WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Maritime Privateer football team closed out the 2016 regular season with a 31-28 victory over the Gallaudet Bison on Saturday by the score of 31-28 on Hotchkiss Field.
Maritime was led by sophomore quarterback Joseph Butterworth (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa), who set a program record as he became the first quarterback in program history to throw for three touchdowns in a single game.
Butterworth also completed the most completed passes in a single contest as he converted on 22 throws, which broke the previous mark of junior Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) who set the mark at 21 earlier this season against Merchant Marine. Butterworth completed the game with 205 yards through the air, which is the third highest total in a single game all-time.
Junior Matt Ward (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) was Butterworth's favorite target with a program-record nine receptions, while totaling 93 yards including a 30-yard touchdown catch. Senior Brett McKinney (Westernville, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) had three catches, with one touchdown; while classmate Nick Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) also had three grabs.
Senior Andrew Short (Covington, La./St. Paul's) had four catches for 25 yards, while sophomore Christian Castle (Felton, Pa./Red Lion) had a pair of catches including one that went for a touchdown. Senior Brian Leonard (Selden, N.Y./Centereach) collected one pass reception as well.
On the ground, McKinney led the Privateers with 109 yards on 22 carries, while Butterworth kept the ball for 19 rushes and tallied 58 yards. Senior Krystian Cardinal-Charles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys and Girls) had 10 carries for 66 yards and had Maritime's lone rushing touchdown on the day. Senior Sean Kinney(Calvert, Md./Calvert) added 26 yards on 12 carries.
The defense as a whole allowed 56 yards of total offense, which is the second fewest allowed by the Privateers all-time, after the team allowed just 39 yards of total offense versus Anna Maria earlier this season in October.
Seniors Kendal Parker (Evans, Ga./Lakeside) and Eric Wallace (West Point, N.Y./James O'Neill) led the defense with seven tackles apiece. Sophomore Payton Campbell (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) had four tackles, including two sacks for a loss in 12 yards on the day.
Sophomore Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek) had three stops, while junior Wesley Joseph(Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) picked up two sacks for a loss in five yards. Riek led the team with three passes defended, while juniors Joshua Burris (Covington, La./Covington) and Nick Conte (Franklin Square, N.Y./Carey) each had one pass breakup apiece.
On special teams senior John Arny (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) picked up 128 yards on three kicks, including a pair that ended inside the Gallaudet 20 yard line. Junior Matthew Murphy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) picked up one field goal, and converted on all four of his extra point attempts and also amassed 311 yards on five kickoffs.
Senior Brian Price (New York, N.Y./Wadleigh) led Maritime with 34 yards on a pair of kickoff returns, while Riek had one return for 24 yards and Cardinal-Charles added a 21-yard return.
The Privateers opened the game on defense and stopped the Bison on the opening drive after just three plays. Maritime took over possession and completed three straight passes to Ward. Cardinal-Charles picked up a 21-yard rush, then eventually gave the Privateers a 7-0 lead on an eight-yard carry.
The Privateers successfully recovered an onside kick as Murphy recovered his own kickoff to give Maritime possession at midfield. Butterworth and McKinney did most of the heavy lifting on the ground during the drive, and eventually it was a Butterworth pass to McKinney to put up the second touchdown of the afternoon.
After Maritime punted on its next drive, the Privateers took over the ball once again in prime field position at the Gallaudet 39. After a pair of rushes, Butterworth found Ward for a 30-yard score to put the Privateers ahead by a 21-0 score.
As play progressed to the second half, the two sides exchanged punts before Gallaudet reached the end zone for the first time on the day with 3:32 left in the half to trim the Maritime lead to 21-7.
Maritime received the second half kickoff and took over at their own 39 yard line. McKinney got the first three carries of the drive before Kinney took over for a few carries. After a pair of incomplete passes to Ward and Cardinal-Charles, Butterworth looked for Cardinal-Charles again and converted on a 16-yard touchdown reception to give Maritime a three-score lead once again.
Both teams punted once again, before the Privateers took over midway through the third quarter. The drive resulted in a field goal from Murphy, who made a 24-yard boot to give the Privateers a 31-7 advantage.
Gallaudet scored three unanswered touchdowns over the span of 1:13 as the Bison took advantage of a trio of misplays by the Privateers to pull the Bison back within three points on 31-28.
Maritime got the ball back with 37 seconds left in the third quarter, and carried possession into the fourth period. McKinney got the bulk of the work on the drive as Maritime, including 15-yard and 21-yard carries on the drive. Deep in Bison territory, the Privateers were unable to get the ball into the end zone as Gallaudet got the ball back off of a turnover on downs.
The Privateer defense was able to force two more punts from the Bison and took over with 4:16 left in regulation.
Cardinal-Charles got the drive going with a 27-yard rush, but after three short plays Maritime faced fourth and long. Needing nine yards, it was Butterworth to find Ward for the ninth time on the day as the pair hooked up for a 16-yard gain to virtually seal the victory.
A few rushes by Cardinal-Charles, Kinney and Butterworth ran the clock out as Maritime had sealed the conference victory by the final score of 31-28.
Maritime finishes the regular season with a record of 6-4 overall and a mark of 4-3 in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference matchups.
Gallaudet ends their season with an overall record of 2-8, with a 1-6 record in ECFC contests.
Football Notches Victory over Gallaudet, 31-28
/seasons/2016/boxscores/20161112_c5rw.xml
2016
SUNY-Maritime
31
Gallaudet
28
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUNY-Maritime (6-4) | 21 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 31 |
| Gallaudet (2-8) | 0 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 28 |
Nov 12, 2016