LA PLUME, PA – Tate Neiderer (Hanover, PA) scored his third touchdown of the game to give the Maritime College football team a 20-9 lead early in the fourth quarter at Keystone on Saturday afternoon.  However, the Giants (2-7, 2-3 Eastern Collegiate Football Conference) rallied for 12 unanswered points to earn a 21-20 victory over the Privateers (3-6, 2-3 ECFC) at the Turf Field Athletic Complex.

Neiderer's third TD came after Maritime recovered a Keystone fumble at the Giants' 15.  After rushing for 10 yards on first down, he covered the remaining five on the next play to make it 20-9.  The extra point was blocked, however, keeping it an 11-point game with 12:36 remaining.

Keystone needed just two minutes and four plays to respond.  Mujaheed Muhammad's 15-yard rush made it 21-15 with 10:30 left.  Maritime drove down to the Keystone 11 on the ensuing drive, but failed to convert on a 4^th-and-3, giving the ball back to Keystone at the 6:29 mark.  The Giants ran it 10 consecutive times before Muhammad scurried five yards to paydirt for the go-ahead score.

Now trailing by a point, the Privateers began their final drive at their own 34 with 58 seconds left.  Aidan Nunez (Carmel, NY) completed a pass to Michael Varela (Lindenhurst, NY) on first down, then threw a second-down incompletion.  On 3^rd-and-7, Nunez's pass was intercepted by Mathew Gilmartin, sealing the victory for Keystone.

Nunez finished 19-for-31 passing for 219 yards.  Neiderer, meanwhile, carried 30 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns.  It was his second straight game with three scores, and he's found the end zone nine times in the last five weeks.  Ian Derda (Guilford, CT) was Maritime's leading receiver, making six catches for 143 yards. 

Aidan Griffin (Queens, NY) paced the defense with 11 tackles, while Dru Stephens (New Orleans, LA) had seven solo stops and Tim Gasparik (Seaford, NY) had a sack to go along with seven tackles.  Josh Walker (Lake Grove, NY) recorded an interception for the second consecutive game.

The Privateers struck early, finding the end zone on each of their first two drives.  Neiderer capped a seven-play, 83-yard march with a one-yard run before running it in from eight yards out on the next Maritime possession to make it 14-0.  Keystone kicked a field goal in the second quarter, then trimmed the Privateers' lead to 14-9 on Tom Roach's four-yard TD pass to Reese Karp late in the third quarter.

For Keystone, Muhammad gained 147 rushing yards on 24 carries.  He scored twice.  Roach finished 9-for-22 passing for 116 yards and a touchdown.  In addition to the game-clinching interception, Sean Pettway had 11 tackles for the Giants.

Maritime concludes the season by welcoming Alfred State (4-5, 2-3 ECFC) to Reinhart Field next Saturday at 12 p.m.  The Privateers will honor their graduating seniors prior to the game.