INDIANAPOLIS - Backed by a relentless defense that intercepted four passes and a lethal quarterback-receiver tandem in Zach Bundalo and Ben Stevens, the Marian football team flattened their rival St. Xavier 41-7 in the NAIA FCS First Round. 

Marian's defense came out in full force to open the game, forcing three punts which included a pair of three and outs on their opening three series. Marian's offense was unable to get started on their first two series of the afternoon, but on their third drive a pass from Zach Bundalo to Jacob Pressler moved the chains and captured momentum. A pair of penaltied would result in the ball moving out of the red zone, but Marian finished the drive with points, as Bundalo hit Ben Stevens on a 26-yard touchdown pass to give Marian a 7-0 lead. 

A sack from Deon Pettiford on the final series of the opening quarter would force a fourth punt from the Cougars to start the second, but Marian faltered moving across the midfield stripe. Forced to punt for a third time, St. Xavier dialed up the pressure and blocked a Taylor Soper punt, giving the Cougars their best field position of the afternoon. St. Xavier marched eight plays and covered 41 yards, converting on fourth down as Amari Venerable would tie the game at 7-7.

Jalen Jennings had an immediate answer as he returned the kickoff after the Cougar score 95 yards for a touchdown, but the scored was nullified after Marian was flagged for a blindside block. Marian would go three and out despite the good field position from the return, and after Pressler moved the Knights deep into Cougar territory with a pair of catches, a fumble ended a promising series.

St. Xavier took over on their own 10 with 1:55 to play after the fumble, but Stuart Ross made a costly mistake that gave Marian a scoring chance, throwing an interception directly to Nate Frey. Frey returned the ball to the four yard line, and three plays later Bundalo found Stevens for their second scoring connection of the game on a two-yard strike. A Tyler Majors sack and Jake Paris tackle would halt St. Xavier on their final series, ending the half with a 14-7 lead. 

The punt units for both teams were busy to start the second half, as Soper punted twice pinning the Cougars inside their on 15, while St. Xavier punted to the Knights after their first series of the half. Soper's second punt pinned the Cougars at their four, and Marian bounced on the defensive field position as Logan Blake jumped a shallow pass and returned his second interception of the season for a touchdown. The 21-7 lead quickly grew to three scores, as a defensive stand allowed Bundalo to go to work, completing four passes to Stevens, ending the series on a 35-yard touchdown pass.

Just two plays after the Stevens score, Peyton Trexler put the nail in the coffin, snaring an interception off of Ross and returning the pick 33 yards for his second career touchdown. Trexler's pick-six gave Marian a 34-7 lead after three quarters, and in the fourth quarter the first career interception from Alex Griffith set up Marian for one final score, with Stevens scoring his fourth touchdown of the game with 7:12 remaining in the game. Bundalo's 22-yard touchdown pass put Marian on top 41-7, which stood as the final score as the defense made two final stops to advance Marian in the playoffs. 

Bundalo led the Knights through the air with 207 yards on 14 completions, sending 10 of his passes to Stevens for 157 yards and four touchdowns. Pressler had three catches for 46 yards in the win, gaining a first down on each catch. Baron Huebler rushed for 53 yards on 18 carries. Both Bundalo and Stevens were named the Co-Offensive Players of the Game following the contest.

On defense, the Knights held St. Xavier to 155 total yards of offense, sacking the Cougars six times while grabbing three interceptions. Paris had six total tackles to lead the team, while Majors and Deon Pettiford each had 1.5 sacks. Dakari Kenney and Tyler Bukur each four solo tackles and one sack in the win, and Logan Blake had one sack to go with his pick-six, as the senior earned Defensive Player of the Game honors. 

Marian will advance to the NAIA Quarterfinals following the win, and will travel to Orange City, Iowa, for the second consecutive year as they will take on No. 3 Northwestern. The rematch from one season ago will kickoff at 1 p.m. ET.

MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.