KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Oct. 16, 2021) – The USMMA football team kept on rolling on Saturday with another big conference victory, this time defeating two-time reigning NEWMAC Champs MIT by the final score of 56-34 at Brooks Stadium. The win keeps the Mariners undefeated at 6-0 on the season (3-0 NEWMAC), while the Engineers fall to 2-3 (0-2 NEWMAC) in defeat.
Merchant Marine amassed a total of 568 yards of total offense on the day (386 rushing and 182 passing), while MIT tallied 409 yards (374 passing and just 35 rushing), and both teams combined for five turnovers on the day (four in the first quarter alone), three for the Engineers and two for the Mariners.
Sophomore Ceaser Gonzalez (Norco, Calif.) led the Mariners' attack on the ground with 126 yards with two touchdowns, while senior Ian Blankenship (McRae, Ga.) ran for 121 and passed for 182 on 8-of-13 completions and had a hand in four USMMA touchdowns (two rushing and two passing). Freshman Talsen Smith (Roseville, Calif.) hauled in four catches for 85 yards with one score and junior Cody Miller (Goodyear, Ariz.) had two receptions for 68 yards and found the end zone for the first time in his career.
Defensively, the Mariners had four sacks and did a great job applying pressure to the Engineers' grad. student QB Chris Mauck all afternoon, registering a total of eight quarterback hurries on the day. Senior Tyler Sloman (Poulsbo, Wash.) accounted for two of those sacks which dropped MIT back a combined 13 yards, and he also recorded a game-best three QBHs.
Senior Joshua King (Haymarket, Va.) and junior C.J. Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) had the Mariners' other two sacks, while King also forced a fumble and broke up one pass. Junior Clayton Williams (Poulsbo, Wash.) led the Mariners with seven tackles and also knocked away one pass and recovered one fumble, while classmate Xavier Coleman (San Ramon, Calif.) and sophomore Thomas Joyce (Taunton, Mass.) both had five tackles each.
The first quarter was a marathon, with the two teams combining for a total of four turnovers including three in the span of just 40 seconds. MIT got on the board first after a TD on their opening drive. That was followed by an 11-play 73-yard drive for the Mariners that ended on a fourth-down attempt that came up just a yard short of the line to gain at the Engineers' two-yardline.
Just one play later the Mariners got the ball back on a forced fumble by King on a hard hit inside on MIT junior running back Jay Theriault that Williams gobbled up at the MIT 4. Senior Brian McGovern (Cranford, N.J.) ran in the next play from scrimmage four yards and freshman Jackson Tinkis' (Bossier City, La.) PAT tied the game up at 7-7 at 6:33.
Once again, MIT coughed the ball up on their side of the field two plays into their ensuing drive, but on the Mariners' next possession they gave it right back with a fumble of their own. At the end of the Engineers' seven-play drive, senior Ethan Brady (Palm Coast, Fla.) forced yet another a fumble that sophomore Noah Kunce (Elk Grove, Calif.) pounced on at the USMMA 45.
The Mariners cashed in on that one, as Blankenship capped off a seven-play, 55-yard drive with a two-yard TD run. The defense came up big on the next MIT drive again, forcing a three-and-out, and then Merchant Marine extended their lead to 17-7 early in the second quarter after a 24-yard field goal by Tinkis.
MIT took advantage of another fumble, this time on a punt play, and the Engineers took over at the USMMA 23. The visitors went six plays and 23 yards to come back within just three points, 17-14, after a receiving TD.
USMMA sandwiched a touchdown by Smith on a 27-yard pass from Blankenship and a 33-yard field goal by Tinkis as time expired around another three-and-out by MIT that was forced by the defense and the Mariners led 27-14 at halftime.
In the third, the two teams traded early possessions, with a punt for Merchant Marine and a fourth-down stop of MIT by the USMMA defense. When the Mariners took over at 12:06, they put together five plays for 33 yards to extend their lead to 34-14 on a five-yard run by Blankenship and another PAT by Tinkis. Tinkis finished the day 6-for-6 on PATs with the two second-quarter field goals.
The Engineers answered right back on their next possession with a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with another receiving TD that brought the score to 34-21. After back-to-back possessions with no score by both teams, the Mariners took over at the end of the third and found the end zone early in the fourth on Gonzalez's first of the afternoon on a nine-yard rush, and then McGovern ran in a two-point conversion to make the Merchant Marine lead double, 41-24.
The Mariners added two more scores, the first on a drive that saw Miller haul in his two receptions, a big one for 53 yards to get them into the red zone and then another on a 15-yard pass, and then the second TD on Gonzalez's second of the day. The Engineers scored in between those two USMMA TDs, but an onside kick by the visitors failed midway through the final quarter. MIT then ended the scoring with a rushing TD with just six seconds left.
For the Engineers, Mauck finished the day with 357 passing yards on 23-of-54 attempts with four TDs. Senior receiver Ben Dwyer made nine catches for 224 yards and caught one touchdown, while classmate Dennis Gastel had four catches for 54 yards and two scores. Sophomore tight end Jonathan Berger also had a receiving TD, and the backup QB junior Oakley Dehning came in in the fourth and wound up leading the team with 46 rushing yards and found the end zone late.
MIT senior Paul Calvetti led all players on the day with 17 tackles, while classmate Will Exson had 13 stops.
Up next is a battle for first place in the NEWMAC standings between 3-0 USMMA and 3-0 Catholic next Saturday, Oct. 23, at Brooks Stadium. Before the game the Mariners will pay tribute to their 18 graduating seniors with a special Senior Day ceremony before kickoff against the Cardinals at 12-noon.Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Football Schedule Page.
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