The Butler football team took on the Marist Red Foxes for their first conference game of the season on Sept. 27. Photo by Jonathan Wang.

ADDISON DUKUS | STAFF REPORTER | adukus@butler.edu 

The much-anticipated Homecoming football game against Marist University proved to be a defensive battle.

While much of the first quarter was anticlimactic, the highlight was a pass that slipped out of Red Fox senior tight end Connor Hulstein’s hands and into the lap of Butler’s senior defensive back Will Mason. The Bulldogs capitalized on the interception as redshirt junior starting quarterback Reagan Andrew — making his first appearance after missing two games with an injury — sent a pass to redshirt senior tight end Cameron Heald for a touchdown. Butler led 7-0 going into the second quarter.

The Dawgs were quickly challenged as Andrew fumbled at Butler’s 40-yard line and Marist’s first-year linebacker Matt Bonczek recovered, returning the ball for a touchdown to tie up the game.

After a failed drive for both teams, redshirt junior running back Griffin Caldwell led Butler’s effort downfield with a 56-yard touchdown, making the score 14-7.

While Marist got the ball back, the Bulldogs’ defense stepped up, as redshirt junior defensive back Steven Stephany forced a fumble on Hulstein. First-year defensive lineman Okemdi Eze recovered the fumble, preventing Marist from scoring for the rest of the quarter.

After halftime, the game turned from a defensive battle into an offensive struggle. Butler kicked a field goal after Marist’s defense knocked down a pass meant for redshirt junior wide receiver Archie Cox in the end zone.

The fourth quarter started shaky with an unsuccessful Butler drive followed by a short 21-yard punt. The Red Foxes saw their chance to take the lead, and Marist redshirt junior quarterback Sonny Mannino made a 27-yard touchdown pass, bringing the score to 21-17.

Head coach Kevin Lynch acknowledged both the triumphs and struggles of the game.

“It was certainly not pretty all the time,” Lynch said. “We made a fair share of plays that we’d love to have back…but we made enough plays to win the game, both offense and defense and special teams as well.”

With just over three minutes left in the game, the Dawgs needed to make something happen. Sure enough, Butler answered. Andrew connected with Cox for an impressive 48-yard touchdown pass.

Cox recalled the catch that boosted the score to 31-28.

“Once I caught it, I saw a lot of green grass [and] I took off running to the end zone,” Cox said. “The offense was trying to stay calm, and we practiced it a lot before, so we just wanted to make sure we could get it in.”

In the end, Butler shut down the Red Foxes, with the defense forcing two sacks late in the game. Mannino fumbled the snap with just a minute left, and the Bulldogs were able to turn it over on downs to end the game 31-28.

The Dawgs improved their record to 3-2 and will take on St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Oct. 4.