INDIANAPOLIS - The Marian football team saw their 2023 season come to a close Saturday afternoon at St. Vincent Field, as MSFA rival St. Xavier handed Marian their lone loss on home turf with a 31-21 loss in the NAIA Football Championship Series Second Round. Marian's season ends with an overall record of 9-2.

Defense headlined the early action Saturday afternoon, as both teams exchanged three and outs on each of their first two possessions. James Ralph made a sack on the opening series to deny the Cougar offense, and on the second a tackle on third and short by Jake Paris forced the punt team again. The Knights' defense was unable to keep the Cougars off the board as their offense took the field for a third time, as Stuart Ross engineered an eight-play, 32-yard series that led to a touchdown.

Trailing 7-0, the Marian offense needed a chunk play on third and long to get going, as their first two possessions of the game yielded a loss of 12 yards. The spark came on a 40-yard completion from Zach Bundalo to Tirae Spence, and a 16-yard gain on the ensuing play to Jalen Jennings moved the ball into the red zone. Marian would cap the six-play drive with a Drew Byerly rushing touchdown out of the wildcat, tying the game following Marlon Pomili's extra point. 

The score held 7-7 going into the second quarter as Josh Woods got the ball back for Marian by forcing a fumble, but the good field position was soiled as the Knights turned the ball over on downs. The Cougars answered Marian's short-coming with a touchdown drive, pushing back in front as Ross drove his team 70 yards, ending with his second touchdown pass of the game. 

An exchange of turnovers followed after the touchdown as Bundalo was intercepted, but the following Cougar possession was short-lived as Jake Paris strip-sacked Ross. Tyler Bukur pounced on the ball to put the Marian offense on the field and two explosive plays from CJ Young and Keagan La Belle helped drive the ball to the one yard line, but the magic ran out after that.

Two penalties and two negative runs after La Belle's 32-yard play stalled Marian's drive, and a missed field goal ended the series without points. St. Xavier took over with three minutes to play in the half following the miss, and used the remainder of the clock to get into field goal range, as Peyton Benes converted a 34-yard attempt to give the visitors a 17-7 lead at halftime.

St. Xavier's defense gave Marian little chance to mount a comeback effort in the third quarter, as Bundalo was sacked at inopportune times on four occasions in the quarter, leading to Marian's scoreless quarter. The Cougars scored on their first series of the half as Ross threw his third touchdown pass of the game, moving the score to 24-7. Marian's following possessions had chances to move the ball, but an interception after getting new life from a personal foul ended the second possession of the half, and despite a Nate Frey interception and fake punt converted by Mason Miller, the Knights were still unable to move the ball past midfield.

Marian was able to hang in the game as the fourth quarter started as a 13-play, six-minute drive for St. Xavier ended in a missed field goal, but a lost fumble by Bundalo on the ensuing play handed the ball right back to the visitors. Amari Venerable put the game out of reach with a four-yard score two plays later, giving St. Xavier a commanding 31-7 lead. 

The Knights were able to end the game with a pair of touchdown drives behind backup quarterback RJ Griffin, as the freshman replaced the injured starter Bundalo. Griffin's first series ended in a turnover on downs, but the freshman was able to turn his second drive into points as he connected with Tirae Spence on a 12-yard touchdown. Marian attempted an onside kick while trailing 31-13 and recovered the ball as Keagan La Belle recovered the 25-yard gadget kick. With just 48 seconds remaining in the game, Griffin was able to lead one final scoring drive, hitting Jalen Jennings for 35 yards before tossing a five-yard scoring strike to Drew Byerly. 

Marian recovered one final onside kick after Jennings and Griffin connected for eight points, but time expired on the Dwight Lewis III recovery, ending the game in Marian's 31-21 defeat.

Griffin ended the game completing 8-of-11 passes for 127 yards and his first two collegiate touchdowns, while Bundalo threw for 112 yards. La Belle ended as the team's leading rusher with 45 yards, and Jennings led the team with 81 receiving yards. CJ Young finished the game with 72 yards, Spence recorded 63 yards and one score, and Byerly scored two of Marian's three touchdowns. Marian's defense was led by Jake Paris who recorded a career-high 16 tackles, posting two sacks, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery. Josh Woods made a season-high 10 tackles in his first-career start, and Nate Frey and Deon Pettiford each recorded nine tackles. 

St. Xavier out-gained Marian 331 to 239, as 10 sacks against the Knights limited the home team to three net rushing yards. 

The Knights end the season with a final record of 9-2, earning MSFA Mideast League Co-Champions for the program's eighth conference championship.

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