POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The La Salle football team (2-4, 1-1 MAAC) suffered a 27-0 defeat at the hands of conference rival Marist (4-2, 1-0 MAAC) at a rain-soaked Leonidoff Field. The game was played through torrential downpours, making for a soggy, sloppy afternoon of football.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Red Foxes built a 20-0 lead heading into halftime on the strength of a pair of Guy Smith touchdown receptions that bookended an Obozua Ehikioya two-yard touchdown run.

Ehikioya scored another rushing touchdown in the third quarter to make the score 27-0, but the real story was the weather. The constant, driving rain and lake-like field conditions altered both teams’ playbooks, forcing them to keep the ball on the ground. After an injury to defensive back James Jefferson (Philadelphia, PA/Cardinal Dougherty), the Explorers were forced to stay with pass-minded quarterback Michael Jump (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South), as opposed to going with the run-friendly Dwayne Lodge (Neptune, NJ/Neptune), who instead was filling in for Jefferson at cornerback.

Jump was 6-for-24 for 79 yards and was sacked three times. He led the Explorers in rushing with 30 yards. Wide receiver Greg Vaccarpo (West Essex, NJ/West Essex) caught two passes for 41 yards. Marist quarterback James Luft was 8-for-16 for 107 yards; Ehikioya rushed for a game-high 253 yards.

 

Anthony Perlozzo (Ocean City, MD/Decatur) punted eight times, averaging 33 yards per punt. He booted one for 54 yards and twice put one down inside the Marist 20-yard line.

 

The Explorers will travel to Catholic on Oct. 15 at 1:00 p.m.