Box Score A big day from running back Michael Mansaray Columbus, Ohio / Westerville South [South Dakota]) and two key pass breakups by the secondary in the waning minutes helped the Valparaiso University football team earn a 17-14 victory over Marist on Saturday in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Nic Lendino (Naperville, Ill. / Neuqua Valley) and Mark Johnson (Nashville, Tenn. / Lipscomb) broke up passes on the final two Marist snaps of the game, including one that Lendino knocked away that would have been a go-ahead score for the Red Foxes.
 
How It Happened

• The game started favorably for the Beacons, who started the scoring thanks to a 58-yard touchdown run by Mansaray. That was set up by a 13-yard completion from Caron Tyler (Temecula, Calif. / Chaparral) to Chris Gundy (Smithfield, Va. / Smithfield).  
• Marist marched down field with a drive that culminated with a 1-yard touchdown run by Tristan Shannon that tied the game at seven with 8:16 on the clock.
• The next scoring came late in the second quarter as Marist QB Sonny Mannino completed an 8-yard pass to Will Downes for a touchdown to make it 14-7 in favor of the hosts with 2:23 to go in the half.
• Tyler completed four passes and had a 10-yard run on the ensuing drive, helping Valpo reach the red zone. In the closing seconds of the second quarter, Mansaray capped the drive with a four-yard TD run to knot the score at 14 at the break.
• Marist had good field position after Valpo pooched the second-half kickoff, but the defense came through with a goal-line stand to escape the drive unscathed. After facing second-and-goal from the two-yard line, Valpo had three straight stops including a big one by Hayden Bedell (Orland Park, Ill. / Carl Sandburg) on fourth down.
• Valpo's next drive stalled at the 32, but Sam Johnson (Birmingham, Ala. / Oak Mountain [Jackson State / Alabama]) flipped the field with a 61-yard punt.
• After another defensive stop, Jack Coulson (Boca Raton, Fla. / Olympic Heights [Kent State / Holy Cross]) had a 43-yard catch from Tyler to set up a 25-yard field goal by Ryan Hawk (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Hartley) that put the Beacons in front 17-14 through three quarters.
• With 9:09 left in the fourth quarter and Valpo still leading by three, the Beacons were stopped on a QB run on fourth-and-1 from the Marist 12. Marist punted on its next drive, but Valpo went three-and-out and the Red Foxes had one final gasp.
• The Red Foxes had third-and-1 from the Valpo 28, and Lendino made a game-saving pass breakup to strip away a would-be touchdown pass. On the following play, Mark Johnson came up with another clutch moment, breaking up the pass to clinch the victory.

Inside the Game

• Mansaray rushed for a season-high 135 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. He was just shy of his career high of 141 on Sept. 18, 2021 at Cal Poly while playing for South Dakota.
• Tyler went 14-of-20 through the air for 131 yards. Eight Beacons caught passes, led by Coulson with three catches for 57 yards.
• Mark Johnson shared the team lead with 10 tackles, while Jimmy Pouba also recorded 10 stops. Both players' tackle totals represented career highs.
• In the kicking game, Sam Johnson averaged 45.2 yards per punt on five attempts, while Hawk improved to 9-of-12 for the season and 13-for-18 in his career on field goals. He was also 2-for-2 on PATs and two of his four kickoffs went for touchbacks. Hawk, who improved to 7-for-7 on field-goal attempts less than 40 yards this season, is two makes away from cracking the program's all-time top 10.
• Marist outgained Valpo 298-292 in total offense, but Valpo held a 161-136 edge on the ground. The Beacons overcame nine penalties for 87 yards to prevail in a turnover-free contest.
• Junior Jeffery Vercher (Nashville, Tenn. / Franklin Road Academy) had a 47-yard kickoff return.
• This marked Valpo's 28^th one-score game in Landon Fox's time as Valpo head coach.
• Valpo won at Marist for the second straight trip, in the process ending a 10-game road skid that dated back to the previous visit to Poughkeepsie on Nov. 12, 2022.

Thoughts from Head Coach Landon Fox
"Resiliency was the key today. We were able to hang in there. We've got to be able to score more points. We drove the ball at times, but we've got to be able to finish drives and score points, so that was a little disheartening. You have to give our defense credit as they didn't play well early, and then found their rhythm later on in the game. We were sound in the kicking game, other than faulting myself for the bloop kick to start the second half. That didn't set the tone well for the second half. I'm proud of our guys for playing 60 minutes. We were on a couple game losing streak there, and our ability to find a way to win was good."  
 
Up Next
Valpo (3-5, 1-3 PFL) will have a bye week next week before hosting the Battle for the Hoosier Helmet on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. at Brown Field. For ticket information, visit tickets.valpoathletics.com.