown.
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- Pierce's blocked punt was the second of his career. He blocked a punt for a touchdown at Morehead State on Oct. 27, 2017.
- This was the Red Foxes' first safety since Sept. 26, 2015 against Jacksonville.
- Paladino's 49-yard field goal tied the school record for longest field goal, previously set by Jason Myers on Oct. 8, 2011.
- This was Marist's first game with two 100-yard receivers since Juston Christian (143) and Lawrence Dickens (103) topped the century mark at Dayton on Nov. 4, 2017.
- It was the first 100-yard receiving game in Kanda's career.
- Marist now leads the all-time series with Stetson, 5-2. The home team has won six of the seven contests.
- This is Marist's 11th season in the PFL. The Red Foxes are 42-39 all-time in PFL games.
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- Marist is 1-1 overall, and 1-0 in the PFL.
- Stetson is 1-1 on the season, and 0-1 in league play.
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- Marist hosts Cornell on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Tenney Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon.
- It will be the first meeting between the Red Foxes and Big Red in program history.
- The game is part of Homecoming & Reunion Weekend at Marist.