POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) — Tak Tateoka accounted for four touchdowns for St. Thomas of Minnesota and the Tommies held off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat winless Marist 39-32 on Saturday.
Tateoka’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Wildermuth gave the Tommies a 25-18 lead in the third quarter and Tateoka added a 2-yard touchdown run early in the fourth for a 32-18 lead.
Still leading by eight points with 4 1/2 minutes to go, the Tommies held on downs at their own 37-yard line. Four plays later, Gabriel Abel’s 15-yard touchdown run put the Tommies up 39-24 with 2-plus minutes remaining.
The two-touchdown advantage proved beneficial after Marist’s Sonny Mannino threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game, a 30-yarder to Jake Ciolino with 19 seconds left. A successful two-point conversion made it a seven-point deficit, but the Tommies recovered an onside kick and took a knee to wrap up the win.
Mannino completed 25 of 46 yards for 211 yards. Two of the five TD passes went to Carter James.
Tateoka was 16 of 21 passing for 122 yards with two touchdowns. Hope Adebayo ran for 113 yards for the Tommies (3-3, 2-0 Pioneer Football League).
The Tommies raced to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter on a short run by Tateoka and his short TD pass that was followed by a two-point conversion.
Marist responded in the second quarter on three touchdown passes by Mannino. Two of the point-after tries were blocked and the third one was missed, leaving the score 18-all at halftime. The Red Foxes went for two points after each of their two touchdowns in the second half.
It was the first time this season that the Red Foxes (0-6, 0-3) scored 20 points or more. They outgained St. Thomas 344-321 in total yards.
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