Poughkeepsie, NY – The first game of the Pioneer Football League season on Saturday afternoon at Tenney Stadium on the Marist College campus will set the tone for the rest of the season for both the visiting Stetson Hatters and the homestanding Red Foxes.
 
The game is scheduled for a noon start along the banks of the Hudson River and will be video streamed through the Red Foxes Network online. Live stats for the game will also be available through the Marist Athletics web site.
 
The Hatters (1-0) will be trying to open with consecutive victories for the second straight year, but Stetson will also be looking for its first win at Tenney Stadium. On three previous trips to Poughkeepsie, Stetson lost the games 27-0 in 2013, 49-14 in 2015 and 38-17 in 2017.
 
Overall, Marist (0-1) leads the series 4-2, with Stetson having won two of the three games played in DeLand, including last years' contest, 19-14. The Red Foxes opened the 2019 season last week with a 43-3 loss at Georgetown.
 
The Red Foxes were their own worst enemies in the opener, turning the ball over four times – twice on fumbles and twice on interceptions. Marist also struggled to move the ball on the ground, gaining just 52 yards on 26 attempts against the Hoyas. Georgetown ran the ball well against the Marist defense, piling up 272 yards on 55 carries.
 
The Hatters are coming off an opening game victory against Louisiana College that saw the Hatters rush for 311 yards while holding the Wildcats to just 75 yards.
 
Stetson got strong efforts in the ground game from redshirt junior Chase Blackmon (91 yards), redshirt sophomore quarterback Alex Piccirilli (88 yards, 2 TDs), freshman Jalen Leary (52 yards, TD), sophomore Jareem Westcott (45 yards, 2 TDs) and graduate quarterback Gaven DeFilippo (36 yards, TD). That performance was especially encouraging considering the offensive line had two redshirt freshmen and one true freshman in the starting five.
 
Blackmon earned team offensive player of the week for his performance in the game.
 
Overall, the offensive line graded at 82.1 percent for the opening game with the starting unit working together for 68 total snaps while getting flagged for just two penalties and allowing just one sack.
 
DeFilippo passed for 179 yards and two touchdowns in his first start at quarterback since the 2016 season. One of the TD passes went to Westcott and the other to Justin Jordan. Senior receiver Steven Burdette picked up where he left off last year with five catches for 102 yards. Both Jordan and Burdette go into play against Marist within striking distance of 1,000 career receiving yards for Stetson.
 
The Hatters also led the turnover battle in the win last week, picking up three interceptions and one fumble recovery, which led to 24 total points. The only turnover for Stetson came on special teams and cost the Hatters a touchdown.
 
On defense and special teams, the Hatters had a total of 35 players who recorded a statistic in the game last week, including 11 first-year players.
 
Senior Jamieson Craske was named the defensive player of the week, and it was two of those first-year players – Jaylon Johnson and Davion Maxwell – who earned team honors for special teams and physical play.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.