By MONTE DUTTON

On a perfect autumn Saturday, in front of Presbyterian College’s largest crowd (1,921) in recent memory, Marist ruined Homecoming at Bailey Memorial Stadium.

The Red Foxes managed to win, 19-10, without scoring an offensive touchdown.

PC head coach Steve Englehart said he believed his team was the better.

“We shot ourselves in the feet too many times,” he added.

Marist’s first touchdown was on a 43-yard fumble return by defensive end Miles Kauderer, with 10:31 to go in the first quarter.

The second TD occurred with 59 seconds left in the first half on Rechee Smith’s 48-yard pick-six.

Presbyterian made two turnovers. Marist scored touchdowns on both.

“I never felt doubt,” Englehart said. “Our guys believed the entire time that we were going to win the game.”

The pads may not pop as loudly in the Pioneer Football League as in the Big However Many, but that’s the way it looked.

Even though the Red Foxes reside in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and the Blue Hose in Clinton, it was the kind of game of which the late Keith Jackson may have expressed the view that the teams didn’t … like each other.

This year PC is at least a factor out among the far-flung pioneers for the first time. Last year Marist won, 37-7, but the Hose gave this one away.

Marist (4-3, 4-1 PFL) quarterback Brock Bogazzi passed for 20 yards. Amin Woods rushed for 111. Bagozzi’s contribution to the offense was 19 yards because he netted minus-one on the ground.

PC quarterback Tyler Wesley passed for 204 yards (14/25, one interception) and rushed for 33. The leading Blue Hose rusher was Zach Switzer with 35 yards. Dominic Kibby grabbed five passes – for 92 yards – and Cincere Gill caught four. One of Switzer’s two receptions went for 50 yards.

Presbyterian (3-4, 1-3) outgained the Red Foxes by 108 yards (293-185). The Blue Hose scored a touchdown in the first quarter and a field goal in the second, but that was it. Marist hiked the lead to 16-10 when freshman safety Kade Warner scored on the same – a safety — early in the fourth quarter. PC’s Shawn Lodge inexplicably fielded a punt at his own five and more inexplicably, retreated into the end zone, where Warner trapped him, explicably.

“I always say stats are for losers,” Englehart said. “They’re not looking at the stats over in the other locker room. They’re celebrating the win. Usually the losers are looking at stats.

“We couldn’t get out of our own way, just too, too many mistakes. At the same time, our defense just played out of their minds.”

This was briefly true – out of his mind, that is — of PC’s stellar linebacker, Alex Herriott, junior from Hanahan, who left the game for a while in the first half after clobbering Bagozzi in the first quarter. By the game’s end, Herriott had eight solo tackles and eight assists. No one else in the game had half that many.

“In general, we’re a family,” Herriott said, “but on defense we’re a different kind of family. One guy fights, we’re all fighting, you know? We’ve all got one another’s backs, and you don’t find that kind of family around every corner.”

Chase Gardi essentially put the game away with a 32-yard field goal, ending a nine-play drive that took the Red Foxes a mere 30 yards. The field goal was the only Marist score produced by its offense.

Of his team, Englehart said, “They play extremely hard. Even last year, when we were getting beaten by 30 or 40, or whatever, they always played that hard. I knew the scores would start to change.

“You’ve got to have a balance of playing extremely hard, and playing with some toughness, and having some discipline.”

The Blue Hose piled up 110 yards in penalties. The only touchdown was a rushing play by a defensive lineman, junior Nigel Brown of Wagener, inserted in the backfield on first-and-goal at the two.

Presbyterian’s next shot is at its closest PFL rival, Davidson (5-2, 4-0), which doubled up Valparaiso, 42-21. The Blue Hose take on the Wildcats at 7 p.m. next Saturday.

Take a look at the stats here.

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