NEW LONDON, CT – The Maritime College football team traveled to Coast Guard for a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest on Saturday afternoon. The Privateers (2-3, 0-2 NEWMAC) held a 13-7 lead late in the first quarter, but the Bears (3-2, 1-1 NEWMAC) responded with 31 unanswered points enroute to a 48-19 victory at Cadet Memorial Field.
Maritime scored the game's first touchdown when
Nazier Kinsey (Syracuse, NY) returned an interception 60 yards to paydirt on Coast Guard's opening drive. After the Privateers went three years without a pick-six, Kinsey's was the second this season for Maritime.
Dennis Matich (Floral Park, NY) had a 54-yard interception return TD in the win over Worcester State on Sept. 5.
A muffed punt gave the Bears a short field that they turned into a 27-yard touchdown pass, but the Privateers immediately responded with a nine-play, 73-yard scoring drive.
Jaden Rotella (Mt. Sinai, NY) connected with
Enrique Hernandez (Northport, NY) from 15 yards out to put Maritime in front, 13-7, with 4:13 left in the first quarter.
Coast Guard followed with a nine-play, 60-yard march that ended with Harrison Henley's 1-yard TD run that gave the Bears a 14-13 advantage at the 15-second mark of the first quarter. After Coast Guard increased its lead to 21-13, the Privateers marched to the Coast Guard 13 on their ensuing possession. However,
Gianni Spinelli's (Holtsville, NY) fumble on 4
th-and-1 was returned for a touchdown. The Bears added another score before halftime, then Caleb McClure kicked a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 38-13.
On the first play of the fourth quarter,
John McLaughlin (Queens, NY) returned an interception 50 yards to the Coast Guard 20. One play later, Hernandez hit
Sebastian Quartarolo (Whitestone, NY) for a touchdown pass that brought Maritime within 38-19. The Bears scored a TD on their next drive and added McClure's second field goal of the game provided the final points in Coast Guard's 48-19 victory.
Rotella finished 19-for-39 passing. He threw for 158 yards and a touchdown. In addition to leading the Privateers with eight receptions for 83 yards and a score, Hernandez had one touchdown pass. Spinelli rushed for 56 yards on 16 carries.
Simon Wareham (Oceanside, NY) led the defense with 15 tackles, while Matich recorded 14 tackles.
For the Bears, starting quarterback Sean Burns was 18-for-21 for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Matthew LaBouliere made a team-high seven catches for 70 yards and two scores, while Freddy Barber had six receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. Henley gained 93 rushing yards on 19 carries. He ran for one touchdown and threw for another.
Defensively, Lucas White led Coast Guard with 10 tackles. Noah Rohrer added nine tackles, and Jackson Freds had seven tackles to go along with five pass breakups. Blake Delevan, meanwhile, recovered two fumbles.
Next Saturday, the Privateers return to Reinhart Field for a 1 p.m. matchup with rival Merchant Marine (4-0, 2-0 NEWMAC). Last season, Maritime beat the Mariners, 34-14, to snap a six-game losing streak in the series.
