Football Earns Hard-Fought 28-21 Win at Marist

Box score

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Davidson defense forced five turnovers, and the Wildcats rushed for 186 yards to grind out a 28-21 Pioneer Football League victory over Marist Saturday afternoon at Tenney Stadium.

John Behm had two takeaways for the Wildcats (3-6, 3-4 PFL) with an interception and a fumble recovery, while Peter Kidwell and Dan Casey each recorded an interception. Davidson held Marist to just three yards on the ground.

Kenny Mantuo rushed for 124 yards on 35 carries with a touchdown, and Justin Williams logged 63 yards on three attempts. Jonathan Carkhuff completed 21-of-27 passes for 187 yards and two scores, and Mark Hanabury caught nine passes for 92 yards.

Chuckie Looney came off the bench to throw for 207 yards and three TDs on 11-of-17 passing for Marist (3-6, 2-5 PFL). Michael Rios caught seven passes for 118 yards, and James LaMacchia had five receptions for 103 yards and three scores.

“The takeaways were the story of the game,” said Davidson coach Tripp Merritt. “They gave our offense great field position all game and really gave us a lot of momentum.”

The Wildcats used three first half takeaways to open up an 18-0 lead at the break.
Marist surged back and trailed 28-21 with 3:42 left in the game after a touchdown pass from Looney to LaMacchia. The Red Foxes tried the onside kick, but Elliott Campbell came up with a big recovery for Davidson.

“The last thing I said before that kickoff was watch the onside kick,” said Merritt. “Elliott saw it all the way and made a nice play.”

On 3rd-and-1 from the Marist 33-yard line, Carkhuff found Reese Williams for a five-yard gain. But on 4th-and-3 from the Marist 22, Carkhuff's pass attempt to Josh Yost fell incomplete, giving the Red Foxes the ball back with 25 seconds left.

With the ball at the Marist 40-yard line and one second on the clock, Peter Kidwell intercepted Looney's last heave toward the end zone to preserve the victory.

Davidson moved the ball inside the Marist 5-yard line on each of its first two possessions of the game but came away with just three points. The Wildcats fumbled at the Marist 2-yard line on the first drive and had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Ben Behrendt on the second.

Mantuo ran in from two yards out to give the Wildcats a 10-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Davidson benefitted from a short field, getting the ball at the Marist 43-yard line after Brandon Sykes forced a fumble, which was recovered by Behm.

On Marist's next drive, Casey picked off a Tommy Reilly pass and returned it to the Red Fox 11-yard line. Mantuo took it down to the 4, and Carkhuff hit Hanabury with a touchdown pass. The Wildcats used some trickery on the conversion, and Michael Blanchard ran it in for an 18-0 Davidson lead with 6:54 left in the second quarter.

Marist had 1st-and-goal on the Davidson 2-yard line with less than a minute to go in the half, but the Red Foxes fumbled, and Patrick Hunt picked it up. The junior linebacker returned it all the way for a would-be touchdown as the final horn sounded, but the Wildcats were flagged for a block in the back and settled for an 18-0 halftime lead.

Davidson dominated the first-half statistics with 181 total yards, a 12-3 edge in first downs and 19:13 in time of possession.

With Marist trailing 18-0 late in the third quarter, Looney found LaMacchia for a 6-yard touchdown pass to put the Red Foxes on the scoreboard. Looney converted a 4th-and-4 to keep the drive alive by running for a first down.

Davidson answered right back as Justin Williams broke off a 62-yard run on 3rd-and-2 to set up a 8-yard TD pass from Carkhuff to Lanny Funsten. Behrendt's extra point extended the margin to 25-7 with 14:54 left in the game.

Marist responded with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Looney to LaMacchia on the first play from scrimmage on the Red Foxes' ensuing possession, making the margin 25-14.

Davidson answered with a 15-play, 78-yard drive that milked 8:29 off the clock, and Behrendt capped the drive with a 19-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 28-14 with 6:12 remaining.

Marist quickly went down the field and scored on a 6-yard pass from Looney to LaMacchia, and Jason Myers added the extra point to make the score 28-21 and set up the onside kick.

The Wildcats play their home finale against Pioneer Football League opponent San Diego next Saturday, and kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in Richardson Stadium.

Game Notes: It was Mantuo's sixth career game with 100-plus rushing yards… The five takeaways surpassed Davidson's total for the season coming into the game… It was the first interceptions of their career for Behm and Casey… Williams' 62-yard run was the longest of his career and the longest of the season for the Wildcats.

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