THROGGS NECK, NY – Maritime College held its annual Homecoming celebration on Saturday afternoon. After the pregame festivities ended, the Privateers took on WPI at Reinhart Field. Maritime (2-6, 0-5 New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference) was unable to come away with the victory, however, as the Engineers (5-2, 3-1 NEWMAC) earned a 36-12 win.
WPI needed just 79 seconds to score the game's first touchdown, and the Engineers extended their lead to 14-0 on Josh Macomber's 13-yard TD run at the 9:07 mark of the first quarter. The Privateers responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by
Liam Fernandez's (Bradenton, FL) 29-yard touchdown pass to
Enrique Hernandez (Northport, NY). However, a botched snap on the extra point was recovered by WPI's Grant Englehardt and returned 75 yards for a defensive two-point conversion that made it 16-6 in favor of the Engineers.
After a Nathan Napier field goal extended the margin to 19-6, Maritime got within 19-12 on Fernandez's 17-yard TD strike to
Gianni Spinelli (Holtsville, NY). The Privateers went for two and converted, but the play was called back due to a penalty and the second attempt failed, keeping it a seven-point game. WPI began its final drive of the first half with 18 seconds left. It looked like that would be the halftime score until Napier drilled a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the half, increasing the Engineers' advantage to 22-12.
The opening possession of the second half ended in a WPI safety, then a sack-fumble by Andrew Zipko gave the Engineers a short field on the Maritime 11. Andrew Kankor capped the drive with a four-yard TD rush that made it 30-12. Napier added two long field goals in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring in WPI's 36-12 triumph.
Making his second straight start at quarterback, Fernandez went 12-for-17 for 150 yards and two scores.
Jaden Rotella (Mt. Sinai, NY) entered in the second half and finished 3-for-11 thru the air for 12 yards. Spinelli gained 40 yards on 16 carries while also making five catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. Hernandez led the Privateers with seven receptions for 85 yards and a TD.
Dennis Matich (Floral Park, NY) paced the Maritime defense with eight tackles, while
Luca Siebert (Warwick, NY) had seven tackles.
For the Engineers, Gallo completed 12-of-18 passes for 194 yards. He also carried eight times for 59 yards and a touchdown. Kanakor added 36 yards and a score on eight carries. Elliot Caswell had 63 receiving yards, and Jeff Quigley led WPI with four receptions. Johnny Cacace tallied a game-high nine tackles, while Patrick Andrews made eight stops. Cole Dillion was credited with six tackles, three of which went for a loss, and contributed a safety. Napier, meanwhile, nailed four field goals (from 20, 53, 55 and 45 yards).
Next Saturday, the Privateers travel to MIT (4-2, 2-2 NEWMAC) for a 12 p.m. matchup. It will be Maritime's final road game of the season.
