THROGGS NECK, N.Y. (November 9, 2013) – The Maritime Privateer football squad picked up its third consecutive win at home on Reinhart Field over the Mount Ida Mustangs by the score of 16-7 on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore kicker Diogo Dietrich (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/DePaul Catholic) picked up three field goals on the game, while sophomore fullback Dwayne Lacroix (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Malverne) had his first career rushing touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, junior defensive end Hugh O'Brien (Westbury, N.Y./Westbury) had seven tackles and had a pair of sacks and a forced fumble in the fourth quarter. Junior linebacker Duke Alvora (Harrison, N.Y./Harrison) had a pair of fumble recoveries, while freshman Thomas Venier (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) had the team's lone interception on defense.
"This was an all-around great game and a full team effort today," said Maritime head coach Clayton Kendrick-Holmes. "I am very proud of our team and how they played."
Mount Ida won the opening coin toss and received the ball to start the game, but on the second play of the opening drive quarterback Jawad Yatim dropped back for his first attempt of the day and completed the pass but the ball was fumbled and recovered by Alvora to give the ball to Maritime.
The Privateers also fumbled the ball on its second snap of the game and gave possession right back to the Mustangs. Mount Ida was able to move the ball up to 4th-and-2 on the next series but fumbled the ball and covered up to turn the ball over on downs.
After a 3-and-out by Maritime, the Mustangs got the ball back and after picking up a pair of first downs on just three plays. Yatim dropped back again and was intercepted by Venier to give the ball right back to Maritime. For Venier, it was his first career interception.
Later in the period, Maritime got the ball back with 2:38 to go and picked up a big first down as freshman quarterback Isaiah Covington (Brooklyn, N.Y./FDR) connected with classmate Nick Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) for a 21-yard hookup to put the ball in Mount Ida's territory. After a couple of rushes by Covington, Fischetti and senior running back Frank Laino (Rockaway, N.Y./Fort Hamilton), the Privateers were set up in scoring territory as the game reached the second quarter.
Four plays later, Lacroix pounded his way through the line and into the end zone for the game's first score. Dietrich tacked on the extra point to make the game 7-0 in favor of the home team.
The Privateers were forced to punt on their next drive, which was blocked to set up Mount Ida with just 33 yards to go for the end zone. Three plays later the Mustangs attempted a 45-yard field goal but missed wide left to keep Mount Ida off the board.
Maritime got the ball back with 8:34 to go and drained the clock all the way to less than a minute in the half. With 54 seconds left and after driving 44 yards, Dietrich was called on for a 32-yard field goal attempt and drilled it between the uprights to put the Privateers up by 10 as the teams headed into the halftime break.
In the second half, the first five drives of the period resulted in punts as the defenses played well against their opposing offenses. On Mount Ida's third drive of the half, Yatim connected with Jordan Hyman for a 25-yard touchdown reception to trim the Maritime lead to 10-7.
The ensuing Privateer possession also resulted in points as Maritime marched quickly down the field on a drive highlighted by junior fullback Kyle Gardner (Amityville N.Y./St. Anthony's) and his game-high 45-yard rush. After being unable to move the chains again on the drive, Dietrich was called on and converted his longest field goal of his career from 44 yards. The boot was the third longest field goal in Maritime history.
As the game progressed through the fourth quarter, the Privateer defense was asked to step up with 7:49 left in the game and the Mustangs getting the ball back. Mount Ida picked up one first down, but needed to move the ball through the air with time working against them. On 4th-and-10 Yatim dropped back and was stonewalled by O'Brien for his second sack of the quarter to give the ball back to Maritime on downs.
The next Mount Ida possession lasted just three plays as it was once again O'Brien in the middle of the play as he forced a fumble out of Yatim that was scooped up by Alvora. The junior captain then dashed 39 yards to inside the Mustang red zone to eventually set up Dietrich's third field goal of the game from 30 yards away.
Maritime's defense forced another quick 3-and-out on the next series with under 80 seconds left in regulation. The Privateers got the ball back with 32 seconds left and took one knee to seal the victory.
On offense, Gardner led the team with 101 yards on the ground as he picked up over 800 yards on the season to become just the fourth player in Privateer history to reach the plateau and is just six yards shy of 900 on the season. Covington was second on the team in rushing with 76 yards on 17 carries, while Lacroix picked up the lone score on the ground as he totaled 21 yards.
The defensive unit turned the ball over three times and had five tackles for a loss including O'Brien's two sacks. Venier had one interception while leading the team with eight tackles on the game. O'Brien and junior linebacker Nick Coffiey (Wilmington, Del./Delaware Military Academy) picked up seven tackles a piece, while linebackers Alvora with six, and sophomore Kameron Knight (Clayton, N.C./West Johnson) with four, wrapped up the top-five in tackles. Senior captain Chris Klass (Nanuet, N.Y./Nanuet) had two pass breakups, and also had three tackles on the game.
Maritime (4-5, 4-2 ECFC) will wrap-up the regular season and look to play spoilers to Gallaudet's 9-0 season next week on Reinhart Field at 1 p.m. as part of senior day for the Privateers. Earlier today, the Bison clinched the league's top record and regular season title. Mount Ida (4-5, 3-3 ECFC) will look to finish the season above .500 in league play next week when it travels to Husson for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
Privateers Win Third Straight Home Game in 16-7 Victory Over Mount Ida
/seasons/2013/boxscores/20131109_wu3x.xml
2013
Mount Ida
7
SUNY-Maritime
16
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Ida (4-5) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| SUNY-Maritime (4-5) | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
Nov 09, 2013