THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime football team closed out the 2017 regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 54-14 victory over the Gallaudet Bison on Reinhart Field.
The Privateers took advantage of four sacks, three forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries an interception and a pair of blocked kicks on defense and special teams to set the tempo throughout the game. As a team Maritime also rushed the ball for 195 yards and had five rushing touchdowns on the afternoon.
Defensively the Privateers were led by senior Kendal Parker (Evans, Ga./Lakeside), who registered a team-high 10 tackles and also had one sack and a fumble recovery on the game. Sophomore Liam Bailey (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) had six tackles with a forced fumble and also recovered a fumble, while junior Matthew Mavrovich (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) added five tackles with a blocked kick.
Senior Nick Conte (Franklin Square, N.Y./Carey) added five tackles, while classmate Joshua Burris(Folsom, La./Covington/Gavilan) chipped in on the defensive effort with a forced fumble and two pass breakups. Junior Cormac Quigley (Bellmore, N.Y./Mepham) had a big day on special teams with four tackles and also recovered a fumble. Junior Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek) had an interception and returned the ball 25-yards for a touchdown. Sophomore Justin Snuffer (Maple Shade, N.J./Maple Shade) had a fumble recovery and a pass breakup, while junior Calvin Tanguay (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) forced one fumble and had a sack on the day.
Senior Wesley Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) tallied a sack on the day along with freshman Jack Lupardo (River Vale, N.J./Pascack Valley), while junior Brandonn Drumgole (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) had a blocked kick on the day with freshman Michael Maringelli picking up a fumble.
Parker and Drumgole were both in on the offensive side of the ball as the pair both picked up two-yard rushing touchdowns. Senior Devin Kenny (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) led the offensive attack with 96 yards on the ground with one score, while classmate Chris Olberding (Dix Hills, N.Y./Walt Whitman) added 49 yards and had one rushing score as well. Freshman Christian Schiavone (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) had three carries for eight yards including a touchdown score.
Junior quarterback Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) had eight completions for 96 yards, while junior Joseph Butterworth (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) had five passes for 40 yards and the team's lone touchdown through the air as he found senior Matt Ward (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North). Sophomore Robert Wheeler (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan E. Wagner) was 3-for-3 on his brief stint under center, while freshman John Lynn (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Chaminade) took the final few snaps on offense for the Privateers.
Junior Curtis Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Utrecht) led the receiving unit with 79 yards on five receptions, while Ward hauled in four passes for 38 yards along with the receiving touchdown. Junior Sean O'Connor(Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach) had two receptions, while seniors Mike Yorkey (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker), Jacob Shinnick (Pleasanton, Calif./Granada) and junior Christian Castle (Felton, Pa./Red Lion) along with Wheeler all had one reception apiece.
On special teams senior Matthew Murphy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) had a solid game with a pair of field goals from 26 and 33 yards, respectively, as he also recorded 544 yards on 10 kickoffs with two touchbacks. Murphy also punted the ball on four occasions and averaged just over 40 yards a punt.
Maritime won the opening coin toss and deferred to the second half, putting the Privateer defense to work from the start. The defense forced a quick punt and regained the ball on offense. The Privateers did punt the ball, but on the return attempt the ball was forced out by Burris and recovered by Quigley on the Gallaudet two-yard line to set up the offense again.
On the first play of the drive it was Parker on a direct snap to hurdle the pile of lineman ahead of him to put the first points on the board. Murphy's extra point was good to make the score 7-0.
The next offensive drive began with a 35-yard hookup between Wright and Smith, before Wheeler rushed the ball for 13 yards. After a Drumgole reception set up first down and goal to go, the Privateers handed the ball off to Drumgole for their second two-yard touchdown of the day.
The Privateers blocked the ensuing punt by Gallaudet as Mavrovich blocked the ball that was recovered by Drumgole to set the Privateers up with 25 yards to go in Bison territory. After Maritime was unable to move the ball, the Privateers settled for a 26-yard field goa by Murphy to increase the score to 17-0.
The next Maritime drive took over six minutes and spilled into the second quarter, but resulted in a one-yard touchdown score by Olberding with an acrobatic leap into the end zone. Murphy missed the extra point as Maritime had opened up a 23-point advantage.
Gallaudet fumbled on the following drive with Bailey scooping up the loose ball to give Maritime the ball back with 10:31 left in the half. Wright found Smith and Ward on back-to-back plays for first downs, before Kenny took care of the final 24 yards with a touchdown score with 8:24 remaining in the period.
The next Gallaudet drive resulted in another blocked punt as Drumgole blocked the ball before Riek picked up the loose ball for a defensive touchdown. Murphy's extra point was through the uprights as Maritime move ahead by 37 points.
Two plays later it was Parker to recover the loose ball on a bad pitch by the Bison to give Maritime possession back once again. Murphy tacked on a 33-yard field goal to make it 40-0 with 1:44 left in the half before Gallaudet possessed the ball once again. On the fifth play of the Bison drive Riek intercepted the pass and returned it for 50 yards before being stopped on the play, as time expired during the return to close out the half.
In the third quarter Bailey added a forced fumble that was picked up by Snuffer on the first Bison drive of the half. Both teams were unable to score in the third period as the Privateers held a 40-0 lead into the second half.
Gallaudet opened the fourth quarter with a score on the second play of the period, but Maritime answered right back as Butterworth found Ward for a 14-yard touchdown.
The next Bison drive resulted in a sack by Tanguay for a loss in 12-yards as the ball came free, Maringelli picked up the bounding ball and gave Maritime possession once again with 9:14 left in the game. The Privateers got the ball back with 5:49 left in the game, and needed five plays to go 30 yards as Schiavone capped off the drive with a nine-yard score to give the Privateers a 54-7 lead.
The Bison added another late touchdown with 10 seconds to go in the game, but it was not enough as the Privateers emerged victorious once again on Reinhart Field to cap off a perfect 5-0 record on their home turf.
Prior to the game, Maritime recognized their senior class as Murphy, Ryan McGrath (Campbell Hall, N.Y./Goshen), Garrett Stryzs (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy), Kenny, Olberding, Ryan Goggin (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport-South Manor), Anthony Mainella (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West), Bruce Kopka (Wilmington, N.C./Ashley), Burris, Paul LaMarca (Franklin Square, N.Y./Holy Trinity), Patrick Conlon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph), Billy Silke (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel), Daniel Hink (Seymour, Conn./Seymour), Ward, Yorkey, Conte, Shinnick, Thomas Korwan (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), Connor McDaniel (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip) and Craig Hinrichs (Islip, N.Y./Islip) were all recognized in an on-field ceremony.
Maritime (9-1, 6-1 ECFC) will now await an announcement to determine its next opponent. The NCAA Division III Championship Field will be set by Sunday evening, with the New England Bowl and ECAC Division III Football Bowlfest matchups released on Monday.
Gallaudet concludes its season with a 3-7 overall record and a 3-4 mark in ECFC competition and will look to build off of this season's fifth place finish in the league heading into the 2018 season.
Defense Dominates; Ground Game Excels as Football Storms by Gallaudet on Senior Day
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20171111_tti6.xml
2017
Gallaudet
14
SUNY-Maritime
54
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallaudet (3-7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| SUNY-Maritime (9-1) | 17 | 23 | 0 | 14 | 54 |
Nov 11, 2017