Box Score THROGS NECK, NY – The SUNY Maritime Privateers evened their record at 3-3 with a 27-0 victory over the visiting Bison of Gallaudet University. The shut-out was Maritime's first in the teams' short 3 year history. It was also the first time since October 2006 that the Privateer defense has held their opponent under 200 total offensive yards.
Michael Smooke (Land O'Lakes, FL/East Lake (FL)) (Land O'Lakes, FL/East Lake) passed for a career high 191 yards, completing 9-13 passes with a touchdown strike. John Gagliano (Islip Terrace, N.Y./St. Anthony's) (Islip Terrace, NY/St. Anthony's) led the receiving core with 3 receptions for 89 yards and the touchdown. Greg Campisi (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook) (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook) followed with 78 receiving yards of his own, and a long of 57. On the ground, James Spanopolous (Franklin Square, NY/H. Frank Carey) carried 29 times for 119 yards and a long of 31. Smooke recorded three rushing touchdowns on 21 carries and 70 total yards.
The game started slow with both teams trading possessions on their first tries. However the Maritime defense set the tone of the game on the Bison's second possession when Michael Oehl (Nesconset, NY/Smithtown West) (Nesconset, NY/Smithtown West) gave out a monster hit on a Bison receiver in the endzone to break-up a touchdown on a 4th and 7 play deep in Privateer territory. The play forced a turnover on downs and gave the momentum to the Privateers for the rest of the game.
After the turnover on downs, the Privateers took over on the 10 yard line and marched 90 yards on 16 plays, taking up nearly 10 minutes. The drive kicked off on a 3rd and 2 rush by Spanopolous which went for 31 yards. The Privateers chipped away with small gains to keep the chains moving, and converted two fourth downs on the drive, that culminated with the first Smooke rush for a score (2 yards). The extra point by David Kittinger (Fort Myers, Fla./South Fort Myers (Fla.)) (Fort Myers, FL/South Fort Myers) gave the Privateers a 7-0 lead.
After eating up almost the entire second quarter with their drive, the Privateers left Gallaudet with only 3 minutes before the half to make a drive. However, the defense had the Bison's number, and forced a three-and-out after the Bison began the drive with a holding penalty. It looked as if the Privateers might add another score before the half, after Michael Smooke completed a 31 yard bullet to John Gagliano (Islip Terrace, N.Y./St. Anthony's), but time ran out and the score remained 7-0 at the half.
Maritime started with the ball in the third quarter, but a block in the back penalty negated a 20 yard return and set the team up on the 20 yard line. After a loss of two yards on the first play, and an incomplete pass on the second, Michael Smooke (Land O'Lakes, FL/East Lake (FL)) found Greg Campisi (Lynbrook, NY/Lynbrook) wide open down the middle. Campisi made potential tacklers miss while darting down the sideline, and ended up with a 57 yard gain that put Maritime on the Gallaudet 25. The Bison stopped Maritime twice on the ground for a loss of 7, but the Privateers went back to the air game and gained 21 when Smooke hooked up with Campisi once again. With the ball on the 11, it took only two plays for Smooke to punch the ball in for his second score of the night, giving the Privateers a 14-0 lead (after a Kittinger extra point).
Michael Oehl (Nesconset, NY/Smithtown West) stepped up once again on the ensuing possession, sacking the quarterback on second down for a loss of 10. The very next play, he read the pass play perfectly and stopped the receiver behind the line of scrimmage, forcing a Bison punt once again. The Privateers took the ball and drove 51 yards for their third score of the game (Smooke 2 yard rush). The Privateers seemed to have the game in hand, with a 20-0 lead and only 4 minutes to play in the third.
Gallaudet came out their next drive passing, completing their first two attempts for 12 and 13 yards respectively. That didn't phase the defense one bit, as they clamped down and forced the Bison to come up short on a 4th down four plays later. With the ball in hand near midfield, and just under two minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, the Privateers stuck to the ground game to run out some clock.
As time expired in the quarter, the Privateers were denied on a 3rd and 1 play, and took the break between quarters to decide whether or not to attempt the 4th down. Maritime decided against it, and it proved to be a great move, as they punted the ball away to the Bison. The very next play from scrimmage, Brian Taylor (Oakdale, N.Y./Connectiquot) (Oakdale, NY/Connectiqout) intercepted his first pass of the season, giving the ball right back to Maritime.
The Privateers were unable to convert the turnover into points, as a costly personal foul left them with a 4th and 20 to go. Too long for a field goal, and too short for a punt, the Privateers failed on the conversion and gave the ball back on downs. It looked as if Gallaudet was going to put their first points on the board, after marching 54 yards down the field, but Chris Walters (Garden City, NY/Garden City) (Garden City, NY/Garden City) stripped the quarterback of the ball and Stephen Kircher (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) (Manasquan, NJ/Manasquan) scooped it up and ran 27 yards before being caught from behind.
The Privateers scored their final touchdown of the night on the next possession, a pass from Smooke to Gagliano that covered 35 yards. Gagliano looked as if he would only gain a few yards, but he spun and juked his way out of 4 tackles before stumbling into the endzone. Kittinger converted the point after for the 27-0 lead. Ryan Leary (Tavares, FL/Tavares (FL)) (Tavares, FL/Tavares) intercepted the Bison on the next drive, and the Privateers ran the clock out.
The win gave Maritime their first ever three win season. The Privateers will look for number 4 next weekend against Husson College. The game is set to kick-off at noon on Saturday, October 18th.
