BANGOR, Maine – The Maritime football team suffered its first loss of the 2017 season as the Privateers fell to the Husson Eagles by the score of 35-17 from the Winkin Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Most offensive categories were fairly close between the two sides as Maritime possessed the ball for 26:50, while Husson possessed for the remaining 33:10. Husson had a slim 20-yard advantage in passing yards at a 234-214, while Maritime had 70 offensive plays to Husson's 68.
Individually junior quarterback Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) had all 214 passing yards on 12 completions including a touchdown toss to junior wide receiver Brandonn Drumgole (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai). In the receiving game Drumgole had his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season, and his second totaling exactly 101 yards as he caught the team's lone receiving touchdown. Senior Matt Ward (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) had three grabs for 55 yards, and junior Curtis Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Utrecht) caught a pair of passes for 50 yards.
On the ground senior Chris Olberding (Dix Hills, N.Y./Walt Whitman) had a game-high 57 yards, while Devin Kenny (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) was held to just 14 yards. Wright had gained a total of two yards on the ground, but did have the team's lone rushing touchdown of the day.
Leading the charge on defense was senior linebacker Kendal Parker (Evans, Ga./Lakeside), who was two shy of tying the single-game tackle record as he ended the afternoon with 18 stops, which is tied for third on the single-game list with Keith Barnes '13, who also owns the all-time record of 20 stops set back in the 2012 season.
Sophomore Liam Bailey (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) also had double-figures with 10 stops, while senior defensive back Nick Conte (Franklin Square, N.Y./Carey) added nine tackles. Senior Craig Hinrichs (Islip, N.Y./Islip) and junior Matthew Mavrovich (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) both had eight tackles. Junior Payton Campbell (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) along with Parker each registered solo sacks on the day, with Campbell's coming for a loss in 10 yards. Mavrovich and junior Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek) also had three pass breakups on the afternoon.
Senior Matthew Murphy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) led in special teams with one field goal from 22 yards, while also converting on a pair of extra points. Murphy also added four punts for an average of 42 yards, and recorded four kickoffs for an average of 62.3 yards per kickoff. Conte and Drumgole added in on special teams as the duo combined for six kickoff returns for a combined 99 yards.
Both teams punted on their first offensive possessions to give the ball back to Husson with 11:33 left in the opening quarter. The Eagles drove 80 yards on 10 plays to put the first points of the game on the board with Husson taking a 7-0 lead. After a Maritime punt, the Eagles marched right back down the field and scored again on a four-play 71-yard drive to open up a 14-0 advantage.
Maritime got the ball back and drove down the field including a 29-yard completion from Wright to Smith to set up first and goal. The Privateers were unable to break through the stout Eagle defense and settled for the 22-yard field goal from Murphy to put three points on the board.
The Privateers got possession back after stopping the Eagles on fourth down, and used 7:19 on the clock to drive 83 yards on 16 plays which resulted in a one-yard touchdown score from Wright into the end zone to pull Maritime back within one possession at 14-10.
Husson's field goal attempt on their final drive of the half went wide left, to give Maritime the ball back with two seconds left in the period. Wright completed a pass to Drumgole for 35 yards, but it was not enough as time elapsed to send the Privateers into the halftime break down by four.
Maritime received the second half kickoff and Conte had a big return of 20 yards to set the Privateers up at their own 25 yard line to start off the stanza. On the drive Maritime faced third and long and Wright's pass was intercepted and returned 75 yards to the end zone to give the Eagles an 11-point advantage at 21-10.
As play progressed into the fourth quarter the Eagles got the ball back and had four plays of 11 or more yards to find the end zone to take a 28-10 lead. Both teams exchanged punts on their next possessions and the Privateers regained the ball with 10:19 left in the game at the Husson 30-yard line.
After a pass interference penalty gave Maritime an automatic first down at the Husson 15-yard line, two plays later Wright found Drumgole in the end zone for a 14-yard score to pull the Privateer back within 11 at 28-17.
The defense needed to make a stop on the next drive and did just that as Parker recorded the drive-ending play on fourth down to give Maritime back the ball on downs. Wright's first pass on the following drive was intercepted to give Husson possession with under four minutes to go. The Maritime defense again forced another stop but the ensuing Husson punt bounced off a Maritime player as the Eagles fell on the ball to give possession back to Husson off the fumble recovery. Two plays later the Eagles scored the final touchdown of the day to increase the lead to 18.
Maritime was unable to get a first down on its final offense possession, as the ball went back to Husson, who kneeled the ball twice to run out the clock and give Husson the 35-17 victory.
Maritime (4-1, 1-1 ECFC) returns to the friendly confines of Reinhart Field for a Homecoming matchup at 2 p.m. against the Anna Maria AMCATs.
Husson (4-1, 2-0 ECFC) hosts Castleton next weekend for a 1 p.m. start at the Winkin Sports Complex.
Football Drops First Contest of 2017 in 35-17 Loss to Husson
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20171007_3m9n.xml
2017
SUNY-Maritime
17
Husson
35
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUNY-Maritime (4-1) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Husson (4-1) | 14 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
Oct 07, 2017