THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime football team opened up Eastern Collegiate Football Conference play on Saturday afternoon with the Alfred State Pioneers on Reinhart Field and recorded the overwhelming 49-6 victory over their guests.
Maritime recorded the opening 49 points of the game with seven touchdowns led by junior quarterback Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), who picked up one passing touchdown to junior Curtis Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Utrecht) and also had one rushing touchdown on the ground for the Privateers. Junior quarterback Joseph Butterworth (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) also had a passing touchdown to junior Sean O'Connor (Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach) to cap off Maritime's aerial attack.
The Privateers got three rushing touchdowns as senior Devin Kenny (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) had a pair of scores on the ground, while classmate Chris Olberding (Dix Hills, N.Y./Walt Whitman)also got a score on a rush with time expiring in the opening half.
Maritime also had a pair of blocked kicks on the game as junior Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek)blocked a punt and returned the ball for a 10-yard touchdown score, while senior Garrett Stryzs(Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy) blocked the extra point after Alfred State's lone touchdown of the game.
Wright ended the game with 252 passing yards and had one touchdown through the air and one on the ground, Butterworth followed by throwing for 52 yards and had one score as well. Smith led the team with 162 receiving yards on seven catches including the game-opening touchdown from Wright, while senior Matt Ward (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) added three catches for 48 yards. Junior Brandonn Drumgole (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) also had three grabs for 42 yards.
Nine different Privateers carried the rock, led by Kenny with 76 yards on 10 carries as he chimed in with his two touchdowns. Olberding had a game-high 15 carries for 70 yards and also had his one touchdown, while Wright had 10 carries for 50 yards and one score. Butterworth added 34 yards on the ground, with freshman Christian Schiavone (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) added 27 yards of his own.
Maritime's offensive line had a strong showing as the Privateers rushed for 287 yards as a team, while holding the Pioneers to no sacks on the game. Seniors Connor McDaniel (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip), Patrick Conlon (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph), Thomas Korwan (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), and juniors Dean Lynch (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside) and Nicholas Acevedo (Woodside, N.Y./Holy Cross) paved the way for the Privateers on offense.
The defensive effort was spread evenly throughout the unit with 26 players picking up at least one tackle on the game. Senior Wesley Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) had a game-high five tackles and also split a sack with senior Craig Hinrichs (Islip, N.Y./Islip), who had four tackles of his own. Senior Kendal Parker(Evans, Ga./Lakeside) also had four stops, while junior Matthew Mavrovich (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) had three solo tackles on the game.
Sophomore Liam Bailey (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) had one sack for a 13-yard loss, while junior Calvin Tanguay (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) added a sack for a loss of eight yards. Junior Payton Campbell(Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) and freshman Salvatore Escaldi (Farmingville, N.Y./St. John the Baptist)also got credit for half-sacks. Sophomore Justin Snuffer (Maple Shade, N.J./Maple Shade) added one interception on the game as well with a circus-style catch.
Senior Matthew Murphy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) recorded six extra points, while junior Ian Ziemski (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) picked up the first extra point of his career. Murphy also added two punts for 47 yards, with both falling inside the Alfred State 20-yard line; he also added 444 yards on his seven kickoffs for an average of 63 yards, including a pair of touchbacks.
Alfred State won the coin toss and deferred to give Maritime the opening possession of the game. The Privateers did not miss a beat after the bye week as Wright completed a 27-yard pass to Smith to give the home team an early 7-0 lead following the Murphy extra point.
After Alfred State punted the ball on its first possession, Maritime got the ball back and drove 69 yards on 11 plays, but were unable to convert as Wright's pass into the end zone was intercepted as the Pioneers took over on a touchback.
Alfred State punted the ball back to Maritime and the Privateers took over with 2:52 left in the opening quarter. The final play of the drive saw Wright dart into the end zone up the middle on a 13-yard carry, following strong rushes on the drive by both Kenny and Olberding.
On Maritime's first possession of the second quarter, the Privateers picked up another touchdown as Kenny registered the one-yard score following Wright's 41-yard completion to Smith.
Alfred State was forced to punt on its next possession, but Riek was able to block the kicking attempt and returned it to the end zone on a 10-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown to give the Privateers a 28-0 lead with 8:09 left in the opening half.
Maritime got the ball back one more time in the half and drove the ball 64 yards on 14 plays, which was highlighted by Olberding's touchdown run on the final play of the half.
On the second Maritime possession in the third quarter the Privateers increased its lead to 42-0 as Kenny scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard rush. The second play of the drive was the longest play of the afternoon for the offense as Wright connected for a 54-yard completion with Smith.
The Privateers capped off the scoring for the day with the final drive of the third quarter, which spilled into the early fourth quarter. On the first play of the fourth, Butterworth found O'Connor for the five-yard touchdown score, with Ziemski's extra point giving the Privateers a 49-0 lead.
Alfred State finally broke through on the scoreboard on the next possession to break the Maritime shutout, the extra point was blocked by Stryzs to keep the score at 49-6. The Privateers ran the clock out on the final two possessions taking 8:38 off of the clock in the final quarter.
Maritime (4-0, 1-0 ECFC) will travel to take on Husson next Saturday at 1 p.m. from the Winkin Sports Complex in Maine.
Alfred State (0-4, 0-1 ECFC) will host its first-ever ECFC home contest next Saturday, when the team take on Dean at 1 p.m.
Football Opens Conference Slate by Overwhelming Alfred State, 49-6
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20170930_qk84.xml
2017
Alfred State
6
SUNY-Maritime
49
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred State (0-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| SUNY-Maritime (4-0) | 14 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 49 |
Sep 30, 2017