Buccaneer Football Falls In 11th Annual Chowder Bowl

Throggs Neck, N.Y. - After winning their season opener last week by a score of 36-8 over Maine Maritime, the Privateers of New York Maritime hosted Massachusetts Maritime Friday night at Throggs Neck, N.Y. in the 11th Annual Chowder Bowl, posting their second win of the season by a score of 51-21 behind a five touchdown passing performance from senior Privateer QB Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y,/Wantagh). The three-year starter, working out of the spread, completed passes of 12, 34, 32, 4 and 37-yards, three of them to senior wide receiver Brandonn Drumgole (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt Sinai), finishing the night 17-for-22 through the air for 231 yards.

A first half that opened with a quick strike touchdown off a 1-yard run by Matt Long (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth), set up by a 67-yard pass reception by Paul Sances (Middleboro, Mass./Middleboro) from Buccaneer QB Ty Ebdon (Gales Ferry, Conn./Leyard), stalled as the Privateers answered with 27 straight points for a 20-point lead at the half.

Ten penalties for 105-yards and three turnovers, two fumbles and an interception, by the Buccaneers helped an aggressive New York offense led by Wright, the reigning Eastern Collegiate Football Conference player of the week, who matched his opening day output with three passing touchdowns in the first quarter Friday night.

Forced to punt on the opening possession of the second half, the Buccaneers could not hold off the rush of the Privateers special teams as senior Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek) blocked the kick giving the Privateers the ball on the Massachusetts Maritime 23-yard line. Three plays later Wright hit senior Christian Castle (Felton, PA./Red Lion) from four-yards out and senior Ian Ziemski (Bel Air, MD./C.Milton Wright) added the PAT for a 34-7 lead.

Massachusetts Maritime junior QB Matt Smith (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) took over calling the snaps from Ebdon four minutes into the third and behind an 18-yard run by junior Ben Sheehan (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) got the Buccaneer offense rolling. Penalties once again slowed MMA, but a Smith pass to Sances, that put Sances over 100-yards for the night (six catches for 141-yards), put the Bucs inside the 20 for the second time. Smith then found Will Bennett (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) on the left side and Bennett made a nice diving catch for the second MMA touchdown. George Lampros (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) added the PAT making the score 34-14.

After giving up another touchdown to the Privateers with just over five minutes left in the third quarter, the Bucs put together their third scoring drive of the night, this one 11-plays covering 54-yards, as Smith hooked up with Sances to bring the ball down to the three-yard line from where Sheehan punched it in. The Lampros PAT with four seconds left in the quarter made the score 41-21.

A New York touchdown early in the final quarter and a 28-yard field goal by Ziemski made for the 51-21 final. New York Maritime, after falling behind 7-0 in the opening quarter scored on their final nine possessions.

The Buccaneers made a nice run in the game's final seconds as freshman quarterback Curtis Cann (Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) moved the team into the redzone backed by a 34 yard diving catch by junior wide receiver Jesse Hanscom (Uxbridge, Mass./Uxbridge) before time ran out on the Bucs.

Penalties in their first game of the 2018 season hurt the Buccaneers as they were penalized 15 times for 170 yards, while the Privateers took eight penalties for 55-yards. MMA also turned the ball over three times.

Sheehan led the ground gainers for the Bucs carrying the ball 11 times for 59 yards and also returned four kicks for 68 yards. Defensively junior linebacker Sean Smialek (South Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) finished with 11 solo tackles, an assist and a sack. Sophomore linebacker Jack Fontana (Grafton, Mass./Grafton) finished with eight solo stops and a sack.

The Buccaneers (0-1) return to gridiron action on Saturday, September 15, when they will host Maine Maritime (0-1) in the 46th Annual Admirals Cup at 1:30 PM in their home opener at Clean Harbors Stadium.