College Football
Marist rolls past Presbyterian, 42–7, in PFL opener
Sonny Mannino accounts for four touchdowns, Jayden Taylor takes a punt to the house, and the Red Foxes open league play with the most lopsided result in the short history of the series.




Photos — Michael LaCroix-Fralish
POUGHKEEPSIE — Rain and wind swept across Tenney Stadium on Saturday, and none of it slowed Marist down. The Red Foxes scored on their way to a 42-7 win over Presbyterian, opening Pioneer Football League play with the most one-sided result the young series has produced.
Sonny Mannino did the bulk of the damage. The graduate quarterback, picked as the league’s preseason offensive player of the year, accounted for four touchdowns — two with his legs and two through the air — and was nearly flawless throwing it, completing 20 of 26 passes for 198 yards without an interception. He also led the team on the ground with 63 yards on 15 carries.
He opened the scoring with a 7-yard run just over four minutes in. Jayden Taylor made it two scores in a hurry, fielding a punt and taking it 24 yards to the end zone for a 14-0 lead.
Mannino pushed in from a yard out early in the second quarter to make it 21-0. Presbyterian answered with a 16-yard touchdown run by quarterback Landon Sharpe for its only points of the afternoon, and Marist closed the half with Mannino finding Isaiah Simmons from a yard out.
The two connected again in the third quarter, this time from five yards. Simmons finished with four catches for 22 yards and both touchdowns, and added 53 yards on 13 carries out of the backfield.
Kaden Beard capped the scoring with a 5-yard run in the fourth, part of a 25-yard afternoon on four carries. Luke Stenson was perfect on extra points, six for six.
The Red Foxes found chunk plays everywhere. Reed Shumpert caught two passes for 68 yards, including a 50-yard gain. Taylor took his only carry 43 yards. Lincoln Cardillo added 36 yards on five rushes.
Marist controlled the game everywhere it counted, outgaining Presbyterian 444 yards to 232 and holding the ball for more than 38 minutes. The Red Foxes ran 46 times for 238 yards and converted five of seven fourth-down tries, keeping drives alive and the Blue Hose offense on the sideline.
Chase Hatton led the defense with six tackles. Naheem Ridore had a sack, and Sean Coverdale and Jordan Mendoza split another. Presbyterian was held without a passing touchdown, Sharpe finishing 14 of 30 for 142 yards.
The 35-point margin is the largest either team has managed in the series.
Marist moves to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the Pioneer Football League, a start that puts the Red Foxes in the mix early in a conference race they open on the road.
Next comes the long trip. Marist flies to DeLand, Florida, to face Stetson on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m., the second game of league play and the Red Foxes’ only Florida trip of the season. The game streams on YouTube.
After that, Marist is home for two of three: Columbia visits Tenney Stadium on Friday, Oct. 9, before a trip to Drake on Oct. 17 and a home date with St. Thomas on Oct. 24.
845 Sports Rewind
The line
Marist leaders
Key numbers