CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime pounded out 510 rushing yards to hand a 42-13 setback to Anna Maria in the Mariners' (1-0) season opener. Sophomore fullback, Ian Champeon (Dover-Foxcroft, Maine) rushed for 206 yards and a touchdown, while senior quarterback Matthew Rende (Augusta, Maine) chewed up 170 yards of field, including a 70-yard touchdown run to deliver Chris McKenney his 50th career victory.
The Mariners set the tone for the day on the opening drive, marching 58 yards through the AMCATS (0-2) defense on 10 plays. Champeon carried the ball four times on the drive, including the final 12 yards for his touchdown. Champeon did the bulk of the work on the Mariners' second scoring drive, breaking off a 65-yard run to set up Bill Wetherbee (Veazie, Maine) for a three-yard touchdown on a toss right.
It appeared as if the Mariners were steaming towards a blowout early in the second quarter. Alex Hermes (Fallsington, Pa.) picked off the first of his pair in the contest to set MMA up on the Anna Maria 40. Maine Maritime found itself with a first and goal on the one when a bad exchange left the ball sitting on the turf. Troy Barnes (Hamden, Conn.) scooped the loose ball, and with a convoy of blockers, rumbled 99-yards to paydirt to make it 13-6.
After trading three-and-outs, MMA went on the move again, getting down to the AMCATS'37. Rende was then picked off by Kevin McCoy (Springfield, Mass.), giving Anna Maria the ball on their own 35. The AMCATS needed nine snaps to score, drawing the game even at 13-13 when Santonio Simone (Worcester, Mass.) hit David Marsh (Boston, Mass.) with a 38-yard strike. Simone finished the game 17-of-37 with 184 yards and two interceptions to his one touchdown. The Mariners' Hermes was responsible for both picks. He led MMA with 10 tackles.
The game looked destined to be knotted at the half, but a botched snap on a punt attempt led to what became an incomplete pass and turnover on downs well inside of AMCATS' territory in the closing seconds of the first half. Rende completed back-to-back passes, the second a nine-yard touchdown completion to Nate Duford (Claremont, N.H.) to restore the Mariners' lead for good.
MMA extended the lead on its first possession of the second half when Nick Bourassa (Jay, Maine) turned his second touch of the season, an option pitch to the left, into a 46-yard score, making in 28-13. Bourassa finished the game with 93 yards on four carries.
MMA put the game on ice on the next possession. Facing third-and-five around midfield, Rende ducked behind his line allowing Duford to get beyond the secondary for what appeared to be a 55-yard touchdown throw. A personal foul during the course of the play brought it back and made it a third-and-20 situation. This time, Rende called his own number, eluding a pair of defenders on the right sideline before working across the grain to finish a 70-yard run with a dive at the left pylon, making it 35-13. Tom Marcisso (Scarborough, Maine) added a one-yard plunge late in the fourth quarter to make it the 42-13 final.
The Mariners' defense limited the AMCATS to 93 yards of offense in the second half. They finished the day with 303 yards. In addition to Hermes efforts, MMA got six tackles and two sacks out of Chris Brawn (Winslow, Maine). He recovered a fumble in the first half to thwart an Anna Maria drive deep in MMA terrirtory.
The game was marred by numerous turnovers, particularly in the first half, and numerous penalties in the second half. The teams combined for 13 fumbles with a total of seven possessions lost. The Mariners coughed it up four times. MMA was penalized 115 yards on 11 flags, while Anna Maria was flagged six times for 58 yards.
The AMCATS got 11 catches and 86 yards out of wide receiver Domenique Concepcion (Middlebury, Conn.) on the afternoon. Jordan Kohler (West Warwick, R.I.) and Mike Joseph (Marlboro, Mass.) each recorded 13 tackles for Anna Maria, while Jason Campbell (Melrose, Mass.) had 12 stops, forced and recovered a fumble.
