Box Score CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime Academy (2-3, 1-2) defeated the United States Coast Guard Academy (3-4, 2-2) 13-7 on Saturday afternoon at Ritchie Field.
Maine Maritime forced five Bear turnovers in the second half as Cody McDonald (Lincoln, Maine), Thomas Kinton (York, Maine), Colin Joyce (Westbrook, Maine), and Andrew Cavanaugh (Wenham, Mass.) grabbed interceptions for the Mariners, while Michael Burgess (North Yarmouth, Maine) stripped Bear quarterback Gordy Holloway on a sack to force a fumble, that Joshua Hall (Sidney, Maine) recovered for the Mariners.
Quarterback Michael Fahey (Union, Conn.) led the Mariners offense with 99 rushing yards, and a touchdown, while Jacob Doolan (Fairfield, Maine) added 60 yards on 16 carries.
The Mariners took the opening possession 75 yards down the field on 15 plays to score a touchdown on a two-yard rush by Fahey. The extra point was good from Johnny Weymouth (Windham, Maine), making it 7-0 Mariners early in the first half.
On Coast Guard's first two drives the Mariner defense forced consecutive turnover on downs, but the Bears got on the board with a 10-play, 70-yard drive down the field that was capped off by a 17-yard Derek Victory throw to Bryan Popp, the extra point was good to even the game at 7-7.
Maine Maritime answered right back when Joe DiBiase (Portland, Maine) ran the ball in from two-yards, on 13-play, 68-yard drive, to give the Mariners the 13-7 lead.
Coast Guard got the ball back with less than a minute left in the second half, and the Mariner defense once again held the Bears offense with incredible pass protection.
Neither team would score in the second half, but both defenses thrived. Maine Maritime's NCAA Division III leading rushing offense was held to just 248 yards rushing on the day. The Mariners held the Bears to just 313 yards of total offense, stopping them on five out of six fourth down attempts, and racked up five Coast Guard turnovers when it mattered the most.
The Mariners were led by McDonald who recorded seven total tackles, including one tackle for a loss and an interception. John Doyon (Hampden, Maine), Kinton, and Robert Bradley Jr. (Slidell, La.), also added seven total tackles each for the Mariners.
Coast Guard's Kyle Wood recorded a game-high 15 tackles, followed by Victor Rizzardi with 13 total tackles.
Maine Maritime will travel to Nichols next Saturday, October 25th for another New England Football Conference matchup at 12:00 P.M.
