Oct. 13, 2007
Final Stats
Poughkeepsie, NY - The La Salle Explorers were trailing 17-10 and had forced a third and eight situation with Marist on their own 38 yard line when Red Fox quarterback Stephen McGrath threw a pass to wide-out Dan Dulac. Explorer defensive back Carmen Aliberti leaped to make the interception while Dulac went to the air with his back to the ball and a penalty was called. After consultation the Explorers were assessed a pass interference call - their fifth penalty of the game. The drive continued and ended with McGrath rushing three yards into the end zone with 9:32 left to play to seal a 24-10 win for the Red Foxes (1-6) who earned their first win of the season Saturday night at Leonidoff Field.
The penalty was one of two controversial flags that perpetuated Marist drives as they built a 17-0 lead at halftime. Marist first scored with a Chris Collins field goal from 34 yards with 3:29 left in the first quarter. They then found the end zone on the third play of the second quarter when tailback Adam Hanson scored with a nine yard run. This drive was kept alive when La Salle linebacker Jake Cornely collided with scrambling McGrath out of bounds prompting a late hit call.
Marist finished the half when tight end Joe Spano fell on a teammate'es fumble in the end zone to make the score 17-0 .
The Explorers' (0-6) best scoring opportunity came on an Anthony Perlozzo field goal attempt from 34 yards which went wide right with 13:21 to play in the second quarter.
La Salle struck first in the second half on a Dave Macknet touchdown made possible by a gritty 9-yard scramble by freshman quarterback Steve Panasuk who ran over a Marist defender on his way to a first down on the Marist three. The Explorers then got a 36-yard field goal from Perlozzo with 14:14 to play to make the score 17-10.
The Explorers had two opportunities to score deep in Marist territory but the relentless Marist rush stymied each of them with several of their eight total sacks of Panasuk.
Down 14 points with 7:22 to play the Explorers got one last chance when they forced their fourth turnover of the game when Brian Winn fell on Ray Fiumefreddo's fumble on the La Salle 41-yard line. Once again, however, the Explorer offense surrendered another sack and could not convert on the drive. Marist fumbled five times, losing three of them, including a muffed punt. McGrath was also intercepted once when Dan Oliver caught a tipped pass for his second pick of the season which he ran back 21 yards to the Marist 25 yard line to set up Perlozzo's field goal.
The Explorers will have a week off before returning to action on Homecoming Weekend, Saturday, October 29th, with a 3:00 PM kick-off at McCarthy Stadium against Assumption. Live video of the game will be available on GoExplorers.com
