DAYTON, Ohio – The Marist football team won a Pioneer Football League contest at Dayton by a score of 20-17 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Mekhai Johnson scored two touchdowns and had 183 all-purpose yards for the Red Foxes.
 

Summary

• After Dayton got on the board with a field goal on the game's opening drive, Luke Paladino's 44-yard field goal tied the score at three apiece at the 6:37 mark of the first quarter.
• Mekhai Johnson's 33-yard rushing touchdown gave Marist its first lead at the 11:06 mark of the second period.
• After Dayton tied the score at 10, Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.
• Paladino's 29-yard field goal gave Marist a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter.
• Jake Chisholm's one-yard rushing touchdown closed Dayton's deficit to three with 8:05 remaining.
• On Dayton's final drive, the Flyers reached the Red Foxes' 43 and had 2^nd-and-2. Teddy Wright broke up a pass on second down, and teamed with Aaron Acosta to hold Chisholm to no gain on third down. The Flyers threw an incomplete pass on fourth down.

 

Stats

• Wright had a game-high 10 tackles. In addition to his key late-game plays, he also had an interception and a tackle for loss.
• Johnson led Marist with 75 yards on the ground in addition to 108 on his two kickoff returns.
• Dwayne Menders led Marist in receptions (six) and receiving yards (65).
• Chisholm had 128 yards from scrimmage for Dayton (87 rushing, 41 receiving).

 

Notes

• This was the 300th game as head coach for Marist's Jim Parady.
• This is Marist's second 3-0 PFL start in program history (last time was 2016).
• This was Marist's second win all-time at Dayton in seven tries (last time was 2013).
• Johnson's kickoff return for a touchdown was Marist's first since 2017, when Johnson himself had one against Jacksonville. It was Johnson's second kickoff return for a score in his career.
• Marist did not commit a turnover for the third straight week.

 

Records

• Marist is 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the PFL.
• Dayton is now 3-3 on the season and 2-2 in league play.

 

Up Next

• Marist returns home to face PFL foe Morehead State on Saturday, Oct. 23.
• Kickoff will be at noon as part of Homecoming & Reunion Weekend at Marist.