BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- Massachusetts Maritime forced nine
turnovers in notching a 34-6 New England Football Conference (NEFC)
Bogan Division victory in the 39th Annual Admiral's Cup
contest played Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium. Senior
linebacker Walter Butler registered seven total tackles, including
a pair of sacks, and returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown for
the Buccaneers (5-2, 3-2 NEFC Bogan).
The host Buccaneers reclaimed the Admiral's Cup from the
visiting Mariners (4-3, 2-3 NEFC Bogan) for the first time in eight
years with the triumph, and in the process clinched their first
outright winning season since 2000 while matching their win total
from a year ago. Maine Maritime turned the ball over on its
first three possessions of the day, and Massachusetts Maritime
capitalized with a pair of scores that came in a 15 second span in
the opening stanza. A bad Mariner snap on a punt attempt was
scooped up by Buccaneer freshman Victor Andrade and returned 17
yards for his first career touchdown with 5:11 to play in the first
quarter, and Butler forced and returned a fumble 48 yards on the
ensuing visitors' possession to extend the hosts'
advantage to 13-0 after 15 minutes.
Maine Maritime sliced its deficit in half just 2:55 into the
second stanza, as sophomore Ian Champeon's (Dover-Foxcroft,
Maine) 40-yard scamper capped a seven-play, 77-yard drive
that cut the Massachusetts Maritime lead to 13-7, but the
Buccaneers responded with a seven-play, 58-yard drive that was
capped by junior Barry Reopell's four-yard run with 8:41
remaining in the half to extend their edge to 20-6. Butler
forced his second fumble of the day with 1:48 to play before
intermission at the Mariner 45-yard line, and sophomore quarterback
Mike Stanton capitalized on the third play of the drive with a
42-yard scoring strike to fellow sophomore Keith Caruso for a 27-6
lead at the break for the hosts, who forced seven turnovers (six
fumble recoveries) in the opening 30 minutes of action.
Neither team was able to generate scoring chances in the second
half until late in the contest, as the final Maine Maritime fumble
of the day that was forced and recovered by junior Sean Carver
resulted in an 11-yard touchdown run by senior Matt White with 1:54
remaining that capped the scoring for the afternoon.
Maine Maritime, which ranked second nationally in Division III
in rushing yards per game (355) entering the Admiral's Cup,
was held to just 211 yards on the ground by Massachusetts Maritime,
which tied the school record for most recovered fumbles in a
game. The Buccaneers amassed 232 yards of total offense (144
through the air), as the two teams combined for 261 passing yards
for the contest, the highest mark in an Admiral's Cup in over
a decade. White and Reopell combined for 94 yards to go with
their touchdowns for the hosts, as Stanton completed just 9-of-21
attempts, hooking up with Caruso five times for 103 yards to go
with their score.
Senior Nick Bourassa (Jay, Maine) rushed for 96 yards on 16
carries in the setback for the Mariners, who also received 80 yards
from Champeon to go with 157 yards of total offense from sophomore
quarterback Ben Violette (Waterville, Maine). Senior Nate
Duford (Claremont, N.H.) hauled in six receptions for 62 yards for
Maine Maritime, which averaged only 33 yards passing as a team
heading into the game.
Senior Mike Bois paced Massachusetts Maritime defensively on
Senior Day with a game-high 14 total tackles, including nine solo
stops and a fumble recovery, as Butler finished the day with seven
solo stops (including four tackles for losses of 16 yards), two
forced fumbles to go with his touchdown return, a pair of sacks and
two quarterback hurries. Carver added six total tackles,
including a pair for losses of 12 yards, to go with a pair of
forced fumbles and two recoveries as well as a sack for the
Buccaneers, who also received seven tackles and two fumble
recoveries from senior James Hutchinson. Sophomore Sheldon
Roper recorded his second straight 11-tackle performance (seven
solo) for the hosts, who also received a pair of interceptions from
sophomore Michael Sylvia.
Freshman Michael Burgess (North Yarmouth, Maine) recorded six
solo tackles, a sack and a pair of blocked kicks to pace Maine
Maritime defensively, while juniors Brock Lawrence (Benton, Maine)
and Joel Chadbourne (Westbrook, Maine) each added six solo stops
for the Mariners, who also received seven total tackles (four solo)
from senior Ryan Williams (North Yarmouth, Maine).
Massachusetts Maritime heads to Westfield, Mass. next Saturday
afternoon to take on Westfield State in a New England Football
Conference Bogan Division match-up that kicks off at 2:00 p.m.,
while Maine Maritime hosts Bridgewater State in a New England
Football Conference Bogan Division outing next Saturday afternoon
in Castine, Maine that kicks off at Noon.
