KINGS POINT, N.Y. – The Maritime football team was firing on all cylinders on Friday evening as the team put up 24 points on the Merchant Marine Mariners for a 10-point victory at Brooks Stadium.
On offense, senior Zack Chilcott (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston) completed five passes for 60 yards and one touchdown pass to junior Joe Modica (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip). Junior Nick Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) had a conventional rushing touchdown, and also added his first career passing touchdown on a trick play to sophomore Matt Ward (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North). Senior Diogo Dietrich (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/DePaul Catholic (N.J.)) added a 33-yard field goal as Maritime finished the evening with 24 on the board.
Defensively, senior Kameron Knight (Clayton, N.C./West Johnson) led the charge as he wrapped up a dozen tackles and also had a pair of sacks for a loss of 11 yards. Junior Eric Wallace (West Point, N.Y./James O'Neill) also had seven tackles, while freshman Payton Campbell (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) had a big night with seven tackles and his first career sack.
While Dietrich had a perfect kicking night with his field goal and three extra points, sophomore Matt Murphy had just one kickoff, which went into the end zone for a touchback. Junior John Arny (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) averaged 38.5 yards per punt on his four boots on the game. Freshman Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek) had a nice night in the return game with two returns for 54 yards, including a 30-yard run back.
"We're really happy that our guys came out and played like they did," said Head Coach Clayton Kendrick-Holmes after the contest. "The team really wanted this win for our seniors, and we got it done in all phases of the game, which included our defense playing lights out. The only negative was all the penalties we took and we will look to get that corrected in the open week, while also building depth with our young players."
The matchup started out with both teams unable to put points on the board through each team's first two offensive series. Maritime took the ball over with 3:22 left in the opening period, and saw the Privateers pick up three first downs before the second quarter, including a 17-yard sprint by Modica.
With play crossing into the second quarter, the Privateers picked up another first down to set up first and goal. Three plays later on third and goal, Fischetti darted into the end zone to put Maritime ahead 7-0, after Dietrich's kick.
The Privateer defense stood tall on the next two Mariner drives as the team forced a pair of punts to set Maritime back up with the ball with 6:42 left in the half. Chilcott opened the drive with an 18-yard pass to freshman Christian Castle (Felton, Pa./Red Lion), but the drive stalled and the team settled for the 33-yard Dietrich field goal.
On the ensuing kickoff, Merchant Marine fumbled the return, which was scooped up by the Privateers as Maritime set up in prime real estate with 1st and 10 at the 34-yard line of Merchant Marine. The biggest play of the drive was a Chilcott pass to senior Vincent Jones (Cudjoe Key, Fla./Key West) for a gain of 19 yards, to put Maritime into the red zone.
On third and seven, Chilcott dropped back to pass and found Modica for the 16-yard touchdown reception to put the Privateers ahead by a 17-0 score. The defense ended the half by forcing a punt, as Maritime went into the locker room with a three possession lead.
Merchant Marine received the second half kickoff and got started with a 39-yard return. After a nine-play series the Mariners had points on the board, cutting Maritime's lead to 17-7. Both teams punted on their next respective series, with the Privateers regaining possession with 2:58 left in the third quarter.
After senior Brett McKinney (Westernville, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) got the drive started with a four-yard carry, Modica got the call and collected 19 yards and a Mariner penalty earned the Privateers an additional 15 yards. With the play first and ten at the Mariner 25-yard line, the play call was for Chilcott to swing the ball out to the right to Fischetti, who in turn found a wide open Ward near the right pylon for the easy touchdown score to put the team back ahead by 17 points.
The defenses stood their grounds once again as both Maritime and Merchant Marine forced punts. The Mariners took over possession with 10:31 left in the game and capitalized with a touchdown score to cut back into the lead and make the score 24-14.
Merchant Marine's onside kick attempt failed, and the Privateers went into run mode. McKinney, Chilcott and Modica combined for three first downs to set up first and goal. With the Mariners out of timeouts, Maritime kneeled the ball to seal the victory over the Mariners.
While Chilcott led the team in passing yards, Fischetti also finished with 25 yards in the passing game. McKinney led the backs with 99 yards, followed by Modica with 67 and Chilcott with 65. Ward had the one catch for 25 yards, while Castle had 21 yards through the air, and Modica had 20 yards on a pair of catches.
Knight, Wallace and Campbell led the defensive unit in terms of tackles, followed by junior Brian Price (New York, N.Y./Wadleigh) with five and three others with four tackles each.
Maritime (2-1) will take off with a bye next weekend, in anticipation of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference opener on Saturday, October 3 when the team takes on Anna Maria as part of homecoming festivities on the Maritime College campus.
Merchant Marine (1-1) will look to regroup with a very tough task as the team will welcome in nationally ranked Hobart to Brooks Stadium for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, September 26.
Football Knocks Off Merchant Marine Under the Lights on Friday Night
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20150918_xq9q.xml
2015
SUNY-Maritime
24
Merchant Marine
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUNY-Maritime (2-1) | 0 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Merchant Marine (1-1) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
Sep 18, 2015