Football falls to Marist

By Adam Bagni
Collegian Staff
October 11, 2006

“A tale of two halves” is a common sports cliché, but it couldn’t have been truer for the Explorer football team Saturday.

The Explorers gave up 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, as they fell 41-13 to the Marist Red Foxes (2-4, 1-0 MAAC) on Parents’ Day at McCarthy Stadium. La Salle (1-4, 0-1 MAAC) was unable to rally for back-to-back wins after defeating St. Francis (Pa.) two weeks ago.

The Explorers now lead only St. Francis and St. Peter’s in USA Today’s latest Division I Sagarin ratings.

La Salle looked destined to at least give Marist a game, scoring on a three-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Joe Procopio with 29 seconds remaining in the first half. Despite trailing by only a touchdown at the break (20-13), the Explorers, on both offense and defense, came out extremely flat in the second half.

Aware that La Salle is among the best-rated pass defenses in DI-AA (now #1), Marist consistently pounded the football on the ground in the second half, which led to three long touchdown runs on consecutive drives. The Red Foxes’ offensive front was clearly more physical and dominating at the line, opening up gaping holes for its running backs.

Marist needed only seven plays to score their three second-half touchdowns, with two TD runs from Adam Hansen and one from Keith Mitchell. Hansen finished the day with 154 yards on only 11 carries, while Mitchell racked up 94 yards on eight carries to go along with three touchdowns.

Mitchell rushed for two touchdowns in the first half, and Frankie Farrington chipped in another touchdown on the ground as well. Marist only attempted four passes the entire game and completed three of them, for a total of 86 yards.

Procopio, returning to game action for the first time since his injury in week two, finished the day 16-of-29 for 194 yards and one touchdown (he also rushed for a TD). Procopio looked comfortable by all accounts, and neither team threw an interception.

Procopio’s only passing touchdown of the game came on a 32-yard touchdown pass to junior Geoffrey Nagle, who picked up his first career touchdown catch.

Procopio also had a nice connection with junior John McVey, picking up 39 yards on the drive that would eventually lead to his short touchdown run. Lou Russo caught 11 balls for 89 yards, including a 25-yard reception.

The Explorers will try to pick up their first win of the season against a Division-III opponent this weekend, when they visit the Catholic University Cardinals Saturday at 1 p.m.

bagnia1@lasalle.edu