If time of possession and total number of offensive plays run were the only things that mattered in the stat sheet, then Stetson would have won easily over visiting Marist on Saturday afternoon at Spec Martin Stadium.

But, instead, the Hatters had to hold on for dear life at the end of the game, turning the Red Foxes away on fourth and goal from the six-yard line with less than three minutes left to play to secure a 19-14 victory in the Pioneer Football League opener for both teams.

Stetson improves to 3-0 to start a season for the first time since 1951 while Marist falls to 0-3 on the year.

Stetson dominated the time of possession (41:03), more than doubling Marist while running a school-record 93 offensive plays to just 55 for the Red Foxes. But it was an interception with 4:47 left, and with the Hatters trying to run out the clock, that almost cost Stetson the win.

Marist took over at the Stetson 22 after Jack Griffith stepped in front of a Colin McGovern pass on third down, returning the pick 21 yards.

The Red Foxes, with redshirt freshman Mike Husni at the controls, picked up a first down to the Stetson nine before the Hatters’ defense stiffened. After an incompletion on first down, Husni threw to running back Jon Kanda, who had two touchdown receptions in the game, but Peter Katz made a solid tackle at the six.

Husni’s third down pass was broken up by Jalon Scott in the end zone, setting up fourth down with the game on the line. Marist broke out a trick play, with pulling a reverse, throw-back pass, with receiver David Shannon III trying to get the ball to Husni in the end zone.

Stetson’s defense sniffed out the play from the start. Junior linebacker Jamieson Craske put pressure on Shannon to get rid of the ball, and fellow linebacker Colby Duncan had Husni covered in the end zone, breaking up the pass to preserve the Hatters’ win.

The Red Foxes had a chance to get the ball back, forcing the Stetson punt unit onto the field with 1:51 to play on a fourth and one at the 15. After a Marist timeout, the Red Foxes took to the field with 12 players and were called for an illegal participation penalty.  The penalty was enough to give the Hatters a first down, allowing Stetson to run out the clock.

After Stetson’s first drive of the day, covering 68 yards in 11 plays, was thwarted by an interception at the goal line, the Hatters came back with a 12-play drive. Sophomore kicker Jonny Messina connected on a 32-yard field goal to cap that drive to give Stetson a 3-0 lead.

The next Stetson drive ended in a punt, but still took 4:13 off the clock, but the Hatters did extend the lead early in the second quarter with an eight-play drive, covering 61 yards. McGovern connected with senior tight end Donald Parham on a 13-yard slant pass for the touchdown and a 10-0 lead. with 6:24. The TD catch for Parham was the 11^th of his career, tying him with Kegan Moore for the Stetson career record.

 

That drive was kept alive when Stetson picked up a first down off a fake punt. Junior defensive end Regis Steighner, who serves as one of the protectors on the punt team, took the snap and ran 29 yards to the Marist 29 for a first down. The only downside to the play was that Steighner suffered an injury at the end of it and had to leave the game.

Later in the quarter, an interception by junior defensive back Reggie Gantt got the Hatters the ball deep in Marist territory, allowing Stetson to tack on three more points when Messina connected from 35 yards away for a 13-0 lead with 5:14 left in the half.

The Marist offense finally got things going in the final minute of the half, taking advantage of a short field after a short punt, to drive 40 yards in five plays for a touchdown with two seconds left in the half. Husni connected with Kanda from 14-yards away for the score.

After a scoreless third quarter, Marist wrestled the lead away from Stetson early in the fourth quarter when Husni threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Kanda to cap a six-play, 65-yard drive. The drive got off to a great start thanks to a personal foul penalty on Stetson for kick-catch interference on the punt.

The Hatters countered on the ensuing possession and scored what proved to be the game-winner. Freshman JAreem Westcott, who rushed for 113 yards on 22 carries, moved the ball down the field on six consecutive rush attempts. Senior Matt Taft then stepped in after the only pass in the drive ended in a targeting call against Marist. Taft scored on a four-yard run with 8:35 to go to cap the 10-play, 75-yard drive, which put Stetson ahead 19-14.

The Hatters went for two after the touchdown, but McGovern’s pass attempt to Steven Burdette was incomplete.

The win was the second for Stetson in six games against the Red Foxes.

The Hatters will head west next week in search of their fourth straight win to start the year but, to hit that milestone, they will have to knock off the two-time defending PFL champions from San Diego. The Toreros (0-2) were off this weekend, and will carry a 21-game PFL win streak into play next week.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern.