THROGGS NECK, NY – The beginning of a new trophy game between the rival SUNY Maritime Privateers and the Massachusetts Maritime Buccaneers ended in a 10-6 victory for the Privateers. In only its second season of football, the team has already matched last years' win total against Division III opponents. 

 

The Privateers opened the scoring in the first quarter after forcing a fumble on their own 45 yard line. The ensuing drive went 10 plays and 32 yards, and resulted in a Klestor Pellumbi (Astoria, NY/Christopher Columbus) (Astoria, NY/Christopher Columbus) 30 yard field goal. The very next drive, Pellumbi intercepted the ball on the 21 yard line to set up the Privateers only touchdown and eventual game winning score. Running back Ben Swedish (Rocky Point, NY/Rocky Point) broke some tackles and twisted his way into the end zone for 6. Pellumbi added the extra point to give the Privateers a 10-0 lead.

 

A minute into the second quarter, the Bucs answered with a touchdown of their own, after Kevin Berthiaume blasted through the Privateer defense for a 70 yard touchdown run. A blocked extra point by the Privateer defense left the game at 10-6, and after an MMA field goal attempt was blocked late in the second, the teams went into the locker room at 10-6.

 

The second half proved to be a battle of the defenses, when multiple drives were ended in the opponents red zone or the defense forced a turnover. The Privateers forced five turnovers on downs in the second half, two of which came when the Bucs were in the red zone. A late fourth quarter interception by Troy Smith (Brooklyn, NY/Fort Hamilton) (Brooklyn, NY/Fort Hamilton) gave the Privateers the ball with only 4:33 remaining in the game. Maritime drove 7 plays to the 29 yard line, before turning it over on downs. But not before they were able to take more than a minute off the clock to give their defense one last breath before making the final stand of the game.

 

The Privateer defense gave up only 20 more yards to the Bucs, and forced a punt with 1:50 remaining. Maritime was able to run 1:39 off the clock before having to punt the ball back to the Bucs. With only 11 seconds left, there was no time for the Bucs to drive the length of the field, and Maritime sealed the deal for the first ever Chowder Bowl trophy.

For the game, the Privateers forced 5 turnovers on defense, allowed 134 rushing yards, and 152 passing yards. The defense was solid when it came to third and fourth down, forcing the Bucs to go 3-16 on third down attempts and 0-6 on fourth down attempts. Swedish led the rushing attack with 69 yards on 20 carries, and quarterback Michael Smooke (Land O'Lakes, FL/East Lake (FL)) (Land O'Lakes, FL/ East Lake FL) threw for 83 yards on 9-18 passing, completing 4 of those to Chris Glacken (Freeport, NY/Freeport) (Freeport, NY/Freeport) for a total of 41 yards. 

 

On defense, Troy Smith (Brooklyn, NY/Fort Hamilton) led the team with 7 tackles (one for a loss), an interception, and 2 broken up passes. 

 

The Privateers return home next week to host Salve Regina, a team they fell to last season by only 6 points. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM.