NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College got themselves back in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) win column on Saturday afternoon with a 41-6 victory over Anna Maria College at Alumni Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Mustangs outgained Anna Maria 379-157, including a 190-46 advantage on the ground, where they got three rushing touchdowns, one in each of the final three quarters.
MUSTANG CITY
Senior Melquawn Pinkney (Springfield, Mass.) ran for 105 yards and two scores and quarterback Jack Sheehan (St. Petersburg, Fla.) threw for 156 yards and a touchdown, while junior wide receiver Matt Greenman (Portsmouth, R.I.) also tossed a touchdown on a trick pitch play.
AMCAT SCORING
Freshman kicker Francis Cole (Maspeth, N.Y.) accounted for all of the scoring for Anna Maria, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead with a 31 yard field goal on their opening drive, the only points for either team in the first quarter.
Cole also nailed a 42-yard field goal with under a minute left in the first half to close the Mustang lead again to just one score at 14-6.
MOUNT IDA SCORING
Second Quarter: Pinkney got the Mustangs on the board with a two-yard scamper at 13:46 of the second quarter, a play set up by a forced fumble by Sean Chinova (Watertown, Conn.) at the end of the first quarter. Chinova got junior quarterback Malik Faison (Bowie, Md.) to cough up the ball and it was pounced on by Mustang junior Chris Toyloy (Yonkers, N.Y.).
Mount Ida made it 14-3 halfway through the quarter when Greenman, who also caught seven balls for 87 yards, took a pitch from Sheehan and threw across his body, finding Zach Samiljan (Sparta, N.J.) at the pylon for the score.
Third Quarter: The only scoring in the third quarter came from Mustangs senior Darius Jemmott (Central Islip, N.Y.), who ran the ball in from 19 yards out to cap a nine play, 58 yard drive.
Fourth Quarter: The Mustangs poured it on in the fourth quarter, scoring three touchdowns in the final fifteen minutes, including on back to back plays when Pinkney ran in a one-yard touchdown and then Chris Medeiros (Pelham, N.H.) recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and returned it 15 yards to the end zone.
That fumble was caused by a crushing hit by sophomore Travis O'Brien (Portsmouth, R.I.), who had a strong all-around game, making five tackles in special teams and catching three passes for 58 yards, including a 40 yard sideline catch and run.
Sheehan, who hit on 12-21 pass attempts, got himself in the score sheet at 12:58 left in the fourth as he found Blade Clonts (Powder Springs, Ga.) with a two yard pass as the quarterback was being brought down to make the score 27-6 before Pinkney's run and Medeiros's special teams play put the final score on the board.
PENALTY PROBLEMS
Jemmott had 61 yards rushing in the game and actually converted a 95-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but the play was called back for offensive holding, one of 17 penalties on the day that cost Munt Ida 140 yards in field position.
The AMCATS were also undisciplined, racking up 89 yards on nine penalties.
AMCAT STATISTICS
Quarterback Malik Faison (Bowie, Md.) completed 10-18 passes for 102 yards, while Christopher Bettano (Tewksbury, Mass.) rushed nine times for a net of 36 yards in the loss. Anna Maria receivers Trai Weaver(Waterbury, Conn.) and William Ricard (Bilerica, Mass.) each ended up with identical lines of three catches for 48 yards.
Senior Michael Sinto (Long Beach, N.Y.) had a team-high seven tackles, one sack, 2.5 tackles for a loss and two QB hurries for the AMCATS.
MUSTANG ODDS AND ENDS
Junior Tyler Rogers (Bridgewater, Mass.) was 5-6 on extra point attempts in the win for Mount Ida.
Defensively for the Mustangs, Matt Martin (Arlington, Mass.) racked up a pair of sacks and seven tackles and also picked off a pass, while Chinova had a team-high ten stops.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Mustangs (2-4, 2-1 ECFC) hit the road again next Saturday for another ECFC battle when they travel to Becker College at 2:00 pm.
Anna Maria continues to search for their first win (0-6, 0-3 ECFC) when they head north to meet Norwich in Northfield, Vt. at 1:30 pm the same day.