INDIANAPOLIS - It all came down to one play. One play to decide if the Marian University football team was going to remain undefeated on Homecoming.

This time, however, Taylor University played spoiler as the Knights could not hang on to a 35-18 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game en route to a last-second 36-35 defeat to the Trojans at St.Vincent Health Field on Saturday afternoon.

The loss dropped the Knights to 5-4 on the season and 2-3 in Mid-States Football Association Mideast League play.

The Knights opened fast as they took the opening kickoff into the red zone. However, they had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by freshman Martin Waddick (Indianapolis, Ind./Scecina Memorial) to take a 3-0 lead with 9:07 remaining in the first quarter.

On Taylor's third play from scrimmage, redshirt freshman Nathan Toon (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) intercepted a tipped Trojan pass to give the Knights ball at the Knights' 43-yard line. Once again, the Knights drove into the red zone where junior Zach Goodbar (Indianapolis, Ind./Decatur Central) was wrapped up on third-and-goal at the three-yard line.  The Knights were lined up for a 33-yard field goal, but a roughing-the-kicker call gave them a fresh set of downs inside the 10-yard line. They had to settle for their second field goal, a 20-yarder, off the foot of Waddick to take a 6-0 lead with 1:52 to go in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, freshman Rapheal Williams (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) knocked the ball loose on the return and redshirt junior Jeff Geoghegan (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood) scooped the ball up and ran it back 26 yards to stake the Knights a 13-0 lead with 1:41 to go in the first frame.

The next Taylor drive resulted in a four-yard touchdown pass that capped a seven-play, 50-yard drive to cut the gap to 13-6.

After trading punts, the Knights went on a 10-play, 88-yard drive that chewed up 5:15 off the second quarter clock. Junior Joey Neberieza (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge to put the Knights in front, 20-6, with 3:52 to go in the half.

The Knights fumbled deep in their own zone on their next drive, and Taylor quickly capitalized. Just two plays later, a 22-yard touchdown pass cut the lead to 20-12 with 1:09 remaining in the half.

On their ensuing possession, the Knights went on a nine-play, 53-yard drive that ended with what looked like an interception by Taylor. However, a roughing-the-passer call with no time on the clock gave the Knights one untimed down. Waddick attempted a 32-yard field goal that was good, but a holding call negated the field goal and sent the Knights into the locker room with a 20-12 lead.

The Knights handled the potent Trojans' offense in the first half as they held them to just 85 yards of total offense, while they racked up 137 yards on the ground and 103 through the air.

The next two Taylor drives looked like more of the same for the Trojans as junior Brock Caraboa (Plainfield, Ind./Plainfield) and senior Chris White (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central) each recovered a fumble early in the third quarter. However, the Knights' offense stalled on each drive and were forced to punt.

The Knights finally capitalized on the third straight fumble by Taylor as redshirt junior Ricky Parrish (Avon, Ind./Avon) forced a fumble on a punt return that was returned for a 27-yard gain by sophomore Chase Simmons (Michigantown, Ind./Clinton Central) to put the Knights at the Taylor 15-yard line.

Senior Matt Rogers (Trafalgar, Ind./Indian Creek) hit junior Chris Rutherford (Pittsboro, Ind./Tri-West) with a 22-yard touchdown strike to give the Knights a 27-12 lead with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter.

Taylor went on a four-play, 42-yard drive that was capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 27-18 with 3:39 remaining in the quarter. The score remained 27-18 as the quarter came to a close, but the Knights were driving into Taylor territory. However, as the final quarter opened, the Knights were forced to punt.

Taylor went three-and-out on their ensuing possession, and the Knights embarked on a six-play, 51-yard drive to take a 35-18 lead with 10:58 remaining in the game. Rogers hit Rutherford for their second touchdown of the afternoon on a 10-yard pass to cap the drive.

Taylor needed just 44 seconds to cut the lead back to 11, 35-24, as a 30-yard touchdown pass capped a three-play, 60-yard drive.

The Knights went three-and-out and Taylor went on a 14-play, 92-yard drive that took 5:01 off the clock to cut the lead to 35-30 with 2:46 to go in the game. Taylor quarterback Shaun Addison hooked up with Ryan Magnuson for the fifth time on the afternoon to give the Trojans a chance late in the contest.

A botched onside kick gave the Knights the ball at the Taylor 30-yard line with 2:40 remaining, but the Knights went three-and-out and Waddick pinned the Trojans deep, at their own five-yard line, with 2:16 to go. The Trojans had 2:16, no timeouts, and 95 yards between a loss and a win on Marian University's Homecoming.

The Trojans moved the ball to the Marian 45-yard line and, on third-and-six, it looked like the Knights were going to hold off the furious comeback as freshman Garrett Pritt (Shelbyville, Ind./Triton Central) stuffed a short pass play for just a one-yard gain. However, Addison proved the Knights wrong when, on fourth-and-five, he found Magnuson for a 44-yard touchdown, as the clock expired, to stun the more than 2,000 spectators at St.Vincent Health Field, and give the Trojans the 36-35 victory.

Rogers finished the day 19-for-32 for 195 yards passing and two touchdowns through the air, and 90 yards rushing on 15 carries. Rutherford finished the day with a career-high six receptions for 84 yards and two scores, while Goodbar finished with four catches for 49 yards.

White led the Knights on defense with 11 tackles (eight solo, three assists), two sacks, 5.5 tackles-for-loss, and one fumble recovery. Pritt finished with a career-high nine tackles (eight solo, one assist), while Caraboa added a tackle-for-loss and a fumble recovery.

The Knights remain at home when Malone University comes to St.Vincent Health Field on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will air LIVE on the Knights Football Radio Network on flagship station Catholic Radio Indianapolis 89.1 FM (WSPM). Dr. David Pierce (p-b-p) and Jeff Burris (color) will call all the action beginning at 12:45 p.m. LIVE STATISTICS will also be available at www.muknights.com.