The Maritime College football team snapped a two-game losing streak in a big way by defeating Alfred State 55-14 on Saturday afternoon. Senior wide receiver Brandonn Drumgole (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) stole the show by scoring three different ways, a three-yard touchdown run, a 40-yard touchdown pass, and two touchdown receptions of 16 and 21 yards.

The Pioneers won the toss to start the game and made the choice to receive to begin the game. The decision appeared to be paying off as Alfred State starting to drive into Maritime territory, however, on third-and-5 Payton Campbell (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) came up with a crucial six-yard sack to force a punt.

The explosive Maritime offense took advantage immediately and methodically marched 61 yards down the field for a touchdown. Highlighting the drive was a vital fourth down conversion from their own 45-yard line on an 8-yard pass to Matthew Cebulski (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park). The opening possession for the Privateers was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run from Dumgole as Maritime leaped out to a 7-0 lead on the Pioneers homecoming game.

Alfred State started to drive once again after picking up a couple first downs, but reached the need for a fourth down conversion of their own at fourth-and-1 from the Privateers 40-yard line. However, the Maritime defense came up clutch again, this time James Varga (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Hasbrouck Heights) stuffed the run and forced a turnover on downs.

Nicholas Mormon jump started the Privateers run game on the next drive by churning out a 10 and 24-yard carry to put the offense inside the Pioneers 10-yard line. On first and goal from the 8-yard line, two-time ECFC Offensive Player of the Week, Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), found Christian Castle (Felton, Pa./Red Lion) for an 8-yard touchdown catch.

Alfred State responded with a 50-yard touchdown reception on third and long the following drive to cut the lead to 14-7. Maritime struggled on the ensuing drive and was forced to punt after a three-and-out. Joseph Gagliardi (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) stepped up to punt and pinned Alfred State with a 63-yard bomb to the 11-yard line.

The Privateers kept Alfred State pinned down and forced their first three-and-out of the game. Following a fair catch interference penalty on the Pioneers, Wright turned to his favorite target on back-to-back plays. The Wantagh, NY native found Drumgole for 17 and 16-yard catches to quickly put another seven points on the board for Maritime as they took a 21-7 lead.

Feeling the game slipping away, Alfred State was able to drive to the Privateers 34-yard line. A Varga sack on third down forced the Pioneers to go for a long fourth down conversion, and Maritime came up with another turnover on downs. 

Maritime took over with just under five minutes remaining on the clock, but Wright was forced into a bad pass on fourth and seven and the Pioneers defense came up with its first turnover of the game. Alfred State started the drive with two minutes remaining and was looking to cut the game within seven points before the half. However, Justin Snuffer (Maple Shade, N.J./Maple Shade) had other ideas and picked up an interception of his own to give the Privateers one more chance of adding to their lead before half. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough time before half and Maritime took a 21-7 lead into the half.

The second half started out with a bang for the Privateers as Wright led the offense all the way down the field and finished it off with a 10-yard run to push the advantage to 28-7.

First-year head coach Vincent DiGaetano brought out the trickery on the following drive as Brandonn Drumgole (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Christian Castle (Felton, Pa./Red Lion) as the Privateers took firm command of the game at 35-7.

The dominant third quarter continued for Maritime as the defense continued to stymie the Pioneers. With the ball inside the Alfred State 30-yard line, Wright looked to Drumgole one more time, this time connecting on a 21-yard touchdown catch, their eighth touchdown of the season.

With the game out of reach, Joseph Butterworth (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) took over at quarterback for the Privateers and continued the offensive onslaught. Butterworth brought the lead to 48-14 on a two-yard run and recorded his first touchdown of the season.

Drumgole finished with four total touchdowns and 79 yards receiving while Wright tallied 219 yards passing as he finished 21-for-26 and three touchdowns. Butterworth was outstanding scrambling and finished with a game-high 135 yards rushing. Defensively, Calvin Tanguay (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) totaled a team-high six tackles and one sack.

The Privateers added one more touchdown before time expired on a Christian Schiavone (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) run and finished the game with a 55-14 win.