THROGGS NECK, N.Y. (September 21, 2013) – The Maritime Privateers football team lost its 2013 home opener to the King Point Mariners by the score of 7-6 on Saturday afternoon on Reinhart Field.
"Today's game was a frustrating chess match," said Maritime head coach Clayton Kendrick-Holmes after the game. "Our guys played really tough, but we missed out on opportunities that could have won us the game. Hats off to Kings Point for their effort today."
The Privateers won the opening coin flip and deferred to the second half, sending the defense onto the field to start the game. The Mariners picked up one first down on the first drive of the game, but were forced to punt as the defense held the game scoreless in the early going.
Maritime's offense took control of the ball for its first drive of the game from deep in their half of the field at the seven yard line. The Privateers chipped their way down the field as freshman quarterback Ryan Heizman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) picked up the teams first new set of downs with a five-yard run. Heizman also picked up a first down later in the drive with a completion to senior Sean Belsky (West Islip, N.Y./St. John the Baptist ) for 11 yards.
After crossing into opponent territory, Heizman took the snap and sent the ball toward the right sideline that was caught by junior Greg Caneparo (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet), who ran the rest of the way to put the Privateers up 6-0 with a 47-yard touchdown reception. Sophomore kicker Diogo Dietrich (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/DePaul Catholic) missed the extra point and the score held at six.
Dietrich's ensuing kickoff went 65 yards for a touchback, to set the Mariners up from the 20-yard line. Kings Point ran their triple option offense through quarterback Matthew McDaniels, who rushed for 41 yards on the drive, but when he dropped back for his first pass of the series, senior Chris Klass (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet ) picked off the throw and brought the ball back into offensive territory to give his team another chance to score.
The Privateers turned the ball over on downs as the game crossed into the second quarter. The teams exchanged punts through the next several series, and Kings Point took over with under three minutes left. McDaniels ended the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to even the game at six. The Mariners tacked on the extra point and took a one point lead headed into halftime.
The third quarter saw no scoring as the two offenses struggled to put together any successful drives. On the first series of the fourth quarter, the Privateers caused their second turnover on defense as junior Nick Coffiey (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy) forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore Kameron Knight (Clayton, N.C./West Johnson).
The next offensive series for the Mariners resulted in yet another fumble as it was Knight to force the fumble with Coffiey to scoop up the ball as the rolls revered from the previous turnover. Maritime fumbled on the very next play to give the ball back to Kings Point with time working against the Privateers with 4:21 left on the game clock.
The Privateers got the ball back with 2:21 to go with a chance to drive and regain the lead, but Heizman was picked off at midfield trying to throw over 30 yards to virtually seal the game for Kings Point. After a six-yard rush Maritime used its final timeout, Charles Helms picked up the final first down needed to keep the clock rolling and finish off the game as the Mariners escaped with the one-point victory.
Junior running back Kyle Gardner (Amityville N.Y./St. Anthony's ) led Maritime's rushers with 59 yards, while Heizman was second with 51 yards. Freshman quarterback Isaiah Covington (Brooklyn, N.Y./FDR) also picked up 39 yards on 10 rushes in limited action. In the air Heizman threw for 85 yards on four completions while hooking up with Caneparo for the lone touchdown. Caneparo ended with a game-high 70 yards receiving.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior Duke Alvora led the Privateers with nine tackles while Knight was second on the team with eight tackles. Both Knight and Coffiey finished with a forced fumble and fumble recovery on the game, while Klass had the lone pick for Maritime with a three-yard return.
Maritime (0-2) will be back to action a week from today when it travels to Wayne, N.J. to take on the William Paterson Pioneers at 1 p.m. Kings Point (3-0) returns home to take on Hobart next Saturday at 2 p.m.
Kings Point Squeaks Past Privateers in Home Opener, 7-6
/seasons/2013/boxscores/20130921_l5cy.xml
2013
Merchant Marine
7
SUNY-Maritime
6
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant Marine (3-0) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| SUNY-Maritime (0-2) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Sep 21, 2013