CASTLETON, Vt. – The Maritime football team dropped a one-point decision to the Castleton Spartans on Saturday afternoon by the score of 32-31 at Spartan Stadium.
Sophomore quarterback Joseph Butterworth(Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) led Maritime with 140 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while also rushing for 54 yards on the ground. Senior Nick Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) had a pair of receptions, both of which went for touchdowns. Sophomore Sean O'Connor (Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach) led Maritime with five receptions and 47 yards through the air.
On the ground, Severino Torelli (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) had a team-high 109 yards with one touchdown. Senior Brett McKinney (Westernville, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) had 14 yards on the ground.
On defense, Maritime was led by freshman Liam Bailey (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) with eight tackles, while seniors Kendal Parker (Evans, Ga./Lakeside), Eric Wallace (West Point, N.Y./James O'Neill), juniors Wesley Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) and Garrett Stryzs (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy) all had seven tackles apiece. Sophomore Matthew Mavrovich (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) had a season-high six tackles as well. Wallace and Mavrovich also had interceptions on the game, with returns of 17 and 18 yards respectively.
Junior Matthew Murphy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) connected on a 40-yard field goal and kicked off six times for 346 yards. Senior John Arny (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) punted four times for 152 yards and a 38.0 yard average. Senior return man Krystian Cardinal-Charles (Brooklyn, N.Y./Boys and Girls) had one kickoff return for 28 yards, while senior Brian Price (New York, N.Y./Wadleigh) had three returns for 46 yards.
In a back-and-forth affair, Castleton had a pair of early leads but the Privateers were able to respond and even the game before taking a 21-14 lead. Holding a one-point lead at halftime, Maritime added another touchdown to move ahead by eight at 28-20.
The Spartans trimmed the deficit to two, but Murphy's field goal gave Maritime a 31-26 lead early in the fourth quarter. Castleton added one more touchdown late in the game, which proved to be enough as the Spartans escaped with the one-point victory.
Castleton kicked off to start off the game, but Maritime lost its handle on the ball during the return, which was scooped up by the Spartans and returned to the end zone for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
On Maritime's first offensive drive of the game, Butterworth completed a pair of passes to O'Connor as the Privateers drove down into the red zone. At first and goal, Butterworth rushed for three yards, and then handed off to Torelli for the final seven yards as Maritime tied up the game. The Spartans needed 17 plays to drive 75 yards and take another touchdown lead at 14-7.
As play moved to the second quarter, the Privateers took over with 8:03 left in the half and began the drive deep in Castleton territory. Senior Joe Modica (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) opened the drive with a nine-yard carry, while Butterworth found O'Connor for a 12-yard connection. McKinney finished off the drive with a two-yard score as the Privateers once again tied the game.
The ensuing Castleton drive was short-circuited by Wallace, who picked off a Spartan pass to set up first and goal for the Privateer offense at the nine yard line. After getting backed up on a penalty, Butterworth found Fischetti for their first touchdown of the day as the Privateers had their first lead of the contest at 21-14.
Castleton scored again late in the half, but missed the extra point as Maritime held a 21-20 lead into the halftime break.
After the intermission, Maritime took over with 9:11 to go in the third at the Spartan 40-yard line and began to chip away at the field as Torelli picked up the first 12 yards of the series. Butterworth found senior Andrew Short (Covington, La./St. Paul's) for a 10-yard connection, and later found sophomore Christian Castle (Felton, Pa./Red Lion) to put the Privateers at the 10-yard line. Butterworth capped off the drive on a pass to Fischetti to open a 28-20 advantage.
The Spartans scored a touchdown with 2:46 left in the third quarter, but was unable to complete the two-point conversion as Maritime held on to a slim two-point lead as the game progressed into the fourth quarter.
Murphy opened the fourth period with a 40-yard field goal to give Maritime a five-point lead at 31-26 with 14:10 to go in regulation. Both sides punted the ball to one another on their next respective drives, and Castleton took over again with 9:56 to go. The Spartans needed 17 plays to drive 80 yards to score another touchdown to take a 32-31 lead. Castleton went for the two-point conversion to take a three-point lead but failed.
On the next Maritime possession, the Privateers took over in their own territory but Torelli quickly moved the chains up to the Castleton half of the field. With the ball at the Spartan 34-yard line, the Privateers went for it on fourth down, but were unable to convert as the Spartans took over on downs.
The Privateer defensive unit did their job to force a quick punt, as Maritime took over once again at their own 30-yard line. Facing third and long, Butterworth found McKinney for a 12-yard gain, to set up fourth and short.
With time working against them, the Privateers needed to move the ball 62 yards, and picked up the first down as Butterworth found Modica. However as the play continued with the clock expiring, the team lateralled trying to gain more yards, but it was not enough as the Spartans held on for the win.
Maritime (4-3, 2-2 ECFC) will play host to the Norwich Cadets on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. from Reinhart Field in its final home game of the 2016 season.
Castleton (3-4, 3-1 ECFC) will be on the road in Washington, D.C. for a 1:00 p.m. start against the Gallaudet Bison.
Football Falls in One-Point Decision to Castleton, 32-31
/seasons/2016/boxscores/20161022_ggeu.xml
2016
SUNY-Maritime
31
Castleton
32
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUNY-Maritime (4-3) | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| Castleton (3-4) | 14 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 32 |
Oct 22, 2016