2008 Woodie Awards
Football must clean up penalties to continue winning
COMMENTARY
Eric Zedalis
Issue date: 9/30/04 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
On Saturday night, Marist football earned its first win of the season.
Offensively, Obozua Ehikioya and Brad Rowe each had a pair of touchdown runs and quarterback James Luft connected with wideout Guy Smith on a couple of deep balls.
The defense was outstanding yet again, sacking Iona quarterback Michael Biehl five times, picking off four passes, and blocking a punt.
While it appears Iona may have a lot more to evaluate from this past Saturday's game film, there is one glaring statistic where both teams were equally bad ... penalties.
Marist and Iona both had nine penalties, Marist for 83 yards, Iona 60.
The Red Foxes cannot afford to be so heavily penalized against a Central Connecticut team who racked up 17 first downs and 362 total yards of offense against Wagner.
Also, it is important to note that the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut came back from a 21-7 fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, and then won the game on an eight-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Scott Dolch to receiver Josh Roth.
Marist, on the other hand, got sloppy late in the game this past week, though it was partly because head coach Jim Parady and his coaching staff took advantage of the huge Red Fox lead by substituting players off the bench to get some playing time.
Penalties happen.
A cornerback may be too aggressive defending a pass and get flagged for pass interference or a lineman may be too slow picking up a blitz and grab an opposing player's jersey and get called for holding.
It happens ... no matter how well coaches prepare their team.
However, coaches and players alike can prevent bonehead penalties like personal fouls when the coach disciplines his team, and the players play the way they have been taught.
Saturday's game at Central Connecticut may be determined by who plays with more discipline.
Marist matches up well with Central Connecticut. The Red Foxes' pass defense is ranked in the top 20 in the country, and should give Dolch and his highly-touted receiving core which includes Andre Smith (four receiving touchdowns) some difficulty.
However, the Blue Devils, at 3-1, recently beat Wagner, a team to which Marist (1-2) lost to at home on Sept. 11.
Marist may need to improve upon their performance this past Saturday ... yes, improve a 41-14 thrashing of Iona, in order to beat Central Connecticut on the road this week.
Last year, on Senior Day, the Red Foxes completed a stunning second-half comeback with a screen pass across the middle of the field to Tim Traynor to win the game in regulation.
This week Marist needs to play 60 minutes of football, and have discipline late in the game no matter what the score; otherwise, this year's game could very much resemble last year's season finale, but with Marist on the losing end.
Offensively, Obozua Ehikioya and Brad Rowe each had a pair of touchdown runs and quarterback James Luft connected with wideout Guy Smith on a couple of deep balls.
The defense was outstanding yet again, sacking Iona quarterback Michael Biehl five times, picking off four passes, and blocking a punt.
While it appears Iona may have a lot more to evaluate from this past Saturday's game film, there is one glaring statistic where both teams were equally bad ... penalties.
Marist and Iona both had nine penalties, Marist for 83 yards, Iona 60.
The Red Foxes cannot afford to be so heavily penalized against a Central Connecticut team who racked up 17 first downs and 362 total yards of offense against Wagner.
Also, it is important to note that the Blue Devils of Central Connecticut came back from a 21-7 fourth quarter deficit to force overtime, and then won the game on an eight-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Scott Dolch to receiver Josh Roth.
Marist, on the other hand, got sloppy late in the game this past week, though it was partly because head coach Jim Parady and his coaching staff took advantage of the huge Red Fox lead by substituting players off the bench to get some playing time.
Penalties happen.
A cornerback may be too aggressive defending a pass and get flagged for pass interference or a lineman may be too slow picking up a blitz and grab an opposing player's jersey and get called for holding.
It happens ... no matter how well coaches prepare their team.
However, coaches and players alike can prevent bonehead penalties like personal fouls when the coach disciplines his team, and the players play the way they have been taught.
Saturday's game at Central Connecticut may be determined by who plays with more discipline.
Marist matches up well with Central Connecticut. The Red Foxes' pass defense is ranked in the top 20 in the country, and should give Dolch and his highly-touted receiving core which includes Andre Smith (four receiving touchdowns) some difficulty.
However, the Blue Devils, at 3-1, recently beat Wagner, a team to which Marist (1-2) lost to at home on Sept. 11.
Marist may need to improve upon their performance this past Saturday ... yes, improve a 41-14 thrashing of Iona, in order to beat Central Connecticut on the road this week.
Last year, on Senior Day, the Red Foxes completed a stunning second-half comeback with a screen pass across the middle of the field to Tim Traynor to win the game in regulation.
This week Marist needs to play 60 minutes of football, and have discipline late in the game no matter what the score; otherwise, this year's game could very much resemble last year's season finale, but with Marist on the losing end.