The Springfield College football team put together a dominant performance in topping Merchant Marine, 42-7, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) clash on Saturday.
The Pride entered this weekend's game ranked 20th in the latest AFCA Division III National Coaches Poll and improved to 9-0 with the win, including 6-0 in conference play. The loss dropped Merchant Marine to 5-3.
Arsen Shtefan (West Hartford, Conn.) carried the ball 28 times for 173 yards and two scores while fellow fullback Joe Cannizarro (Lincoln Park, N.J.) added 114 yards and two touchdowns of his own. Jacob Silvester (Lancaster, Mass.) was surgical in running the Pride's offense to 412 yards of offense, including 386 on the ground, while allowing the Pride to possess the ball for 41:07. It marked the first time since Oct 5, 2019 that Springfield had the ball for over 40 minutes in a game as it previously possessed the ball for 45:09 in a 21-17 win over Norwich.
Billy Carr (Southington, Conn.) notched six tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and recovered a fumble, and both Aiden Lewin (Orlando, Fla.) and Aaziah Scott (Savannah, Ga.) added six stops of their own. Springfield defense limited Merchant Marine to just 43 rushing yards, its lowest output since 2012 when the Pride held the Mariners to 40 yards. Merchant Marine entered the game ranked in the top 10 nationally in rushing yards per game at 279 yards per outing.
It was a workmanlike opening drive for Springfield, as the Pride went 76 yards in just over five minutes and was able to deliver the first score of the game when Silvester found Logan Schenck (Bristol, Conn.) in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard score on third down at the 9:26 mark.
After turning the Mariners over on downs on their first possession, the Pride chewed up nearly seven minutes off the clock following a 14-play drive. Silvester was again successful through the air, this time finding Blane Hart (East Lyme, Conn.) for a 16-yard strike just 14 seconds into the second quarter to make it 14-0.
Springfield pushed its lead to 21-0 with 5:46 remaining in the first half when Cannizzaro burst through the Merchant Marine line and found daylight for a 44-yard score. The Pride would take a three-touchdown lead into the half after limiting Merchant Marine to just 48 yards of offense in the first half.
The Pride would force and three-and-out to open up the second half and then marched 62 yards in 11 plays for a drive that lasted 6:31. Facing a fourth down from the Merchant Marine one-yard line, Cannizarro found the end zone for the second time on the afternoon to push the lead to 28-0 at the 6:32 mark.
A fumble on a Merchant Marine snap which Carr fell on then gave Springfield back the ball on their own 47 yards line. Nine plays later, Shtefan would convert from a yard out five seconds into the fourth quarter to make it a 35-0 contest.
The hosts would finally get on the scoreboard with 12:55 left in regulation when Talsen Smith hauled in a 47-yard strike. However, Springfield would respond with an masterful 14-play drive which lasted over nine minutes and was capped off by Shtefan barreling over a defender on the goal line for a four-yard score to make the lead grow to 42-7.
Springfield will conclude the regular season next Saturday when it travels back to New York to take on Maritime in a 12 pm contest.
No. 20 Springfield College Controls Merchant Marine, 42-7
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241109_4gy6.xml
2024
Springfield
42
Merchant Marine
7
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 23 Springfield (9-0) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 42 |
| Merchant Marine (5-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Nov 09, 2024