After 30 minutes of football at Torero Stadium, head coach Ron Caragher wasn’t happy. USD was trailing Marist in the Pioneer League opener 10-3, fizzling on offense and flat all the way around.
Hear what Caragher said to his team:
Patrick Doyle scores the game-winning TD for USD/(USD Photo/Ryan Brennan)
To change the energy on the field, Caragher took what was arguably his top weapon off the field. Redshirt freshman Sam Scudellari stepped in for all-Pioneer League quarterback Sebastian Trujillo in the second half, and the Toreros responded with a comeback effort. Scudellari led a pair of scoring drives, including the game-winning 26 yard touchdown pass to Patrick Doyle with 41 seconds remaining, as USD rallied to beat Marist 17-10, improving to 2-1 on the season.
Hear more from Caragher, plus Sam Scudellari and J.T. Rogan, after the jump:For Scudellari, making his USD debut on the field, the pressure to perform was mitigated somewhat by the veterans surrounding him in the huddle:
Indeed, J.T. Rogan’s words were only effective thanks to the hard running his legs provided. The 6th-year senior carried 12 times for 36 yards and a touchdown in the second half to help Scudellari’s nerves settle.
But the real hero for the Toreros on this day was the collective effort of their defense, which gave ground between the 30-yard-lines but held firm when the Red Foxes (1-2) threatened to score. Despite holding the ball for over 34 minutes and outgaining USD 286-219, Marist missed two field goals and saw several other drives stopped with tackles for loss.
Rogan praised the defense after the game for helping hold the fort while the offense struggled to find a rhythm under either quarterback:
After trading field goals in the first quarter, Marist took the lead in the second behind sophomore quarterback Tommy Reilly, who was making his first career start. On a 3rd and 15 play in Toreros territory, Reilly lofted a ball down the sidelines and was rewarded with a personal foul call against USD. Reilly (12-21, 139 yards, 1 TD) then converted a fourth-and-goal from the one yard line, finding fullback Ray Fiumefreddo on a square out to the right front pylon to make it 10-3 Marist.
Sam Scudellari led the USD comeback/(USD photo/Ryan Brennan)
The third quarter switch to Scudellari provided an initial first down on a tipped pass but little else, until J.T. Rogan and the ground game started to find a rhythm. Rogan carried four times on a drive which also saw Scudellari convert a 3rd-and-7 on a crossing pattern to Eric Fiege, with J.T. plunging in from two yards out to tie the game at 10 as the third quarter ended.
Marist kicker Kevin Pauly, who opened the scoring on the afternoon with a 45-yard field goal, then missed from 47 and 50 yards to force the Red Foxes to accept zero points at the end of two solid drives. Taking over on downs with 2:36 remaining on their own 33 yard line, Scudellari targeted a wide-open John McGough on a seam pattern down the middle, picking up 43 yards and needed momentum.
After two short runs, the Toreros then set up a backside screen for tight end Patrick Doyle, who had a convoy of blockers as he raced down the left sideline to score the game-winner from 26 yards out. It was a play that Caragher said was set up by what had been run earlier in the game:
The Toreros struggled to beat a Marist team that was picked to finish 8th in the 10-team Pioneer League, and certainly they need to find a way to get their quarterback and offensive leader back on track. While Caragher did not commit to either quarterback yet for USD’s next game against Butler in two weeks, he was pleased with how Trujillo handled his unexpected place on the sidelines:
Notes: Scudellari finished 5-for-7 for 108 yards and a touchdown…Trujillo was 6-for-9 for 31 yards and a sack while he was in the game…USD had a scare in the third quarter when defensive linemen Paul Tremblay needed to be immobilized and taken off the field on a stretcher…Tremblay was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons but is believed to have suffered only a minor neck stinger.
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