Red Foxes edge Wildcats 14-6 in season finale

The Marist Red Foxes ground out 276 rushing yards on Saturday, spoiling Davidson’s Senior Day and coming away with a 14-6 victory.
Ben Behrendt ’11 produced Davidson’s only points of the game on field goals of 37 and 30 yards. The Wildcats were held to 49 yards rushing and 144 yards of total offense.
The Wildcat defense established some momentum in the game’s opening quarter, as Patrick Hunt ’12 intercepted a Chris Debowski pass and returned it to the Wildcat 34 with five minutes gone in the game.
Taking advantage of the good field position, Matt Heavner ’12 connected with Andrew Aldrich ’10 for a 24 yard gain that set up Behrendt’s 37-yarder that gave the Wildcats a 3-0 advantage with six minutes to play in the opening frame.
Unwilling to go quietly, the Red Foxes responded with a brutal 14-play drive that covered 67 yards and took eight minutes off the clock. The drive, which consisted entirely of rushing plays, was capped by Ryan Dinnebeil’s three-yard plunge into the end zone with 13 minutes to play in the first half.
Michael Blanchard ’11 led the Wildcats down the field in response, rushing for third-down conversions twice in a drive that would eventually reach the Marist 5. After losses of three and four yards on second and third downs, however, Davidson had to settle for Behrendt’s second field goal of the half.
Marist tried to answer before halftime, driving to the Wildcat 19 with under a minute to play. The drive was snuffed out by Tyler Lemons ’10, who intercepted Debowski at the Davidson 11 and enabled the Wildcats to go into the intermission down only 7-6.
The Red Foxes were the first side to mount an effective drive in the second half, driving to the Wildcat 15 and lining up for a 32-yard field goal attempt. The Davidson special teams unit asserted itself, however, as Ellis Martin ’12 broke through the Marist protection and blocked Jason Myers’ field goal attempt.
The ensuing Wildcat drive stalled, but Andrew Wohler’s ’11 punt pinned the Red Foxes at their own seven to begin the fourth quarter. Faced with the adverse field position, Marist drove 93 yards in seven minutes and 15 plays to increase their lead to 14-6 on Dinnebeil’s five-yard scamper with eight minutes to play.
Davidson drove to the Marist 48 on their next possession, but Heavner was sacked on third down with four minutes remaining in the game. Faced with fourth-and-18, the Wildcats had no choice but to punt the ball back to Marist.
Given the chance to end the game, Marist took full advantage. Debowski rushed for 12 yards on third-and-five and for 14 yards on third-and-13 to allow the Red Foxes to run out the clock on the Davidson season.
Heavner was Davidson’s leading passer, throwing for 57 yards on 6-9 passing and an interception. Blanchard led the Wildcat rushing attack, producing 42 yards on ten carries. Jonathan Adams ’13 led the Wildcat receiving corps with five catches for 35 yards, and Aldrich added four receptions for 39 yards.
Debowski killed the Wildcats with 153 yards on 14 carries. O’Neil Anderson added 87 yards on 21 carries. Dinnebiel added 22 yards on four carries and two scores. Debowski also threw for 94 yards on 7-18 passing, although he did throw three interceptions.
Peter Kidwell ’12, the reigning PFL Defensive Player of the Week, led the Davidson defense with 11 tackles. Lemons followed with nine tackles and an interception. Hunt and John Harrington ’13 added interceptions for the Wildcat defense.
The game was the third of the season in which Davidson scored first, and the first of those three that Davidson lost. The result improved Marist’s record to 7-3, 5-2 PFL.
Before the game, the Wildcats honored the 19 seniors who played in their final game Saturday. Although Davidson was defeated, the seniors were part of the team that won the Wildcats’ 50th game of the decade last week against San Diego. The victory established a new program record for wins in a decade.
“I am proud of our 19 seniors,” said Davidson coach Tripp Merritt, “and for what they were able to accomplish for this program.”
 

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