Mariners Fall in Season Opener
PAXTON, Mass. – Quarterback Santino Simone rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 184 yards and an additional score to lead Anna Maria to a 34-14 win over Maine Maritime. The AMCATS (1-1) picked up their first win of the season and first victory over the Mariners (0-1) in the series.
Trailing 7-0 midway through the second quarter, Simone and company took over on the Mariners' side of the field following a fumble. It took Anna Maria nine plays to finally break into the end zone, with Simone covering the last seven yards of the 40-yard drive over land to knot it at 7-7. Simone's touchdown marked the first points in a 34-point surge.
Maine Maritime opened the second half with a possession that ended with a Matthew Hebert (South Portland, Maine) punt that was downed on the AMCATS one-yardline. Robert Small, who rushed for 116 yards and a score on 19 carries provided Anna Maria with some breathing room, getting the AMCATS out to their own 13. After two plays that went nowhere, Simone embarked on an 87-yard scamper to make it 17-7. Simone took his show to the air on the next Anna Maria possession, completing 3-of-4 passes for 54 yards. The last 32 yards came on a toss to David Marsh, making it 24-7. Simone completed 12-of-23 throws in the game. Marsh's touchdown reception was his only score of the game.
The AMCATS put together 444 yards of total offense to the Mariners 248. Maine Maritime moved the sticks 17 times compared to Anna Maria's 22, but only two drives covered 30-or more yards, both resulting in Maine Maritime touchdowns. The Mariners marched 90 yards on 16 plays on their first possession. It ended with starting quarterback Bradley Reed (Belfast, Maine) rushing in from 12 yards out. Billy Wetherbee (Veazie, Maine) did the bulk of the work, racking up 46 of his 110 yards on the possession. He toted the ball 23 times on the afternoon.
Mariners' freshman quarterback, Michael Fahey (Union, Conn.) led Maine Maritime on a 13-play, 78-yard drive, finishing with a four-yard plunge into the endzone. Fahey rushed for 41 yards total on the drive.
Anna Maria's Kevin Card and Jordan Koehler each recorded 16 tackles, while Card included a sack in his three tackles for losses. Joel Chadbourne (Westbrook, Maine) led the Mariners with 10 tackles, including a sack, while Michael Collins (Kittery, Maine) recorded nine stops.
The Mariners open the home slate next weekend when Plymouth State pays its first visit to Ritchie Field since the 2008 New England Football Conference Championship Game.
| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score | |
| Maine Maritime | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | Record: (0-1) |
| Anna Maria | 0 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 34 | Record: (1-1) |
| 1st | 3:39 | MEM | Bradley Reed 12 yd run (William Alsbrooks kick), 16-90 7:59, MEM 7 - ANM 0 |
| 2nd | 8:00 | ANM | Santino Simone 7 yd run (Jamal Mitchell kick), 9-40 3:44, MEM 7 - ANM 7 |
| 1:05 | ANM | Jamal Mitchell 28 yd field goal, 10-66 3:45, MEM 7 - ANM 10 | |
| 3rd | 10:18 | ANM | Santino Simone 87 yd run (Jamal Mitchell kick), 5-99 1:38, MEM 7 - ANM 17 |
| 1:58 | ANM | David Marsh 32 yd pass from Santino Simone (Jamal Mitchell kick), 10-74 3:57, MEM 7 - ANM 24 | |
| 4th | 10:32 | ANM | Robert Small 4 yd run (Jamal Mitchell kick), 10-75 5:03, MEM 7 - ANM 31 |
| 6:55 | ANM | Jamal Mitchell 48 yd field goal, 4-6 2:10, MEM 7 - ANM 34 | |
| 1:15 | MEM | Michael Fahey 4 yd run (William Alsbrooks kick), 13-78 5:33, MEM 14 - ANM 34 |
| MEM | ANM | |
| FIRST DOWNS | 17 | 22 |
| RUSHES-YARDS (NET) | 60-248 | 43-260 |
| PASSING YDS (NET) | 0 | 184 |
| Passes Att-Comp-Int | 5-0-0 | 23-12-0 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS | 65-248 | 66-444 |
| Fumble Returns-Yards | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punt Returns-Yards | 0-0 | 1-10 |
| Kickoff Returns-Yards | 7-119 | 2-41 |
| Interception Returns-Yards | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts (Number-Avg) | 5-32.8 | 3-33.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-51 | 9-85 |
| Possession Time | 30:40 | 28:05 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 2 of 12 | 7 of 12 |
| Fourth-Down Conversions | 3 of 4 | 1 of 1 |
| Red-Zone Scores-Chances | 2-2 | 3-3 |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 1-6 | 3-14 |
RUSHING: Maine Maritime-Billy Wetherbee 23-110; Bradley Reed 20-67; Michael Fahey 8-43; Joseph DiBiase 6-20; Ryan O'Neal 1-5; Alex Hermes 1-3; Dylan Webster 1-0. Anna Maria-Santino Simone 14-135; Robert Small 19-116; Dom Concepcion 1-5;Chris Bettano 7-4; TEAM 2-0.
PASSING: Maine Maritime-Bradley Reed 0-3-0-0; Michael Fahey 0-2-0-0. Anna Maria-Santino Simone 12-23-0-184.
RECEIVING: Maine Maritime-. Anna Maria-Dom Concepcion 4-55; William Ricard 3-57; Robert Small 3-36; David Marsh 1-32; G Caldwell 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS: Maine Maritime-None. Anna Maria-None.
FUMBLES: Maine Maritime-Bradley Reed 2-1; Billy Wetherbee 1-0. Anna Maria-None.
SACKS (UA-A): Maine Maritime-Joel Chadbourne 1-0. Anna Maria-Mike Kennedy 0-1; Joseph Williams 0-1; Kevin Card 1-0; Keagan Gorman 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Maine Maritime-Joel Chadbourne 8-2; Michael Collins 3-6; Tyler Chamberlain 6-0; Chase Hutchinson 4-1; Johnny Weymouth 4-1; Andrew Hammond 3-2; John Regis 4-0; Jonathan Fader 3-1; Frank True 2-0; Wade Severance 1-1; Brock Lawrence 0-2; Christopher Hale 1-0; Matthew Ball 1-0; Alex Gamester 1-0; Gavin Cote 1-0; Alex Hermes 1-0. Anna Maria-Kevin Card 12-4; Jordan Koehler 10-6; Keagan Gorman 5-0; Tony Valente 4-1; Mike Joseph 2-3; Mike Kennedy 2-2; Joshua Otero 2-2; BIlly Bishop 2-1; Joseph Williams 1-2; D Underwood 2-0; Dan McKenna 1-1; Tim Ray 0-2; Tyler Rocha 1-0; TEAM 1-0; David Morrow 1-0; N Goncalo 0-1; Nick Cruz 0-1.
