Pace University Football lost their opening game last Thursday to Marauders by a score of 28-7. The general feeling among the Pace team was disappointment .

“I would tell you that I am disappointed, I would expect more from us,” said Head Coach Andrew Rondeau.

The Coach noted that the key to their defeat was turnovers. Noting that two of the Marauders touchdowns came from pick sixes by Pace.

“When you throw two interceptions for touchdowns and have another fumble recovered then it is really hard to win that game, ” said Rondeau. “When you give them the ball three times, and no times where we took the ball the odds flip radically and there are no odds to win the game.”

Rondeau did note to some positives, the most significant being the team’s performance on special teams.

“The  kick return team had some nice returns, the punt team allowed for zero return yards, we blocked two kicks and forced another. The kicking game was neat, definitely some good stuff right there,” Rondeau said.

Rondeau hopes that in the future, when games are close, his team can finish strong and find a way to win.

“Winning is a choice, you have to turn a setback into a comeback,” said Rondeau. “Things that we can control like a effort and our discipline, we choose every day.”

Senior Running Back and Captain, Delaney Wallace, was disappointed as he felt the outcome could have been much different.

“It is more disappointing because the win was within our control and we did things that shot ourselves in the foot,” said Wallace. “Those are the toughest loses to stomach.”

Wallace noted that communication errors were the main cause of the turnovers.

“[It is] just knowing your assignments. Sometimes it was miscommunications with the quarter backs and the receivers, or it was just bad ball security with the running backs. Its more just understanding your responsibilities and then just executing [them],” Wallace said.

Wallace was happy with the performance of the defense as he felt that had a fairly strong outing.

“I know our defense came out strong with a lot of good stops,” said Wallace. “The other team never really drove the ball down the field it was just one mistake that led to a crack in the armor, as long as we eliminate the one big plays here and there we have three and outs and key stops. But our defense did play strong.”

Wallace knows that going forward, it is his job as captain to keep the team on the right path, and to start winning some games.

“I have a big part in the success and the failures of the team it terms of execution and efforts,” said Wallace. “My goal is to do an even better job to make sure everyone is doing what we call the One Eleventh, everybody doing their one part to the eleven pieces of the puzzle.”