By: by Sean Engel, Sports Information Director
Box Score BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – The Maritime Football team dropped its first road contest of the 2015 season to the Mass. Maritime Buccaneers by the score of 48-13 from Clean Harbors Stadium.
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Junior
Brian Price (New York, N.Y./Wadleigh) led the defense with 10 tackles, while sophomore
Kendal Parker (Evans, Ga./Lakeside) added nine of his own. Seniors
Andrew Auriemma (Melville, N.Y./St. Anthony’s) and
Michael Brunk (Hidden Valley Lake, Calif./Glenwood Springs (Colo.)) both recorded sacks on the evening, while Brunk and sophomore
Nick Conte (Franklin Square, N.Y./Carey) both broke up passes.
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On offense, senior
Zack Chilcott (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston) completed eight passes for 132 yards and also rushed for 56 yards on the ground. Junior
Nick Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) had his best career game with 138 yards of offense after running for 38 yards, and also catching four passes for 75 yards.
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Sophomore
Matt Ward (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) added another three catches to go for 42 yards, while junior
Joe Modica (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) scored the team's only touchdown on a 33-yard pass from junior quarterback
Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) during the fourth quarter.
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Senior
Diogo Dietrich (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/DePaul Catholic (N.J.)) led the team in scoring with seven points as he kicked both a 42 and 47-yard field goal to go along with one extra point. Junior
John Arny (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) and sophomore
Matthew Murphy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) both had four kicks apiece, with Arny averaging 33 yards per punt and Murphy averaging 57 yards per kickoff.
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Freshman
Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek) had a solid day in the return game with five returns for 65 yards. Sophomore
Garrett Stryzs (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy) had two returns for 31 yards as well.
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The Privateers won the toss and deferred to the second half, and the defense went right to work and held the Buccaneers off the board for their first two drives. Maritime picked up a first down on the following drive as Chilcott connected on a pass to Fischetti for 18 yards.
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After the drive stalled out at the Mass. Maritime 35-yard line, the Privateers lined up for a 52-yard field goal, but Dietrich's kick came up just short of the crossbar. The defense forced another punt on the next Buccaneer drive, to give the ball back to Maritime.
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The Privateers got a pair of first downs on their first two plays as Chilcott connected with senior
Vincent Jones (Cudjoe Key, Fla./Key West) on a 15-yard pass, then ran for his own 23-yard gain. Several plays later Dietrich kicked a 42-yard field goal to put the Privateers ahead by a 3-0 score.
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Maritime's defense closed out its 10th consecutive quarter of shutout defense, dating back to 2014, as the game crossed into the second period.
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Mass. Maritime scored on its third play of the quarter to take the 7-3 lead. After a Privateer turnover, the Buccaneers capitalized and added its second-straight touchdown. The home team scored one more touchdown in the half to take a 21-3 advantage into the halftime break.
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Maritime got the ball to start the second half, but went three-and-out on its first drive. Mass. Maritime added 21 more points on each of its next three drives to put the game out of reach at 41-3, as the Buccaneer kicker missed one of his extra points in the period.
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To start the fourth quarter, Maritime put together its longest drive of the game at 11 plays. Chilcott and Modica each rushed for 10-yard gains, while Chilcott found Fischetti out of the backfield again for eight more yard. At 4th and 10, Maritime sent Dietrich out for another field goal attempt, and the right-footed kicker converted on the 47-yard boot.
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Mass. Maritime answered with another touchdown on its next drive, that saw 5:17 come off the clock over nine plays and 65 yards.
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On the last drive, sophomore
Shawn Todd (Jamaica, N.Y./Jamaica), Modica, and freshman
Severino Torelli (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) each had their number called and rushed for a pair of first downs between the three backs. On a 2nd and 5 play, Wright found Modica for a 33-yard touchdown pass to finish off the scoring on the evening.
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The Privateers won the time of possession battle, having the ball for 31:19 in the game. Each team was penalized three times, with the team also picking up a pair of sacks at the end of the game.
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Maritime (1-1, 0-0 ECFC) will have a full week to regroup after tonight's game, as the Privateers' next time out will be on the road against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. beginning at 7 p.m. next Friday, September 18.
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Mass. Maritime (1-0, 0-0 MASCAC) will take a trip to Castine, Maine next Saturday for the 43rd Annual Admiral's Cup when it takes on Maine Maritime at 12 p.m. on September 19.
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