THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime football team registered a convincing 61-7 victory over the Castleton Spartans on Saturday afternoon on Reinhart Field.
The 61 points is tied for the third highest point total for Maritime in program history, and it just the fourth time that the Privateers have put up at least 60 points in a game. Earlier this season Maritime had 59 points in the season opener against Maine Maritime.
Maritime scored seven offensive touchdowns as junior quarterback Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh)completed 19 passes for 332 yards and had four touchdowns through the air, including three to junior wide receiver Curtis Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Utrecht), who ended the day with 141 receiving yards.
Junior receiver Andrew Geni (Bronx, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) had 114 receiving yards and one touchdown reception, while also collecting one receiving touchdown on the day. Junior Brandonn Drumgole (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./Mt. Sinai) added another 75 receiving yards, while junior Sean O'Connor(Jensen Beach, Fla./Jensen Beach) had one reception for 38 yards.
On the ground Maritime was led by senior Chris Olberding (Dix Hills, N.Y./Walt Whitman) with 56 yards, while Classmate Devin Kenny (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) had one touchdown on 33 yards and five carries. Wright added another touchdown on the ground, while freshman Christian Schiavone (White Plains, N.Y./White Plains) had a late touchdown as he carried the ball for eight yards on three tries.
Senior Matthew Murphy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) added one field goal from 25 yards, while also converting on all six of his extra point attempts. Junior Ian Ziemski (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) added a pair of extra point chances on special teams as well.
Defensively Maritime also had a big day with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Senior Kendal Parker (Evans, Ga./Lakeside) had one fumble recovery and one interception while leading the team with 10 tackles. Senior Nick Conte (Franklin Square, N.Y./Carey) had an interception while junior Steven Fehr(Patterson, N.Y./Carmel) had a fumble recovery of his own.
Junior Karl Riek (Sweetwater, N.J./Cedar Creek) had a historic game as well with two blocked kicks, which had not been done by a Privateer since the 2011 season. One of Riek's blocked punts was recovered by freshman Mike Maringelli (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) for a 40-yard touchdown return, while the other went through the back of the end zone for a safety.
Senior Craig Hinrichs (Islip, N.Y./Islip) had a team-high six solo tackles as he ended the game with eight overall, while junior Payton Campbell (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) had five stops along with sophomore Liam Bailey (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville). Senior Wesley Joseph (Brooklyn, N.Y./Midwood) added four tackles on the game as well.
Maritime scored early and often in the first quarter as Wright found both Smith and Geni for touchdown passes in the first five minutes of the game to give Maritime a 14-0 advantage. With 8:11 left in the quarter Wright ran into the end zone for the third Privateer score as Maritime moved ahead by 21 points.
The first quarter continued with one of the biggest passes of the day as Wright found Smith for the second time on the afternoon for a 63-yard score as Maritime moved ahead by 28 points. Castleton had regained the ball with 6:35 left in the quarter, but were forced to punt. Riek was able to block the punt, allowing Maringelli to scoop up the live ball and return it 40-yards for the fifth Privateer touchdown of the quarter.
Leading by 35 points, Maritime regained the ball with 12:41 left in the opening half and drove the ball 78 yards before Murphy connected on a 25-yard field goal to increase Maritime's lead to 38. Neither side was able to score through the remainder of the half as the Privateers took their commanding 38-0 lead into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, neither side could get their offenses going as the teams exchanged punts. Castleton regained possession with 8:50 left in the third quarter and were unable to move the ball; the punt attempt was blocked by Riek once again and bounced out the back of the end zone for a safety as the Privateers were up by 40.
Wright capped off his trifecta of touchdown passes to Smith on the ensuing possession on a 14-yard touchdown strike as the Privateers were up by 47 following Murphy's extra point.
Maritime was set up in prime real estate on its first possession of the fourth quarter and capitalized three plays later as Kenny reached the end zone on a 14-yard carry to push the Privateer lead to 54.
Castleton was able to break through on the scoreboard following a fumble by the Privateers, needing just one play on a five-yard rush to score its first touchdown of the afternoon to put seven points on the board.
Maritime responded two possessions later to cap off the scoring as Schiavone darted into the end zone with 15 seconds to go in regulation to give Maritime 60 points. Ziemski's extra point was good to complete the scoring for the game at 61-7.
Maritime (7-1, 4-1 ECFC) heads on the road for its final road conference game of the season as the team takes on league newcomer Dean for a 1 p.m. start on Dale Lippert Field in Franklin, Mass.
Castleton (4-4, 3-2 ECFC) returns home for its final home game of the season as the Spartans host Gallaudet for a 12 p.m. start in Vermont.
Football Cruises to Conference Victory over Castleton, 61-7
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20171028_00ko.xml
2017
Castleton
7
SUNY-Maritime
61
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castleton (4-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| SUNY-Maritime (7-1) | 35 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 61 |
Oct 28, 2017