Poughkeepsie, NY – Stetson football coach Brian Young preached to his team all week in preparation for their trip to the Hudson River Valley that they could not afford to make mistakes if they wanted to earn their first Pioneer Football League win of the year, and first win ever at Marist.
 
He was absolutely right. Unfortunately for the Hatters, mistakes were plentiful in a 34-3 loss to the Red Foxes. Stetson falls to 2-3 on the year with its third consecutive loss while Marist evened its season record at 2-2, a perfect 2-0 in PFL play.
 
The mistakes started early as the Hatters were flagged for their first penalty on the opening snap of the game. That holding call was the first of a program-record 16 penalties marked off against Stetson in the game, resulting in 119 lost yards. It was the 14^th time Stetson has had more than 100 yards in penalties in a game, and the third most in a game.
 
Marist took advantage of Stetson penalties on its first possession, opening the drive with consecutive offsides calls against the Hatters. Still, the Stetson defense was able to stop the Red Fox offense in the red zone, forcing a 29-yard field goal.
 
Things got worse on the second Stetson possession when quarterback Justin Agner was sacked on first down, and then knocked out of the game on third down by a late hit. Fellow graduate transfer John Seter came in to replace Agner, but sputtered coming off the bench. A short punt out of bounds set the Marist offense up in good field position.
 
Marist quarterback Austin Day, a Clearwater, Fla., native, went to work from there. He found his favorite target, Dwayne Menders, for a 33-yard gain on first down, and then for another 15 yards two plays later. Running back Hunter Cobb, and a facemask penalty against Stetson, did the rest as Marist pushed its lead to 10-0.
 
A bad first quarter turned into a disaster on the next Stetson possession when Seter was intercepted by Kyle Coffindaffer. His 31-yard return for a touchdown gave Marist a 17-0 lead, and the Red Foxes were never seriously threatened from there.
 
Marist pushed its lead to 24-0 mid-way through the third quarter when Day and Menders hooked up for a 13-yard scoring strike to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive.
 
Seter was able to get the Stetson offense moving after that score, connecting on passes to Nazeviah Burris and Dominic Carlucci to move the ball deep into Marist territory. An 11-yard pass to Jalen Leary got an extra five yards when Marist was flagged for a facemask, but the drive stalled at the 10-yard line, leaving the Hatters to take a 27-yard Cameron Gillis field goal.
 
Stetson's defense made a stand after the Hatters got on the board, getting a sack from Fermon Reid plus two penalties against Marist to force a punt with 88 seconds left in the half. What might have been never had a chance when Burris muffed the punt and Marist recovered.
 
The Stetson defense made sure the Red Foxes didn't score after the turnover, dropping Day for sacks on consecutive plays with Josh Hughes and Jack Benzija both getting a sack, sending the game to the half.
 
Stetson's defense continued to harass Day early in the third quarter, but Stetson was unable to take advantage, missing on a 46-yard field goal attempt.
 
From there, Marist began mixing runs by Cobb with Day's passing, finding the end zone on a nine-play drive covering 71 yards to go up 31-3, and then using a 12-play drive, covering 70 yards, to get a 41-yard field goal from Luke Paladino to account for the final point.
 
Stetson, which out-gained Marist in total offense 377 to 311, had consecutive drives in the second half end on downs inside the Marist 10. The Hatters were again in the red zone when Seter was sacked, the sixth of the game for Marist, allowing time to expire.
 
Seter finished with 247 passing yards, completing 25-of-42 attempts. For the second week in a row, Burris was the favored target with seven receptions, but for just 47 yards. Fellow freshmen Jamison Brundidge (3-51) and Kaderris Roberts (2-46) were also productive in the passing game.
 
Jordan Younge-Humphrey was the leading rusher in the game, gaining 93 yards on 14 attempts.
 
Day threw for 276 yards, completing 22-of-31 passes with two going for touchdowns. Menders was on the receiving end of 10 of those passes, gaining 142 yards. The Stetson defense held Marist to just 35 yards on the ground, with Cobb gaining 38 on 10 carries, but Day losing 34 on four Stetson sacks.
 
Majeste' Hansberry led Stetson with eight tackles, including a half tackle for loss. He also had a QB hurry. Mike Arrington led Marist with 14 total tackles, including one of the six sacks.
 
The Hatters will return home to Spec Martin Stadium next weekend to host PFL newcomer St. Thomas. The Tommies are 3-2 in their first season of Division I play and are coming off a 20-13 victory over Valparaiso to improve to 2-1 in PFL play. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
 
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.