NEWTON, Mass. – The Maritime football team picked up an Eastern Collegiate Football Conference victory on Saturday afternoon, as the Privateers edged the Mount Ida Mustangs by the score of 17-14 on Alumni Field.
Late in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 14 and the Mustangs driving, senior Brian Price (New York, N.Y./Wadleigh) picked off a pass in the end zone to give the Privateers possession once again with under four minutes to go in regulation. After getting the ball deep into Mount Ida territory, it was junior Matthew Murphy(Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) who kicked the go-ahead and eventual game-winning field goal through the uprights to give the Privateers their third conference victory of the season.
Maritime was led of offense by senior Brett McKinney (Westernville, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) who ended the day with 98 yards on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Joseph Butterworth (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) collected 69 yards on the ground with one touchdown and also threw for one score while passing for 142 yards. Sophomore Severino Torelli (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) also picked up 33 yards on 14 carries.
Junior Matt Ward (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) was Butterworth's favorite target with four receptions for 87 yards including the touchdown reception. Sophomore Christian Castle (Felton, Pa./Red Lion) also had four receptions to gain 29 yards, while senior Nick Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) had two key receptions for a total of 24 yards.
Defensively it was Price to lead the Privateers with eight tackles on the afternoon, including seven of the solo variety. Price also had two interceptions on the day, which lead the team. Senior Shawn Todd(Jamaica, N.Y./Jamaica) had a big afternoon with six stops of his own and also forced a fumble. Freshman Liam Bailey (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) was tied for second on the team with six tackles, while junior Nick Conte (Franklin Square, N.Y./Carey) added a fumble recovery, and was one of five players to record five tackles on the day.
In addition to his game-winning field goal, Murphy averaged 53.8 yards per kickoff as he kicked off four times for a total of 215 yards. Senior John Arny (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) punted the ball four times, including the second longest punt in program history with a 70 yard boot.
The return game saw senior Krystian Cardinal-Charles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys and Girls) have one kickoff return for 25 yards, while Price added a 21-yard return. Junior Devin Kenny (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) was also credited with one return with a five yard return.
In the first quarter, the Mustangs got the ball first and got off to a quick start with a 29-yard return setting the ball up on the Mount Ida 32 yard line. After driving the ball to the Maritime seven yard line, the Mustangs threw the ball into the end zone to take an early 7-0 lead.
After several punts, Mount Ida got the ball back and rushed ahead into the red zone put the Privateer defense stood tall as Conte and Bailey helped short-circuit the Mustang drive. Attempting a 31 yard field goal, Mount Ida's kicker pushed the ball wide left to keep the score at seven.
On Maritime's ensuing drive, Butterworth sparked the drive with a nine yard completion to Castle to pick up a first down. Torelli, McKinney and Butterworth chipped away at the field with a series of rushes to get possession onto the Mustang half of the gridiron.
Facing another third down, Butterworth was forced to throw and found Ward for a 27 yard completion. After several more quarterback rushes, Butterworth eventually dove into the end zone to even the game at seven, following Murphy's extra point.
After three more punts by the two sides, Maritime got the ball back in the second quarter beginning at its own 18 yard line. Torrelli and Butterworth did most of the heavy lifting on the drive, while Butterworth also found Fischetti for a five yard gain on the drive. Facing third and goal, Butterworth found Ward for an eight yard score to put the Privateers ahead for the first time on the afternoon with 3:48 to go in the quarter.
The defensive unit stopped the Mustang offense on three plays the next series, but Maritime was unable to turn the possession into points despite reaching the red zone.
As play advanced into the second half, neither side was able to score as Maritime made a big defensive stand on the first Mustang drive of the half. The Privateers punted the ball on their next drive, then recovered the ball as Conte recovered the fumble that was forced by Todd.
In the fourth quarter, Maritime had the ball in its own territory and lost possession on a fumble as Mount Ida took over inside the Privateer 10 yard line. The Mustangs needed just three plays to tie the contest at 14 with 11:42 left in regulation.
Several drives later, the Mustangs were back on offense and picked up a 23 yard completion to move ahead to the Maritime 30 yard line. After a rush that went nowhere, Mount Ida threw the ball deep into the end zone and was picked off as Price caught the ball and took a touchback.
Maritime's offense took over at their own 20 yard line with 3:27 left in the game. McKinney carried the ball twice for 17 yards, followed by a 22-yard rush from Butterworth and a 17-yard rush by McKinney as the Privateers picked up three consecutive first downs.
Facing third down, Butterworth found Fischetti once again to convert for the first down and set the team up just three yards away from taking back the lead for the Privateers. Maritime was unable to punch the ball in as McKinney tried twice and Butterworth went backwards on one play as the Mustang defense kept the Privateers from the end zone.
Murphy was tasked with kicking a go-ahead 23 yard field goal with 13 seconds left in regulation and notched his first field goal of the afternoon to give the Privateers a 17-14 lead.
Mount Ida tried to come back after taking over possession with just seven seconds left. After a quick pass to the sideline that gained 11 yards, the Mustangs tried to lateral the ball to keep play going as the clock had expired but the team ended up losing 15 yards as Maritime's defensive unit once again held up against the Mount Ida offense.
Maritime (5-4, 3-3 ECFC) will look to finish off the season with its second straight win as the Privateers travel to Washington, D.C. for a matchup against the Gallaudet Bison beginning at 12 p.m.
Mount Ida (4-5, 4-2 ECFC) falls out of the running for the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference Championship with its loss to the Privateers, as the Mustangs needed to finish off its season with two straight wins to clinch the league's title.
In other games this weekend, Husson defeated Norwich in Maine to clinch the ECFC Championship and the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
Maritime Football Trips Up Mustangs in 17-14 ECFC Victory
/seasons/2016/boxscores/20161105_r1er.xml
2016
SUNY-Maritime
17
Mount Ida
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUNY-Maritime (5-4) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Mount Ida (4-5) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Nov 05, 2016