MMA returns to action next weekend at Mass.-Dartmouth.
| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score | |
| Anna Maria | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 | Record: (0-2) |
| Maine Maritime | 7 | 13 | 15 | 7 | 42 | Record: (1-0) |
| 1st | 10:24 | MEM | Ian Champeon 12 yd run (Michael Brennan kick), 10-58 4:36, ANM 0 - MEM 7 |
| 2nd | 13:48 | MEM | Bill Wetherbee 3 yd run (Michael Brennan kick failed), 4-79 1:30, ANM 0 - MEM 13 |
| 11:40 | ANM | Troy Barnes 99 yd fumble recovery (Jamal Mitchell kick), , ANM 7 - MEM 13 | |
| 4:16 | ANM | David Marsh 38 yd pass from Santino Simone (Jamal Mitchell kick blockd), 9-65 3:09, ANM 13 - MEM 13 | |
| 0:24 | MEM | Nate Duford 9 yd pass from Matthew Rende (Michael Brennan kick), 2-25 0:12, ANM 13 - MEM 20 | |
| 3rd | 9:32 | MEM | Nick Bourassa 46 yd run (Ben Violette rush), 8-80 4:10, ANM 13 - MEM 28 |
| 5:26 | MEM | Matthew Rende 70 yd run (Michael Brennan kick), 5-75 2:47, ANM 13 - MEM 35 | |
| 4th | 3:08 | MEM | Tom Marcisso 1 yd run (Michael Brennan kick), 8-46 3:56, ANM 13 - MEM 42 |
| ANNA | MMA | |
| FIRST DOWNS | 22 | 24 |
| RUSHES-YARDS (NET) | 39-119 | 65-510 |
| PASSING YDS (NET) | 184 | 41 |
| Passes Att-Comp-Int | 38-17-2 | 4-3-1 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS | 77-303 | 69-551 |
| Fumble Returns-Yards | 1-99 | 1-19 |
| Punt Returns-Yards | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Kickoff Returns-Yards | 7-115 | 2-32 |
| Interception Returns-Yards | 1-15 | 2-46 |
| Punts (Number-Avg) | 3-29.3 | 2-38.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 6-3 | 7-4 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6-58 | 11-115 |
| Possession Time | 27:00 | 33:00 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 8 of 15 | 6 of 10 |
| Fourth-Down Conversions | 0 of 2 | 1 of 1 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 0-2 | 4-6 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 0-0 | 2-10 |
RUSHING: Anna Maria-Robert Small 16-98; Ken Wood 2-14; Santino Simone 14-8; Bobby Payer 6-0; TEAM 1-minus 2; Dylan Bedard 0-1. Maine Maritime-Ian Champeon 17-206; Matthew Rende 31-170; Nick Bourassa 4-93; Ben Violette 7-17; Bill Wetherbee 3-17; Tom Marcisso 2-4; Tyler Robitaill 1-3.
PASSING: Anna Maria-Santino Simone 17-37-2-184; Kyle Peterson 0-1-0-0. Maine Maritime-Matthew Rende 3-4-1-41.
RECEIVING: Anna Maria-Dom Concepcion 11-86; David Marsh 2-53; John LaMothe 2-24; Blake Simpson 1-13; Josh Sundquist 1-8. Maine Maritime-Nate Duford 2-25; Michael Brennan 1-16.
INTERCEPTIONS: Anna Maria-Kevin McCoy 1-15. Maine Maritime-Alex Hermes 2-46.
FUMBLES: Anna Maria-Santino Simone 3-1; Dom Concepcion 1-1; Robert Small 1-0; Ken Wood 1-1. Maine Maritime-Matthew Rende 5-3; Ben Violette 2-1.
SACKS (UA-A): Anna Maria-None. Maine Maritime-Chris Brawn 2-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Anna Maria-Jordan Koehler 11-2; Mike Joseph 8-5; Jason Campbell 10-2; Troy Barnes 4-3; Kevin McCoy 5-1; Nii Quartey 2-2; Tim Ray 0-4; Dylan Webster 1-2; Tony Valente 1-0; Richard Brandt 1-0; Kevin Card 1-0; Jamal Mitchell 1-0; David Marsh 1-0; D Underwood 1-0; Nick Palermo 0-1. Maine Maritime-Alex Hermes 9-1; Matthew Ball 6-2; Chris Brawn 6-0; Matt Hebert 5-1; Joel Chadbourne 4-1; Chase Hutchinso 1-4; Brock Lawrence 1-3; Frank True 3-0; Andrew Hammond 1-2; Ryan Williams 1-2; Kris Smith 2-0; Pat Richardson 1-1; Jacob Albon 1-1; Paul Stambach 1-0; Wade Severance 1-0; Nick Bourassa 1-0; Michael Burgess 1-0; Michael Brennan 1-0; A. Morrison 1-0; Evan Sinclair 1-0; John Regis 1-0.