Marist Football Wins an Overtime Thriller

By Mike Ferraro

VALPARAISO, IN – The Marist football team prevailed in overtime at Valparaiso by a score of 36-30 in a Pioneer Football League game on Saturday.

After Carter James recovered a muffed punt at the Valpo 18, Chase Gardi’s 32-yard field goal gave Marist the first score of the game with 9:47 left in the first quarter.

Valparaiso scored two touchdowns in a span of 1:42 late in the first quarter and led 14-3 after 15 minutes.

Brock Bagozzi found Will Downes for a nine-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter, which cut Marist’s deficit to 14-10. The drive covered 90 yards on 18 plays in 9:02, and it included a 45-yard completion from Bagozzi to Downes.

A 25-yard punt return by Tristan Shannon set Marist up at its 40. Bagozzi found Matt Stianche for a 40-yard completion two plays later, and then Bagozzi ran for a 20-yard touchdown to give Marist a 17-14 lead with 36 seconds left in the first half.

Jayson Colorado intercepted a Hail Mary in the end zone on the final play of the first half, and the Red Foxes took a 17-14 lead to the locker room.

Valparaiso re-claimed the lead with a touchdown on its first drive of the second half, and added a field goal on its ensuing drive. The Beacons held a 24-17 lead after three quarters.
Bagozzi’s four-yard touchdown pass to Max Mazzella, and Gardi’s ensuing extra point, tied the score at 24 with 7:52 to play.

On the Beacons’ next play from scrimmage, a 50-yard touchdown pass from Mikey Appel to Solomon Davis gave Valparaiso a 30-24 advantage just 19 seconds later.

Bagozzi’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Stianche tied the score at 30 with 14 seconds left, but the ensuing extra point was blocked. The score remained 30-30 as the game went to overtime.

Valparaiso had the first possession of overtime, which ended with a missed field goal. On the Red Foxes’ first play of overtime, Amin Woods’ 25-yard touchdown run ended the game.