Marist Football Bounces Back, Tops Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The Marist football team erased a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to record its first victory at Jacksonville in its history. The Red Foxes prevailed by a score of 20-17 in a Pioneer Football League contest on Saturday at D.B. Milne Field.

SUMMARY

• Jacksonville opened the scoring just 1:47 into the contest on a 58-yard touchdown run by quarterback Calvin Turner, Jr.

• Garnett Nicolas' 12-yard touchdown run expanded the Dolphins' lead to 14-0. That remained the score going into halftime.

• Red-shirt freshman quarterback Austin Day saw his first collegiate action on the first drive in the second half. Day directed an eight-play, 75-yard drive to start the third quarter that was punctuated by a four-yard touchdown from red-shirt sophomore running back Darryn Jordan. Earlier on the drive, Jordan had a 46-yard run.

• On Jacksonville's next drive, a 48-yard field goal from Javier Arce-Ramirez extended the Dolphins' lead to 17-7.

• On the Red Foxes' next drive, Day completed a 53-yard to senior wide receiver Juston Christian on third-and-36 to move the ball into Jacksonville story. The Red Foxes then converted two fourth downs as they moved the ball to the Jacksonville 15. On third-and-eight, Day completed a pass to sophomore wide receiver David Shannon III, who fumbled at the Jacksonville 1. The ball was recovered by red-shirt sophomore wide receiver Ethan Carpenter in the end zone for a touchdown. That cut Jacksonville's lead to 17-13 with 11:55 remaining.

• On Jacksonville's next series, the Dolphins faced a fourth-and-four from the Marist 30. Red-shirt senior linebacker Willie Barrett tackles Nicolas one yard short of a first down, and the Red Foxes took over on downs with 8:36 remaining.

• With 4:22 remaining, Day found red-shirt junior tight end Jon Kanda over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown to give Marist its first lead of the game at 20-17.

• Red-shirt senior cornerback Brandon Miller intercepted a pass at the Marist 28 to end Jacksonville's ensuing drive.

• The Red Foxes went three-and-out on their next drive, and the Dolphins took over at their own 39 with 1:15 remaining. Jacksonville was unable to convert a first down, as red-shirt sophomore linebacker John Pierce recorded a sack on first down, and red-shirt sophomore safety Justice Sealesbroke up a pass on fourth down. Marist then proceeded to run out the clock.

KEY STATS

• Jordan ran for a career-high 124 yards on 21 carries.

• Day completed 12 of 15 passes for 153 yards.

• Christian led the Red Foxes with 72 receiving yards on four receptions, all of which came in the second half.

• Red-shirt senior defensive end Eric Taylor led Marist with eight tackles, six of which were solo with a half-a-tackle for loss.

• Marist outgained Jacksonville for the game, 420-324. The Red Foxes outgained the Dolphins in the second half, 268-141.

• Turner Jr. accounted for 228 total yards – 167 rushing, 61 passing.

NOTES

• The last six Marist-Jacksonville games have all been decided by seven points or less, and have been decided by a total of 28 points.

• This was Marist's first win over Jacksonville since 2014.

• Marist's previous trips to Jacksonville were losses in 2012, 2012, and 2016.

• Jordan and Carpenter scored the first touchdowns of their collegiate careers.

RECORDS

Marist is 2-4 overall and 2-1 in PFL play. Jacksonville is 1-4 overall and 1-2 in league competition.

UP NEXT

Marist returns home to face Davidson in PFL action next Saturday, Oct. 20. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Homecoming & Reunion weekend at Marist. Tickets are available at MaristTickets.com.