MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Cressy Field, North Dartmouth, Mass.
FINAL: MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 46, UMASS DARTMOUTH 41
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Senior quarterback John Trudel (Niantic, Conn.) threw for 336 yards and a school record tying four touchdowns, while freshman Kenny Pierce (Beverly, Mass.) rushed for a career-high 186 yards and accounted for a pair of scores as Massachusetts Maritime held on in the closing minutes for a 46-41 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football victory over UMass Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Cressy Field.
Trudel led a pair of second quarter scoring strikes by fellow senior Brad Skeffington (Salem, Mass.), the first on a 31 yard pass and the second on a one-yard plunge, as the visiting Buccaneers (2-5, 1-4 MASCAC) came back from a 14-point deficit to close to within two (21-19) at the break. Pierce hauled in Trudel's second touchdown toss of the afternoon from 18 yards out on Massachusetts Maritime's opening drive after intermission for a 26-21 advantage, but the host Corsairs (3-5, 2-4 MASCAC) regained a 28-26 lead midway through the third quarter on a 19-yard scoring strike from sophomore quarterback Cody Burnham (Essex, Mass.) to fellow sophomore Kevin Wadsworth (Bridgewater, Mass.). The Buccaneers took back the lead for good with 4:55 to play in the stanza on Pierce's career-long 81 yard touchdown run, and after forcing a UMass Dartmouth punt, Trudel found senior E.J. Bennett (East Wareham, Mass.) on a 38-yard scoring connection just 2:11 later that extended the visitors' advantage to 39-28.
The see-saw affair continued in the final frame, as a one-yard plunge by freshman J.D. Niles (Dorchester, Mass.) enabled the Corsairs to close back to within four at 39-35 with 14:26 remaining, but Massachusetts Maritime responded on its ensuing possession when Trudel fired his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 29-yard hook-up with senior Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.), with 12:31 to go. Burnham pulled the hosts back to within five with 3:36 to play with a one-yard plunge that capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive, and after a failed onside kick, UMass Dartmouth stopped a 4th-and-inches play on its own 40 with 2:08 remaining and drove to the Buccaneer 13-yard line in the closing minute, but senior Kyle Hardy (Salem, Mass.) intercepted a Burnham pass to preserve the triumph for the visitors, who ran out the remaining 64 seconds of action.
Burnham had given the Corsairs a 14-7 first quarter lead, as he connected with senior Abiola Aborishade (Attleboro, Mass.) for touchdown passes of nine and 25 yards to sandwich Trudel's one-yard scoring plunge midway through the stanza. Burnham found senior Jake Scott (Somerset, Mass.) from seven yards out 1:20 into the second quarter to extend UMass Dartmouth's lead to 21-7, and the hosts were driving deep in Massachusetts Maritime territory before Hardy recovered a fumble at his own 13 yard line and returned it to the Corsair 48 to provide momentum for the Buccaneer comeback.
Trudel completed 25-of-45 pass attempts while accounting for five overall touchdowns in the win for Massachusetts Maritime, including a career-best 11 connections with Rosano for 97 yards. Pierce averaged 20.7 yards per carry en route to his near 200-yard rushing performance for the Buccaneers, who amassed 505 yards of total offense and 6.6 yards per play on the afternoon. Burnham completed 25-of-52 pass attempts for 334 yards and four touchdowns in the setback for UMass Dartmouth, including 12 hook-ups with Aborishade for 129 yards and his two scores, while Niles added 110 rushing yards on 26 attempts for the Corsairs, who amassed 474 yards of total offense in running 101 plays.
Senior Richard Ford (Lynn, Mass.) paced Massachusetts Maritime defensively with eight solo tackles (including two sacks ) and a forced fumble, while senior Kevin Stanton (Abington, Mass.) added eight stops (seven solo) as well for the Buccaneers, who also received a pair of sacks from senior Zach Ryan (Danvers, Mass.) and junior Brendan Smith (Dartmouth, Mass.). Hardy added five total tackles (four solo) to go with his interception and fumble return for the visitors, who posted their highest point total since a similar 46-point outburst against Plymouth State last November 9th. Seniors Nils Swenson (Ipswich, Mass.) and Derek Tarpey (Tewksbury, Mass.) each registered a game-high nine tackles in the setback for UMass Dartmouth, which also received eight stops from junior Blake Sullivan (Beverly, Mass.). The Buccaneers have bested the Corsairs in back-to-back match-ups for the first time since 1994-95, as Massachusetts Maritime has averaged 40 points per game over the last two meetings.
Massachusetts Maritime hosts Framingham State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference match-up next Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at Noon, while UMass Dartmouth heads to Danbury, Conn. next Saturday afternoon to square off with Western Connecticut in a MASCAC clash that also kicks off at Noon.