Score by Quarters |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Score |
|
Maine Maritime |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
Record: (4-3,2-3) |
Mass. Maritime |
13 |
14 |
0 |
7 |
34 |
Record: (5-2,3-2) |
1st |
05:11 |
MAM |
Victor Andrade 17 yd fumble recovery (Jake Bickley kick blockd), ,
MEM 0 - MAM 6 |
|
04:56 |
MAM |
Walter Butler 48 yd fumble
recovery (Jake Bickley kick), , MEM 0 - MAM 13 |
2nd |
12:05 |
MEM |
Ian Champeon
40 yd run (Michael
Brennan kick failed), 7-77 3:22, MEM 6 - MAM 13 |
|
08:41 |
MAM |
Barry Reopell 4 yd run (Jake
Bickley kick), 7-58 3:01, MEM 6 - MAM 20 |
|
00:54 |
MAM |
Keith Caruso 42 yd pass from
Mike Stanton (Jake Bickley kick), 3-45 0:54, MEM 6 - MAM 27 |
4th |
01:51 |
MAM |
Matt White 11 yd run (Jake
Bickley kick), 4-20 2:31, MEM 6 - MAM 34 |
|
MEM |
MAM |
FIRST DOWNS |
18 |
12 |
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) |
51-211 |
37-88 |
PASSING YDS (NET) |
117 |
144 |
Passes Att-Comp-Int |
21-11-2 |
21-9-1 |
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS |
72-328 |
58-232 |
Fumble Returns-Yards |
0-0 |
2-65 |
Punt Returns-Yards |
2-3 |
1-5 |
Kickoff Returns-Yards |
4-111 |
2-35 |
Interception Returns-Yards |
1-0 |
2-48 |
Punts (Number-Avg) |
2-39.0 |
5-37.2 |
Fumbles-Lost |
8-7 |
1-0 |
Penalties-Yards |
9-63 |
4-35 |
Possession Time |
28:46 |
31:14 |
Third-Down Conversions |
6 of 15 |
3 of 14 |
Fourth-Down Conversions |
2 of 5 |
2 of 4 |
Red-Zone Scores-Chances |
0-2 |
2-4 |
Sacks By: Number-Yards |
2-10 |
3-24 |
RUSHING: Maine Maritime-Nick
Bourassa 16-96; Ian Champeon 7-80; Ben Violette
25-40; Cameron
Panciera 2-20; TEAM 1-minus 25. Mass. Maritime-Matt White
21-57; Barry Reopell 13-37; Mike Stanton 3-minus 6.
PASSING: Maine Maritime-Ben Violette 11-21-2-117. Mass.
Maritime-Mike Stanton 9-21-1-144.
RECEIVING: Maine Maritime-Nate Duford
6-62; Michael Brennan 2-28; Nick Bourassa 2-10; Cameron Panciera
1-17. Mass. Maritime-Keith Caruso 5-103; Matt White 2-21; Jonathan
Wright 1-15; Jonathan Emond 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Maine Maritime-Alex Hermes
1-0. Mass. Maritime-Michael Sylvia 2-48.
FUMBLES: Maine Maritime-Ben Violette 6-5; TEAM 1-1; Nick Bourassa
1-1. Mass. Maritime-Matt White 1-0.
SACKS (UA-A): Maine Maritime-John Regis
1-0; Michael
Burgess 1-0. Mass. Maritime-Walter Butler 2-0; Sean Carver
1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Maine Maritime-Ryan
Williams 4-3; Brock
Lawrence 6-0; Joel
Chadbourne 6-0; Michael Burgess 6-0; John Regis 5-0; Chris Brawn
3-1; Frank
True 3-0; Andrew
Hammond 3-0; Alex Hermes 2-1; Wade
Severance 2-1; Eric
Duplesis 1-0; Alonzo
Martin 1-0; Matthew
Rende 0-1; Tyler
Chamberlain 0-1. Mass. Maritime-Mike Bois 9-5; Sheldon Roper
7-4; Walter Butler 7-0; J. Hutchinson 4-3; N. Mazurkiewicz 4-2;
Sean Carver 4-2; S. Gustafson 4-1; Michael Sylvia 4-1; Kevin
Griffin 2-2; Eddy Ramos 1-1; Jake Bickley 1-0; Jonathan Wright 1-0;
Victor Andrade 1-0; Reynard Ortiz 1-0; Keith Caruso 1-0; Chris
Pisani 1-0; Donnie Sheridan 0-1.