For the past few seasons No. 7 Marist has been known for its high-powered offense, but it was the defense that came up big on multiple occasions in the RedHawks 21-14 East Suburban Catholic win over visiting Notre Dame on Friday.
With Marist trailing 14-7 mid way through the third quarter, Jack Barry intercepted Dons’ quarterback Dan Nagode at the 34-yard line which set up the game tying touchdown reception by Nick Nic Weishar (7 catches, 86 yards). Then on the next offensive play for Notre Dame, Barry recovered a fumble and took it 33 yards for the go-ahead score.
“When the offense is down, we pick it up,” Barry said. “We always got their back.”
With arguably the toughest part of their schedule behind them, one might wonder whether the Redhawks were looking past Notre Dame (4-3, 2-3), but head coach Pat Dunne doesn’t believe that was the case.
“We didn’t look past them,” Dunne said. “They made great plays. We just need to refocus. This is a great lesson for us.”
The RedHawks (7-0, 5-0) offense struggled to get in rhythm despite scoring on the openingdrive of the game on an eight-yard run by Peter Andreotti (20 carries, 102 yards, TD). IanWoodworth went 19-for-31 for 207 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Part of the reason for the lack of rhythm could be attributed to the lack of discipline Marist showed as they committed 12 penalties for 102 yards.
As the Redhawks are fighting for a top seed in the playoffs, the Dons are fighting for a spot in them and Friday’s loss didn’t help, but head coach Mike Hennessey saw a lot of effort from his team.
“We played hard and we played with class,” he said.
Shouldering the load once again for Notre Dame was junior running back Chris James. James, one of the top rushers in the state, finished the night with 32 carries for 173 yards and a touchdown.
