THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime football team picked up its second-straight victory on Saturday as the Privateers defeated the Becker Hawks by the score of 40-13 on Reinhart Field.
Maritime's defensive unit continued to roll as the team amassed five sacks on the game as seniors Brian Price (New York, N.Y./Wadleigh), Corey Palladino (Merrick, N.Y./St. Anthony's), Eric Wallace (West Point, N.Y./James O'Neill), and junior Wesley Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) were all credited with at least one sack on the afternoon.
The team also forced three interceptions as Price, junior Joshua Burris (Covington, La./Covington) and freshman Justin Snuffer (Maple Shade, N.J./Maple Shade) each had picks on the game. Burris and Wallace both forced fumbles on the afternoon, while junior Garrett Stryzs (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy) recovered one of the two fumbles. Price also had a blocked punt on the matchup.
Freshman Liam Bailey (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) was the team's leader in tackles with eight stops on the afternoon, followed by Wallace and Palladino with six apiece. Price and sophomore Matthew Mavrovich (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) had five stops on the afternoon. Overall, Maritime had 10 stops for a loss in yardage as Bailey, Wallace, Price, Joseph, Palladino as well as sophomores Payton Campbell (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls), Jack Johnson (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East) and senior Sam Feliciano (Orlando, Fla./Colonial) all had stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Special teams saw junior kicker Matthew Murphy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) do something that no Privateer had ever done in the history of the program. The junior attempted five kicks, which was a program record, and also converted four field goals, which had never been done in program history. Murphy connected on a pair of 45-yard field goals, and also made from 33 and 27, before narrowly missing a 54-yard attempt late in the game as he was vying for the longest field goal in program history.
Senior John Arny (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) had 253 punting yards, for a 42.2-yard average on his six punts. Two punts went for touchbacks, while another two were inside the Becker 20-yard line. Senior Krystian Cardinal-Charles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys and Girls) had two kickoff returns for 60 yards, while both he and Price had one punt return apiece.
Offensively, sophomore Joseph Butterworth (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) made his first collegiate start under center and completed 15 passed for 157 yards, he also had his first passing touchdown as he found junior Matt Ward (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) for the score. Senior Andrew Short (Covington, La./St. Paul's) was his favorite target with six grabs for 81 yards, while Ward was second on the team with three receptions. Seniors Nick Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) and Joe Modica (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip), along with junior Chris Olberding (Dix Hills, N.Y./Walt Whitman), and sophomore Christian Castle (Felton, Pa./Red Lion) all had at least one reception on the game.
Sophomore Severino Torelli (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) got the bulk of the carries, with 62 yards on 17 attempts and also had one rushing touchdown. Butterworth had 38 yards on four carries, while Olberding had 12 carries for 14 yards. Senior Sean Kinney (Calvert, Md./Calvert) and sophomore Sean Varela (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) combined for seven yards on five combined carries.
The offensive line paved the way for Maritime's 121 yards on the ground, as the unit did not allow a sack to the Hawks. Juniors Thomas Korwan (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), Connor McDaniel (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip), and sophomores Dean Lynch (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside), Nicholas Acevedo (Woodside, N.Y./Holy Cross), and William Le Claire (Middle Village, N.Y./Holy Cross) were the starting unit for the offensive line.
Becker won the opening coin toss and elected to receive to open the game. Facing fourth down on their opening drive the Hawks punted, but Price was able to penetrate the offensive line and block the punt. Price then picked up the loose ball and dashed 27-yards into the endzone for the early touchdown.
After kicking the ball back to Becker, the Hawks took over again at their own 27-yard line. On their first pass of the drive, Burris picked off the pass and raced back to the Hawk endzone for another score as Maritime had built up an early 14-0 lead just 1:49 into the contest.
The game settled down after the early excitement, as both teams exchanged punts through the next few series. Maritime got the ball back with 8:01 left in the opening quarter and Fischetti caught a wobbly pass for 22 yards from Butterworth as the quarterback was hit as he threw. Torelli needed just one touch to finish off the drive for an 8-yard touchdown score as the Privateers moved ahead 21-0.
As play moved into the second stanza, Maritime had possession and were driving as they rushed the ball ahead to the Becker 28-yard line before the offense stalled out. Murphy was asked to kick from 45 yards, and converted to put 24 on the scoreboard for Maritime.
On the next Privateer series, Butterworth picked up back-to-back completions to Short, including a game-high 36-yard hookup to put Maritime in prime scoring position at the Becker five. After rushing the ball was unsuccessful on the first two attempts, the Privateers turned to Butterworth, who completed a five-yard pass to Ward to make it 31-0 after Murphy's extra point.
Murphy added another 45-yard field goal before halftime and the Privateers held a convincing 34-0 lead at the break.
Becker scored to open the second half with a touchdown on its first drive of the half, but Maritime came back down the field and Murphy added his record-tying field goal with his third of the afternoon with a 33-yard attempt.
Both teams threw several interceptions and were unable to turn the turnovers into points as play progressed into the fourth quarter.
Maritime did turn a fumble recovery into points as Burris forced a fumble, which was recovered by Stryzs with 12:18 left in the game. The ensuring drive saw Murphy knock his record-setting fourth field goal of the game through the uprights to make the score 40-7.
After Snuffer short-circuited Becker's next drive with an interception, the Privateers took over and were able to get the ball to the Hawk 37-yard line. Murphy set up looking to set the program record for longest field goal in program history, but his 54-yard attempt was just wide left of the upright as the junior had the distance to convert.
Becker capped off the scoring with a touchdown on the next series of plays, but missed the extra point. Becker got the ball back once more with 90 seconds left, but settled for short rushes to run the clock out.
Maritime (4-2, 2-1 ECFC) will be back on the road next week, when the Privateers visit the Castleton in Vermont for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff with the Spartans.
Becker (2-4, 1-2 ECFC) will finish off its road slate next week when the team visits Mount Ida for a 12 p.m. start in Newton, Mass.