THROGGS NECK, NY – In a thrilling, back-and-forth contest that featured 14 total touchdowns, the Maritime College football team (1-0) opened the 2026 season with a 42-41 victory over Worcester State (0-1) at Reinhart Field on Saturday. A touchdown by
Gianni Spinelli (Holtsville, NY)—his fourth of the day—put the Privateers in front midway through the fourth quarter, then the Maritime defense forced its first three-and-out of the day before the offense ran out the final 5:45 on the clock to close out the win.
Spinelli capped the Privateers' opening drive—a seven-play, 74-yard march—with a 15-yard TD run. On the Lancers' first possession,
Dennis Matich (Floral Park, NY) intercepted an MJ Bakaysa pass and returned it 54 yards to pay dirt. It was Matich's first career interception and touchdown, and Maritime's first pick-six since Oct. 21, 2023, when Dru Stephens achieved the feat against MIT.
Worcester State answered with a 21-yard scoring strike from Bakaysa to Jack Poirier that made it 14-7, but the Privateers immediately regained their two-touchdown advantage on
Jaden Rotella's (Mt. Sinai, NY) eight-yard scurry. The extra point was blocked, however, allowing the Lancers to take the lead after touchdowns on their next two possessions. Worcester State then took advantage of a botched punt to increase its advantage to 28-20 with 3:09 left in the second quarter.
Maritime got the ball back on its own 20 with 2:44 remaining until halftime. The Privateers proceeded to move 80 yards in 10 plays. Spinelli capped the drive with a six-yard TD run at the 37-second mark. Maritime went for two, and
Enrique Hernandez (Northport, NY) converted a double reverse to send the contest into the break level at 28-28.
After the Privateers used a surprise onside kick to start the second half, the Lancers immediately regained possession on a Tridell Sharpe interception. Worcester State went in front, 35-28, on a Luke Williams TD run, then stopped the Privateers on a 4
th-and-1 at the Lancers' 25. A
Wyatt Vreeland (Warwick, NY) interception on the first place of Worcester State's ensuing drive gave the ball right back to Maritime, and the Privateers tied the game on a two-yard run by Spinelli.
A 12-play, 84-yard Lancers drive ended in Williams' fourth touchdown of the contest at the 13:51 mark of the fourth quarter. Sebastian Rios missed the extra point, however, keeping it a six-point margin, 41-35. That point would prove to be huge, as
Owen Cunningham (Mineola, NY) made his attempt after Spinelli's fourth score, allowing Maritime to go ahead, 42-41.
The Privateers' defense then shut Worcester State down on three straight plays, forcing the Lancers to punt for the only time all afternoon. After the punt, Maritime got the ball back with 5:45 remaining and never relinquished it. The final drive consisted of 10 plays, all runs, before a face mask penalty on 3
rd-and-3 gave the Privateers a first down and allowed Rotella to take a knee and give
Andrew Dresner a victory in his debut as the program's head coach. Maritime has now won its season opener in four consecutive years under four different coaches.
As a team, the Privateers compiled 472 yards of total offense, including 232 yards on the ground. Spinelli finished with 161 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries. Rotella, meanwhile, notched 78 rushing yards on 12 carries and found the end zone once. He was also 20-for-29 for 240 yards thru the air.
Sebastian Quartarolo (Whitestone, NY) had seven catches for 80 yards, while Hernandez tallied seven receptions for 77 yards to go along with his two-point conversion.
Defensively,
Simon Wareham (Oceanside, NY) paced Maritime with nine tackles and
Luca Siebert (Warwick, NY) added seven stops. Matich returned his interception 58 yards for a score, while
Sulayman Sita-Bonkano (New York, NY) was credited with a pair of QB hurries, including one that led to the Matich touchdown.
Baron Laxa (Vallejo, CA) had a strong day returning kicks for the Privateers, compiling 53 yards on four returns.
For Worcester State, Williams ended up with four touchdowns—three rushing, one receiving. He paced the Lancers with 73 rushing yards on five carries and also made four receptions for 33 yards. James Azzinaro was Worcester State's leading receiver, pulling in seven catches for 114 yards. Bakaysa went 18-for-26 for 238 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
Three different Lancers had double-digit tackles. William Vogel led the way with 12 stops to go along with two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry. Damian Mitchell finished with 11 tackles, nine of which were solo, and Brian Melendez contributed 10 stoppages.
Next Saturday, Maritime visits Kean (0-1) at 1 p.m. It will be the first of two straight road games for the Privateers, as well as their first-ever matchup with the Cougars.
