Merchant Marine athletics photo

Most of the great rivalry games in Division III football are played in November. But not all. For several years, the Secretaries' Cup game between the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the Coast Guard Academy was a non-conference clash, played early in the year.

That placement hardly affected the rivalry's intensity, however.

• Merchant Marine game story | Coast Guard game story
• Box score | Sept. 10, 2016 scoreboard

The game between the two service academies in 2016 featured a quarterback named Victory, but in the end, it was another quarterback who hoisted the cup.

Victory, a senior, threw three touchdown passes in the first half as Coast Guard took a 21-14 lead into the halftime locker room. But he hardly got a chance to touch the ball in the second half, as the Merchant Marine offense, and defense, took over.

The Mariners' option offense was in midseason form in the second half, even though it was Merchant Marine's first game of the season. Merchant Marine did not even attempt a pass in the second half, riding quarterback Robert Moore for 203 yards on the game. When the Bears' offense did get on the field, they didn't stay long. Coast Guard had the ball for just 6:34 of the second half, with Merchant Marine dominating the time of possession.

USMMA started the second half by chewing up nearly five minutes of clock before bring stopped on fourth down by defensive lineman Tommy Jones at the Coast Guard 9. The Bears went three-and-out and had their punt blocked on their first possession, but held on when the Mariners missed a 43-yard field goal attempt wide left. Another three-and-out gave the Mariners the ball right back, however, and Moore ripped off a key 21-yard run on fourth down at midfield, the second of two fourth-down conversions on the drive. Three plays into the fourth quarter, Moore called Spencer Blauw's number, and he ran it in for a 6-yard score, tying the game up at 21-21.

The Bears put up another three-and-out, and a short punt gave Merchant Marine the ball back in CGA territory. Moore ran for 12 yards on second-and-11 and 21 yards on the following play to get within striking distance, and Wiley Martin got the call for the second of his two touchdows on the afternoon, giving Merchant Marine the lead for the first time.

Once again, the Mariner defense held Coast Guard without a first down, but the Bears' defense had some play-making of its own. With USMMA on its own 33, Nate Harvey forced Joe Bellomo to fumble and Harvey recovered the ball and outran everyone to the end zone. However, the Bears missed the extra point attempt, and trailed 28-27 with 7:34 left in the game.

By this point, the Mariners were able to chew up clock and yards and embarked on a 12-play, 58-yard drive, with Moore running for 38 yardds and Wiley Martin the other 20 before Erik Swayne connected on a 28-yard field goal. That gave Merchant Marine a little breathing room, at 21-37. But Victory could not lead the charge, as Coast Guard went four-and-out on its final possession, and Merchant Marine was able to kneel it out to preserve the win.

The game was played in front of 4,944 fans at Coast Guard's Cadet Memorial Field.

Merchant Marine went on to finish 5-4, including putting a scare into eventual Liberty League automatic qualifier Hobart before losing 38-35 and holding St. Lawrence, which tied for first place, to an 8-0 score in defeat.