Marian Holds Off Rio Grande for Key Big Rivers Win

10.25.2025

Clay Peters and Marian will want more next time. Photo Alex Goff.

Marian joins Thomas More, Aquinas, and Iowa Central in the semifinals for Big Rivers after beating Rio Grande 20-14 Saturday in Ohio.

With the victory, the Knights are 2-1 in the Big Rivers East and book a spot in the semis, playing 3-0 Aquinas, who are tops in the West.

The game was tight for much of the time as both teams knew they just needed a win to claim the semifinal spot.

The two teams traded penalty goals early and Rio Grande took a 6-3 lead into the middle of the first half.

It was then that Marian started to get a little front-foot ball. With Alex Baccoli putting in a big performance in the scrum at tighthead prop, the Knights began to get ascendancy in set piece.

That led to two tries and a 20-6 lead for Marian at halftime.

But Marian’s old habits started to creep in during the second half. Rio Grande punished a penalty with a lineout leading to a try, and added a penalty. That made it 20-14, and despite going down two players—one to a yellow card and one to a red card for a retaliation—the Knights held on.

Marian vs Kentucky 2025. photo Alex Goff
Alex Baccoli (at right) was a key performer for Marian on Saturday. Photo Alex Goff

A key moment came late when, down to seven men in the scrum, Baccoli helped the tight five shove the Rio pack back and earned a penalty. It wasn’t flashy, but they got the win.

Flanker Caden Simiele came in for a start as a freshman and the Crestwood HS (Iowa) product put in a solid shift when it was definitely needed.

“Rio played tough and took advantage of the mistakes we made,” said Marian Head Coach John Harley. “No disrespect to them but the points they got were because of us—we committed the penalties that they kicked. We were giving up silly penalties. We put teams under pressure and we let them off the hook. We know to run low when we’re close to the tryline. I am 100% sure we worked on that. But instead we ran in standing straight up and got held-up.”

Harley said this has been the story of his team all fall. They show flashes of their potential, but then penalties and basic decision-making mistakes sneak into the game.

“It shouldn’t be this hard for us,” said Harley.

Now the playoffs are here, with the associated pressure. Now it’s simple; win and advance.

“It’s a new season and we just need to work on the things we need to work on and go to the next job,” said Harley.