Massachusetts Maritime football:  A new season, a new conference

September 11, 2013

By John Garner Jr., Cape Cod Times

BUZZARDS BAY — After a long and arduous preseason, Massachusetts Maritime Academy gets its first test Thursday night when the Buccaneers host New York Maritime in the Sixth Annual Chowder Bowl at 7 p.m. at Clean Harbors Stadium.

MMA coach Jeremy Cameron returns 63 lettermen and 16 starters from a 2012 squad that went 5-4, the program's third straight winning season.

"We're healthy right now and look to have (positional) depth on both sides of the ball," said Cameron, now in his ninth season as MMA coach.

The Bucs face a SUNY-Maritime squad coming off a 3-6 record. The Privateers beat MMA 20-14 in last year's season-opener in Throggs Neck, N.Y. MMA is looking for its first victory in six tries against its New York rivals.

New York Maritime features a run-oriented, option attack paced by running back Paul Briggs and quarterback Zachary Chilcott.

After competing in the New England Football Conference for four decades, MMA takes on a new challenge this fall in the newly formed Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Former NEFC Bogan Division rivals Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, Framingham State, Westfield State and Worcester State will be joined by NEFC Boyd teams UMass-Dartmouth and Plymouth State, along with Western Connecticut, in the MASCAC league.

Led by senior quarterback Mike Stanton, the Bucs hope to regain their potent passing attack from a year ago. Stanton completed 64 percent of his passes for a school-record 2,449 yards, 16 touchdowns and a 146.2 pass efficiency rating. He'll be backed up by John Trudel and Brad Skeffington.

Stanton is joined in the backfield by speedy Stefan Gustafson, a former cornerback who rushed for 701 yards and five touchdowns last fall, and David Yerxa and Austin Pierce.

The Buccaneer receiving corps is deep and talented, led by E.J. Bennett and Keith Caruso, both conference All-Stars in 2012. Bennett had 59 receptions for 857 yards and seven touchdowns, while Caruso made 56 catches for 726 yards and four scores.

Other Stanton targets are Bobby Rosano (30 catches, 1 TD) and Jonathan Wright (23 catches, 3 TDs). Drew Girouard of Sagamore Beach will compete at tight end along with David Wilson and Brian Donaghey.

The Bucs return three starters from an offensive line ranked sixth nationally in total yards (520.7) last season, including John Bochman, John Moriarty and Jared Roark. The Sandwich duo of Sean Marshall and Philip Boudrow will also be in the mix.

The MMA defense is led by nose guard Robert Gratzer and end Zachary Ryan, who are coming off all-star seasons. Other top defensive linemen are Richard Ford, John Dee, Kyle Gavoni and Gordon Fitch, along with former Upper Cape Tech standout John Schmitt of Bourne.

Reynard Ortiz and Victor Andrade (Yarmouthport) are the top returning linebackers. Ortiz led the defense with 61 tackles. Matthew King is the other starting LB.

The secondary boasts a talented group in safety Sheldon Roper (49 tackles, 3 INT) and cornerbacks Michael Sylvia and All-Conference pick Kevin Stanton (50 tackles), along with Mike Williams, Bernie Girard and James Nguyen.

Academic All-American Brandon Rodrigues is one of 34 players nationally to be named to the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List as the nation's top placekicker. Rodrigues converted 31 PAT's and a two field goals in 2012 and will share duties with strong-legged Michael Messersmith (Orleans), who averaged 46.5 yards handling kickoff duties.