MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL

38^th Annual Admiral’s Cup

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Ritchie Field, Castine, Maine

FINAL:                   MAINE MARITIME 28, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 27

                                                                                      1              2              3              4                              Total

Massachusetts Maritime (4-4, 3-2 NEFC)                      13           7              7              0              -                 27

Maine Maritime (6-1, 4-1 NEFC)                                      7              6              7              8              -                 28

SCORING SUMMARY

MAM:      Matt White 37 yd run (kick failed)                                                                                     13:26 1^st

MEM:      Matt Rende 9 yd run (Michael Brennan kick)                                                                 6:08 1^st

MAM:      Nathan Sherr 19 yd run (Jarad Horey kick)                                                                    3:30 1^st

MAM:      White 6 yd run (Horey kick)                                                                                               1:49 2^nd

MEM:      Jim Bower 2 yd run (pass failed)                                                                                     0:26 2^nd

MAM:      White 7 yd run (Horey kick)                                                                                               7:32 3^rd

MEM:      Rende 21 yd run (Brennan kick)                                                                                       4:18 3^rd

MEM:      Todd Murphy 11 yd run (Bower rush)                                                                              7:30 4^th

Attendance:         800

CASTINE, Maine --  Senior Todd Murphy’s (Middlesex, Vt.) 11-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the deciding score as Maine Maritime rallied from a 14-point third quarter deficit to notch a 28-27 victory over Massachusetts Maritime in a match-up of New England Football Conference Bogan Division co-leaders Saturday afternoon in the 38^th Annual Admiral’s Cup clash at Ritchie Field.

Murphy’s score, coupled with a two-point conversion rush by fellow senior Jim Bower (South Paris, Maine), enabled the host Mariners (6-1, 4-1 NEFC Bogan) to overcome a 27-13 deficit to take a one-point lead in a game that went down to the final play.  The visiting Buccaneers (4-4, 3-2 NEFC Bogan) regained possession with 2:53 remaining at their own seven yard line, and a 34-yard completion from freshman quarterback Mike Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) to junior Kyle Rowe (Plymouth, Mass.) gave Massachusetts Maritime the ball at the hosts’ 34-yard line.  The Buccaneers used seven more plays to advance to the Maine Maritime 21-yard line with four seconds remaining and lined up for a 38-yard field goal with four seconds to play, but freshman Brandon Rodrigues’ (Brockton, Mass.) career long attempt fell short, enabling the Mariners to escape with their seventh straight victory in the Admiral’s Cup series dating back to 2004.

Junior Matt White (Westwood, Mass.) staked Massachusetts Maritime to an early 6-0 lead on its first possession, as he scampered in from 37 yards out after a sack and fumble recovery by sophomore Sean Carver (Summerfield, Mass.), but the Buccaneers missed what would turn out to be a key extra point.  Junior quarterback Matt Rende (Augusta, Maine) gave Maine Maritime a 7-6 edge on the ensuing possession with a nine-yard touchdown run that capped a 14-play, 64-yard drive, but the visitors regained the lead at 13-7 on their next possession on junior Nathan Sherr’s (Lynnfield, Mass.) 19-yard touchdown with 3:30 remaining in the opening stanza.  White’s second visit to the end zone of the half, a six-yard run that capped a nine-play, 54-yard drive set up by junior Mike Bois’ (Lakeville, Mass.) recovery of a Bower fumble, extended Massachusetts Maritime’s advantage to 20-7 with 1:49 to play in the half, but the Mariners answered back on Bower’s two-yard plunge with 26 seconds remaining before intermission for a 20-13 Buccaneer edge at the break.

Junior James Hutchinson (Pembroke, Mass.) gave Massachusetts Maritime a golden opportunity by recovering his second forced fumble of the game deep in Maine Maritime territory, and White converted the chance with his career-high tying third touchdown of the day from seven yards out that extended the Buccaneer lead to 27-13 with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter.  Rende began the hosts’ comeback with his second touchdown of the day on a 21-yard run with 4:18 remaining in the third stanza to slice the Mariner deficit back to seven, and the hosts took advantage of a short field on Murphy’s score, pinning the visitors at their own 4-yard line and forcing a 23-yard punt that set up the go-ahead touchdown.

Rende, who ranked second to teammate Bower in the conference in rushing going into the contest, finished with 147 yards on 30 carries to go with his two scores for Maine Maritime, which amassed all of its 333 total yards of offense on the ground.  Bower, who averaged 179 yards per game entering the day, was held 103 yards below that mark with 76 yards on 20 carries, while the tandem of Murphy and junior Nick Bourassa (Jay, Maine) accounted for the other 123 yards for the Mariners, who overcame the three lost fumbles to notch the triumph.

Sherr returned to the Massachusetts Maritime line-up to post his fifth career 100-yard rushing performance with 127 yards on 18 carries to go with his touchdown, while White added 96 yards on the ground to go with his three scores for the Buccaneers.  Stanton completed 8-of-18 passes for 104 yards for the visitors, who received four receptions for 56 yards from sophomore Jonathan Emond (Green Harbor, Mass.).

Sophomore Joel Chadbourne (Westbrook, Maine) led the way defensively with 10 total tackles (five solo) for Maine Maritime, which also received eight solo stops from senior Wade Mondoux (North Berwick, Maine).  Junior Walter Butler (Bourne, Mass.) registered a career-high 16 total tackles (11 solo) in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received 14 total stops (11 solo) from Bois as well as a career-best 11 total tackles (six solo) from sophomore Evan Sheridan (Chelmsford, Mass.).  Hutchinson chipped in with a career-best nine total stops to go with his two forced fumbles and fumble recovery for the Buccaneers, who also received six solo tackles from sophomore Nick Mazurkiewicz (Attleboro, Mass.).

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Westfield State in a New England Football Conference Bogan Division match-up next Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at Noon, while Maine Maritime travels to Bridgewater, Mass. for an NEFC Bogan Division showdown with Bridgewater State that also kicks off at Noon.

BUCCANEER BLOG:  Maine Maritime and Framingham State share the NEFC Bogan Division lead at 4-1 in the division after the Rams posted a 48-27 victory over Massachusetts Maritime’s next opponent, Westfield State, on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.  The Buccaneers are tied for second in the division with Bridgewater State at 3-2…Sherr, seeing his first action since the first half of the 23-16 win over Coast Guard on September 25^th, has rushed for 984 yards and nine touchdowns in just seven collegiate outings…White matched his previously established career-high of three touchdowns in the 38-17 win at MIT on September 18^th.  He now has 11 for the season, which accounts for 42 percent of the Buccaneers’ trips to the end zone in 2010…Bois and Butler have combined for 99 solo tackles this season, an average of 13 combined solo stops per game…Today’s result marked the third one-point Admiral’s Cup decision in the modern era series (since 1973) between the two schools.  Massachusetts won the other two nail biters (22-21 in 1985 and 27-26 in 2003) before Maine’s triumph…Despite the Mariner run since 2004, the Buccaneers still hold a 21-17 Admiral’s Cup series advantage.