MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Clean Harbors Stadium, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

FINAL:              MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 56, FITCHBURG STATE 32

                                                                    1          2          3          4                      Total

Fitchburg State (2-5, 1-3 NEFC)                   0          12         6          14         -             32

Massachusetts Maritime (3-3, 2-2 NEFC)    21         7          14         14         -             56

SCORING SUMMARY

MAM:   E.J. Bennett 23 yd pass from Mike Stanton (Brandon Rodrigues kick)     14:10 1^st

MAM:   Keith Caruso 41 yd pass from Stanton (Rodrigues kick)                          8:51 1^st

MAM:   Stanton 27 yd run (Rodrigues kick)                                                         5:10 1^st

FIT:       Ty Spencer 4 yd run (kick blocked)                                                        14:10 2^nd

FIT:       Steph’fon Teague 6 yd run (kick failed)                                                 8:06 2^nd

MAM:   John Trudel 12 yd run (Rodrigues kick)                                                   1:22 2^nd

FIT:       Spencer 8 yd pass from Christian Lopez (rush failed)                          10:09 3^rd

MAM:   Drew Girouard 34 yd pass from Stanton (Rodrigues kick)                      7:36 3^rd

MAM:   David Wilson 8 yd pass from Trudel (Rodrigues kick)                             1:21 3^rd

MAM:   Jonathan Wright 26 yd pass from Trudel (Rodrigues kick)                       9:58 4^th

FIT:       Jordan Burris 35 yd pass from Lopez (Eric Anastasio kick)                     9:15 4^th

MAM:   Brian Donaghey 45 yd pass from Trudel (Rodrigues kick)                        8:19 4^th

FIT:       Teague 8 yd run (Anastasio kick)                                                            4:29 4^th

Attendance:      1714

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Junior Mike Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore John Trudel (Niantic, Conn.) combined for 36 completions, 556 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns (six passing, two rushing) to lead Massachusetts Maritime to a 56-32 New England Football Conference Bogan Division victory over Fitchburg State Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium.

Stanton threw for two scores and ran for another in the opening 10 minutes of action for the host Buccaneers (3-3, 2-2 NEFC Bogan), as connected on a 23-yard touchdown strike to sophomore E.J. Bennett (East Wareham, Mass.) on the opening drive of the contest before hitting fellow junior Keith Caruso (Hingham, Mass.) on a 41-yard hook-up midway through the opening stanza.  Stanton’s 27-yard scoring scamper with 5:10 to play in the first extended Massachusetts Maritime’s advantage to 21-0, but the visiting Falcons (2-5, 1-3 NEFC Bogan) crept back to within nine at 21-12 midway through the second quarter, as a four-yard run by sophomore Ty Spencer (Foxboro, Mass.) and a six-yard scamper by sophomore Steph’fon Teague (Fitchburg, Mass.) closed Fitchburg State’s gap.  Trudel extended the hosts’ advantage to 28-12 at the break, as his 12-yard touchdown run with 1:22 to play in the half capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive, but Fitchburg State responded on the opening possession after intermission when Spencer hauled in an eight-yard scoring strike from junior quarterback Christian Lopez (Bronx, N.Y.) to close the Falcons’ deficit back to 10 at 28-18.

Massachusetts Maritime then took control once again with three unanswered scores in just over 12 minutes of action, as Stanton’s third touchdown toss of the day, a 34-yard connection with freshman Drew Girouard (Sagamore Beach, Mass.), extended the Buccaneer edge to 35-18.  Trudel hooked up with junior David Wilson (Weare, N.H.) on an eight-yard touchdown to cap an 18-play, 71-yard drive for a 42-18 hosts’ lead before finding sophomore Jonathan Wright (Newburyport, Mass.) on a 26-yard scoring strike with 9:58 remaining to give Massachusetts Maritime its largest lead of the afternoon at 49-18.  Lopez connected with junior Jordan Burris (New Bedford, Mass.) on Fitchburg State’s ensuing possession for his second touchdown pass of the day from 35 yards out, and Trudel’s closed out the Buccaneer scoring with his third touchdown pass, a 45-yard connection with junior Brian Donaghey (Quincy, Mass.) with 8:19 to play.  Teague’s second visit to the end zone of the afternoon, an eight-yard run with 4:29 to play, accounted for the final Falcon points of the contest.

Stanton completed 27-of-42 attempts for 317 yards to go with his three touchdowns, as his first completion of the day enabled him to break the school single-season passing record, which now stands at 1,823 yards and tops the previous mark of 1,506 yards set by Jim O’Neill in 1982.  Trudel completed 9-of-10 attempts for 131 yards and three scores, as he and Stanton combined for 108 of Massachusetts Maritime’s 238 rushing yards for the contest.  Caruso (102 yards) and Bennett (100 yards) combined for 16 receptions and 202 receiving yards for the Buccaneers, while sophomore Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.) hauled in eight receptions.  Senior Barry Reopell (South Dennis, Mass.) collected 69 rushing yards for the winners, who amassed 686 yards of total offense (the second highest total in school history) in topping the 600-yard mark for the third time in four weeks.  Junior Brandon Rodrigues (Brockton, Mass.) also broke Jake Bickley’s school record (set in 2009) for conversions in a game with eight for Massachusetts Maritime, whose 56 points fell one shy of the school record also set against Fitchburg State back in the 2009 campaign.

Teague rushed for 181 yards to go with his two scores in the setback for Fitchburg State, as Lopez completed 17-of-30 attempts for 290 yards and two touchdowns.  Burris (155 yards) and Spencer (119 yards) each had eight receptions in combining for 274 yards for the Falcons, who amassed 508 yards of total offense on the day.

Senior Nick Mazurkiewicz (Attleboro, Mass.) paced Massachusetts Maritime defensively with 11 solo tackles, while junior Bernie Girard (Dedham, Mass.) added a career-best eight solo stops for the Buccaneers, who also received seven tackles and a pair of break-ups from senior Evan Sheridan (Chelmsford, Mass.).  Sophomore Talib Barksdale (Hudson, N.Y.) registered a game-high 14 tackles in the setback for Fitchburg State, which also received 10 tackles from sophomore Elizear Torres (Bronx, N.Y.) as well as eight stops and an interception from sophomore Taron Seaforth (Lynn, Mass.).

Massachusetts Maritime heads to Castine, Maine next Saturday afternoon to tangle with Maine Maritime in the 40^th Annual Admiral’s Cup clash that kicks off at Noon, while Fitchburg State hosts Bridgewater State in a New England Football Conference Bogan Division match-up next Saturday afternoon in Fitchburg, Mass. beginning at 1:30 p.m.