BUZZARDS BAY, MA – Last season in the Chowder Bowl, the Maritime College football team scored the game-winning touchdown with 3:15 remaining.  In this year's 15^th edition of the rivalry, there was a little bit more time left, but the result was the same.  Tate Neiderer (Hanover, PA) rumbled into the end zone with 5:26 left to cap an 11-play, 92-yard drive that gave the Privateers (2-0) a 14-7 victory over the Buccaneers (0-1) at Clean Harbors Stadium on Friday night.

The victory was the Privateers' first at Mass Maritime in six years, and Maritime has now won back-to-back Chowder Bowls for the first time since 2017-18.  The Privateers lead the all-time series 10-5.

Neiderer ran for what looked to be the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty.  The drive ended without any points after Cameron Squicciarini's (Manorville, NY) 29-yard field goal attempt was blocked, and the game remained knotted at 7-7.

After a Buccaneers punt, the Privateers took back over with the ball on their own 8 and 10:39 remaining.  Devin Cline (Miller Place, NY) started the drive with a pair of runs before Steven Stassi (East Islip, NY) connected with Nate Casaburi (Sayville, NY) on a 30-yard pass that brought the ball to the Mass Maritime 44.  Maritime continued moving the ball on the ground (with a pair of Stassi completions to Nick Campo (Staten Island, NY) mixed in), and Neiderer set up 1^st-and-goal with a three-yard run on 3^rd-and-1.  On the next play, he raced six yards into the end zone to give Maritime the lead.

Maritime's defense forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Mass Maritime possession, and the offense took back over with 3:14 to go.  Cline had five carries on the final drive, gaining a pair of first downs that allowed the Privateers to run out the clock.

As a team, Maritime gained 187 yards on the ground, with Cline accounting for 115 yards on 17 carries.  Neiderer had 12 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown.  Stassi finished with 15 rushing yards while also going 13-for-25 passing for 145 yards and a touchdown.  The Privateers outgained the Buccaneers 145-14 through the air and held a 332-171 advantage in total yards.

Mass Maritime received the opening kickoff and returned it to the 50-yard line, but the drive stalled on the Maritime 18.  After the teams traded punts, the Buccaneers regained possession on their own 16 with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.  Fourteen plays and 8:06 later, Mass Maritime scored the game's first touchdown when Marc Murphy pounded it in on 3^rd-and-goal from the 1.

In the third quarter, the Privateers tied it with their own long, scoring drive.  Maritime got the ball to start the half and kept it for more than half the quarter, marching 82 yards in 18 plays.  After three straight Neiderer runs brought the ball to the Mass Maritime 1, Stassi found Pat Quinn (Farmingdale, NY) in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.

Aidan Griffin (Queens, NY) stopped the next Mass Maritime drive with his fourth interception of the season.  He was also credited with seven tackles in the game, including five solo stops.  Kevin Wu (Staten Island, NY) paced the Privateers' defense with 10 tackles, seven of which were solo, while Tim Gasparik (Seaford, NY) recorded eight tackles (six solo).

Chase Dombroski gained a team-high 52 yards on the ground for the Buccaneers, and Zach Proctor carried 11 times for 33 yards.  Murphy, who scored Mass Maritime's only touchdown, attempted five passes and completed two of them, one of which went 13 yards to Andrew Brightman.  Brightman also had a 41-yard kickoff return and finished with 102 total return yards.  Joshua Cannon had a team-high six tackles for Mass Maritime.

With the win, the Privateers improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2018.  Maritime will look for its third straight win to start the season next Saturday, Sept. 16, when Endicott (1-0), an NCAA Tournament participant last year, visits Reinhart Field at 12 p.m.