BUZZARDS BAY, Mass – Saturday afternoon the Buccaneers welcomes in Fitchburg State to Clean Harbors Stadium for a conference matchup. After their setback against West Conn last week, the Buccaneers finished strong against the Falcons, shutting out their guests 37-0 for their fifth win of the season.

The Basics

Final: Buccaneers 37, Falcons 0

Records: Mass Maritime 5-1 (3-1 MASCAC)

                Fitchburg State 1-6 (0-5 MASCAC)

For The Bucs

• Senior quarterback Matt Long (Weymouth, Mass) gained 245 total yards in the game and was responsible for four touchdowns. In the passing game, Long complete 10 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. On the ground he ran the ball 15 times for 100 yards and three scores. It is his fifth game this season with three rushing touchdowns and now has 16 total on the season which is tops in the nation.
• Senior quarterback Ty Ebdon (Gales Ferry, Conn) also saw time for the Bucs, completing 8-of-10 passes for 86 yads.
• Freshman running back Andrew Longwater (Tybee Island, GA) was the leading rusher not named Matt Long with 56 yards on five carries including a 31-yard scamper.
• Senior wide receiver Will Bennett (Sandwich, Mass) led all receivers for the Bucs with four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide out Ryan McNally (Sandwich, Mass) caught a team-high six passes for 63 yards.
• Senior linebacker Sean Smialek (Dartmouth, Mass) and junior linebacker Jack Fontana (Grafton, Mass) each had eight tackles to lead the team.
• Defensive back Kyle Rogers (Abington, Mass) intercepted two passes in the game. Hunter Leveille (Easthampton, Mass) made four tackles and intercepted a pass which he returned 62 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.
• Kicker/Punter George Lampros (Bridgewater, Mass) converted 4-of-5 extra points in the game and made a field goal from 23 yards out. Lampros also punted the ball three times for 167 yards, an average of 55.7 yards, with a long punt of 60 yards. Long also punted once for 66 yards. They each pinned the Falcons inside their own 20 yard line once.

For The Falcons

• Senior quarterback Connor Fitzsimons (Flushing, N.Y.) completed 15 passes for 129 yards and threw three interceptions.
• Junior Melchior Lynch (Roxbury, Mass) led the team in rushing with 65 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore Steve Lawton (Ayer, Mass) also ran the ball 15 times for 61 yards.
• Tight end Frank Sims (Saugus, Mass) caught a team-high four passes for 35 yards.
• On defense, Mukandu Ashema (Worcester, Mass) led the Falcons and all players with 11 tackles in the game.
• Defensive lineman Caleb Gonsalves (Mashpee, Mass) recorded two sacks to go along with his nine tackles in the game.
• Defensive back Joel Monteiro (Brockton, Mass) had an interception to go along with two tackles.
• Punter Joseph Haskins (Pepperell, Mass) punted seven times for 208 total yards, an average of 29.7 yards, with a long of 35.

How It Happened

The Buccaneers received the opening kickoff on a perfect day for football in Buzzards Bay after Fitchburg won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half. The Buccaneers went 55 yards in 1:57, capping of the drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Long. On the ensuing drive, Fitzsimons threw his first interception of the day, Maritime proceeded to go three-and-out and the Falcons followed that with a turnover on downs. The Bucs added another touchdown on their third drive of the quarter. They went 12 yards in three plays then finished the drive off with a 47-yard touchdown toss from Long to Bennett to take a 14-0 lead. Over the next four drives the two teams gained a total of 39 yard with three drives ending in a punt and another by Fitchburg ending on a turnover on downs. The first quarter ended 14-0 in favor of the Bucs.

The second quarter began with a Maritime punt followed by a shanked Fitchburg punt which set the Buccaneers up with a 30-yard field. Maritime capitalized on the short field going 30 yards in 5 plays, scoring on a 12-yard Long to extend the host lead to 21-0. Later in the quarter, the Bucs went on the longest drive by either team in the game, 12 plays, 61 yards, in 5:54. Unable to get in to the end zone, Lampros converted a 23-yard field goal attempt to put his team up 24-0, which would be the halftime score.

Fitchburg took the ball 41 yards in nine plays on the opening drive of the second half, though it ended in a punt. Which would be a theme of the third quarter. Each team had four possessions in the third, three of which ended on a punt, two on missed field goals and one on an interception. The Buccaneers did get the ball for a fourth time in the quarter with 1:33 left on the clock, a possession they would take in to the fourth quarter, up 24-0.

The Buccaneers took the ball down the field, 69 yards in six plays, on that drive that began in the third, scoring on a 27-yard run by Long after the Bucs were pushed back due to penalty. Though credited as a 27-yard score, Long easily ran over 60 yards on his way to the end zone, having to bob and weave through the Falcon defense. After a missed extra points, the Bucs led 30-0. On the next Fitchburg possession, the Falcons went 27 yards on eight plays. On the final play of the drive, Leveille intercepted his first pass of the season, third of the day for Maritime, and with a little help from his friends, returned it 62 yards to the house for the touchdown. Maritime now led 37-0 with 11:30 remaining in the game. Though each team would possess the ball again, neither found put any points on the board and the game ended with the Bucs winning going away, 37-0.

Up Next

The Buccaneers travel to Plymouth State on Saturday, October 26^th for a 1pm kickoff with the Panthers.