Marist defeats Carver-Atlanta

“To come out of those five games with four wins, I have to feel pretty good about it,” Marist coach Alan Chadwick said. “In our only loss, we had our chances to win, so I’m really feeling good about everything.”

Marist wasted no time in establishing control against Carver (2-3), building a 32-0 lead with only a few minutes left in the half. Quarterback Andy Perez, who has been bothered by a sore back, scored two of the team’s first four touchdowns on scoring runs of 2 and 3 yards. Perez also threw a two-point conversion pass to Greg Taboada.

With 20 seconds left before intermission, Carver quarterback Charod Williams faked as if to drop back to pass and ran up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown. Carver scored the only touchdown of the third quarter on an 82-yard fumble return by Kerrod Simuel.

Marist’s kicker Austin Hardin had a respectable performance after kicking a 57-yard field goal to defeat Southwest DeKalb 17-14 with three seconds remaining last week. It tied two others for the third-longest field goal in state history. Against Carver, Hardin booted several kickoffs out of the back of the end zone. He drilled a 37-yard field goal in the second quarter.

“I think our team is growing and maturing,” Chadwick said. “We’ve been in some tough ballgames. We’ve had some adversity against us and responded well. I love the chemistry on this team.

“I think we’re still a work in progress. We’re doing things well in some areas and not so good in other areas. We’ve got to continue to tackle well and do better. Our offense is not quite where we want it to be.”