Marist football rallies for victory over Pioneer nemesis San Diego

As Marist tries to reverse the fortunes of its football program, Saturday's win over a long-time nemesis can go a long way in doing establishing a new path.

The Red Foxes posted a pair of touchdowns over the final 16 minutes and held on to beat San Diego 19-14 before 4,183 at Tenney Stadium on Saturday.

Marist moves to 3-2, 1-1 in the Pioneer Football League. San Diego, which received votes in the latest Division I-AA polls, fell to 3-3, 1-1.

The Torreros have long been a powerhouse in the PFL and have owned the Red Foxes, winning 14 of the last 15 games dating back to 2007. But Marist has now won the last two meetings in Poughkeepsie, including 2023.

"These are the moments you dream of when you join a program,'' Marist second-year head coach Mike Willis said. "You watch a community, an administration, a group of players - guys who have been here for five years, guys who have been here for five months - buy in. I was fortunate to be a small part of it. It is just one game, but it was against a team we have not beaten very often in our history.''

Trailing 7-6 late in the third quarter and facing a fourth down-and-3 call, quarterback Sonny Mannino connected with Lance Martinez on a 35-yard score and 12-7 Marist lead. Mannino dropped back on the snap and found Martinez cutting across the middle from the right side at the 35, running untouched into the end zone.

"I was really proud of Lance and the way the wideouts stepped up,'' Willis said, "because that's a terrific defense we played, and they do a great job of bottling up the run game and putting seven men in the box on virtually every play. We knew our path to victory involved getting a few over their head or creating some long completions.''

Mannino completed an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring run with 4:43 left. That score was set up by a 32-yard run by Tristan Shannon.

San Diego battled back with a lightning-fast scoring drive, the Torreros moving 75 yards in nine plays, culminated with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Dom Nankil to Cole Monach with 2:37 remaining.

Marist went three plays-and-out and was forced to punt. But Marist posted three consecutive sacks - the first by Kade Werner and then two from Nate Furrow - and San Diego moved the ball only 7 yards on seven plays, turning over on downs with 59 seconds remaining.

Marist was credited with eight sacks, Furrow with three. Werner had 14 total tackles and Chase Hatton and Furrow had eight apiece. Nate Robinson Jr. had four pass breakups.

"I don't know if there's a guy in the program who has pushed through more,'' Willis said of Furrow. "I'm so proud of him for thriving in a featured role today. ... It was so cool to see.''

Mannino was 22-for-41 for 292 yards and one pick. Four of his receivers had at least three catches, led by Martinez (three for 106), Connor Hulstein (three for 55) and Jeremy Decaro (five for 53). Marist was held to just 38 yards rushing on 27 carries, six sacks of Mannino dropping the numbers.

Marist has a short week, traveling to Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 10, to take on Penn (2-1) from the Ivy League (7 p.m., ESPN Plus). The Red Foxes will return to PFL action on Oct. 18 at Morehead State and Oct. 25 at home against Drake - those two games are also on ESPN Plus.

The last time Marist was 3-2 was 2021, after losing its first two contests. The last winning record by the Red Foxes was 8-3 in a co-PFL championship season in 2013.

"Past performance is not an indicator of future results in either direction,'' Willis said, "and I'm proud of our guys laying down a cornerstone today as we look to build this foundationally brick-by-brick.''

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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Marist football tops San Diego at home