Castine, Me. – In New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division action, the Mariners of Maine Maritime Academy, behind another solid defensive effort, downed the Lancers of Worcester State College, 13-7, this afternoon at Ritchie Field.

 

The Mariners (3-2, 2-1 NEFC Bogan) forced Worcester State (3-3, 2-1 NEFC Bogan) into 5 turnovers (4 interceptions) and allowed only 53 net rushing yards on the day. The MMA defense held the Owls to 210 net yards of total offense while MMA was able to muster only 218 net yards of their own.

 

Senior running back Brandon Goodrich (Waterboro, ME) rushed for 174 yards and a touchdown while sophomore quarterback Tyler Angell (Leeds, ME) ran for 34 yards and a score. MMA rushed 53 times for 238 yards in the win.

 

The Lancers jumped out to a quick lead 6 minutes into the game when Pat Good (Hull, MA) found Craig Hill (Milford, MA) in the right corner of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown pass.  Chris Nosek (Spencer, MA) converted the extra point to give Worcester State the 7-0 lead. The drive consumed 5:48 off the clock and took 9 plays. Both teams remained scoreless for the rest of the half and went into half time with Worcester State leading MMA 7-0. The first 30 minutes of play was dominated by both defenses. MMA intercepted one pass while Worcester forced two MMA turnovers. The Lancers passed for 108 yards in the half while MMA rushed for 56 yards. 

 

MMA came out of the locker room strong, and after a defensive stop, the Mariners tied the score at 7-7 on their first offensive possession of the second half. The Mariners scored when Brandon Goodrich (Waterboro, ME) took the handoff from Tyler Angell  (Leeds, ME) and scampered 78 yards up the middle for the touchdown.

 

Both teams would remain scoreless until the last minute of the game when MMA converted a Chris Kates (Lisbon Falls, ME) interception into the winning touchdown with 16 seconds left on the clock. The Kates pick brought the Mariners all the way to the Worcester 30 yard line with 1:58 left in the fourth quarter. On the next play from scrimmage, Goodrich ran the ball to the outside and gained 25 yards to the Lancer 5 yard line. Four plays later on 4^th and goal from the 1 foot line, Mariner quarterback Tyler Angell went off right tackle into the end zone securing the victory for MMA. The extra point attempt by Chris Cunningham (Round Pond, ME) was blocked by Worcester State and the Mariners held a 13-7 lead with 16 seconds left. Worcester had 2 plays before the end of the game but couldn’t move the ball into MMA territory.

 

For the second week in a row, the Mariner defense was dominating after half time, only allowing the Lancers to cross midfield three times in the second half, but never inside the MMA 40. Both defensive units were outstanding on the day, producing 9 sacks and 8 turnovers. There were 20 punts in the game and Worcester State won the time of possession battle 31:34 to MMA’s 28:26.

 

The Mariner defense was terrific all game long forcing 5 turnovers, and collecting 4 sacks. Senior linebacker Chris Tracy (Westbrook, ME) had 9 tackles (3 for loss) on the afternoon and 2 sacks. Travis Fergola (Mexico, ME) recorded 12 tackles for the Mariners (2 for loss) and he forced and recovered a fumble. Junior tackle Steve Keroack (York, ME) made 9 tackles (3 for loss) and had a sack while junior tackle Cody Andrews (Holden, ME) added 11 tackles and 2 sacks. The Mariners had interceptions by Rob Leighton (Auburn, ME), Mike Riley (Milton, VT), Wade Mondoux (Berwick, ME) and Chris Kates (Lisbon Falls, ME) had the big one that led to the winning score for the Mariners.

 

The Mariner running game along with a solid defense helped stop Worcester State, but for the second week in a row, the punting of Alex Coulombe (Kennebunk, ME) was a big key to the win. The sophomore punter had 10 attempts, which totaled 407 yards, and 3 of those punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. He averaged 40.7 yards per punt and had a long punt of 51 yards.

 

Junior quarterback Pat Good led the way offensively for Worcester State as he passed for 131 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Craig Hill caught 5 balls for 67 yards and a score. Garrett Jones (Stow, MA) led the Lancers on the ground with 16 carries for 42 yards in the loss. Defensively, junior linebacker Nick Gallant (Billerica, MA) notched 13 tackles and Matt Leeds (Bellingham, MA) recorded 8 tackles (6 for loss) and 3 sacks on the afternoon. Matt Zompa (Providence, RI) had 5 tackles and an interception, while Mike Coppola (Dracut, MA) had 3 tackles, 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery. Lancer punter Tim Bartucca (N. Attleboro, MA) had a fine game, punting 10 times for 357 yards.

 

The Mariners will try to make it three in a row next Saturday as they travel to divisional rival Massachusetts Maritime Academy for a 1:00 pm start. Worcester State takes on Fitchburg State next Saturday at 1:30 pm.