2009 marked the best season in Maritime football history, as fifth-year head coach Clayton Kendrick-Holmes and his staff led the squad to their first winning season ever. The Privateers finished the year with a 6-4 mark (3-3 ECFC) and were one win away from the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference championship game.

 

Maritime saw 10 experienced seniors take the team under their wings after playing for the Privateers in each of the first four seasons that the program has been reinstated into the NCAA, including co-captains Mike Oehl and Robbie Johnson, Jr. The underclassmen shined as well for Maritime as sophomore running back Jamie Spanopoulos (Franklin Square, N.Y./H. Frank Carey) stole the show on offense, while classmate and linebacker Keith Barnes (Westbury, N.Y./Westbury) led the defense. Spanopoulos set a new program record with 19 touchdowns on the season and was stellar moving the ball forward behind a veteran offensive line. Barnes led the team with 77.5 tackles, including 8.5 for combined losses of 32 yards.

 

            The Privateers run offense was unstoppable, as the squad finished the year ranked fourth in the entire NCAA Division III with 316.0 yards per game. The Maritime offensive line was strong, helping the team earn the top overall rank in the NCAA with .10 sacks allowed per game. All together, the Privateers ranked in the top 10 nationally in six of the 15 major offensive categories: sacks allowed (first), third down conversions (first), rushing offense (fourth), fourth down conversions (seventh), interceptions thrown (eighth) and tackles for losses allowed (tenth).

 

The Privateers red zone defense was also spectacular, ranking sixth in the nation, while its pass defense ranked eighth allowing opponents just 131.6 pass yards per game. Maritime's first down defense was ninth in the NCAA.

 

Individually, Spanopoulos was tied for fifth among all Division III players with 11.4 points per game. Barnes finished in the top 25 in tackles in the nation, coming in at 22 with 8.7 tackles per game.

 

On top of leading the ECFC in Player of the Week honors with 12 throughout the 2009 campaign, Maritime also placed a conference-high 13 players on the all-ECFC first and second teams at the season's end.