Mass. Maritime Pushes Past Fitchburg State, 30-0

Samb totals 19 tackles for Falcons in MASCAC setback

FITCHBURG, Mass. – Massachusetts Maritime Academy ran for 209 yards on the ground, en-route to a 30-0 win over Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) football action this afternoon at Elliot Field.

Mass. Maritime opened the scoring in the first quarter as junior linebacker Bobby Gross recovered a fumble in the end zone for the 7-0 lead. The Buccaneers doubled their advantage (14-0) with 8:06 left in the half when senior wideout Shane Haggerty lofted a pass to senior tight end Aidan Desrosiers for a 30-yard strike, capping a seven play, 49-yard drive.

The visitors upped their margin with just under six minutes left in the half, taking advantage of good field position, as junior running back Richie Phillips plunged in from three yards out to make the score 20-0 going into the break.

Following intermission, Mass. Maritime took a 23-0 lead when freshman placekicker Sean Kahler connected on a 22-yard field goal with 4:27 remaining in the third stanza. The Buccaneers capped the scoring early in the fourth quarter as senior linebacker Marshall McCarthy returned an interception 59-yards for the touchdown, resulting in the 30-0 final,

For the Falcons, sophomore quarterback James Antonelli finished 14-for-36 for 96 yards, while freshmen Dakota Mullen and Jesse Brown combined to haul in four catches for 38 yards. The duo of Phillips and senior Kenny Pierce ran for 162 yards on 45 carries and one score, while Haggerty added three catches for 49 yards as well as throwing for one TD to lead the Buccaneers.

Senior linebacker Mamour Samb paced Fitchburg State defense, totaling a game-best 19 tackles on ten solo stops, nine assisted tackles and 1.5 TFL's, while classmate Tre Watson finished with nine stops, including six solo tackles, three assisted stops and 1.5 tackles for loss.

For the Buccaneers, sophomore defensive back Adrell Enlow registered a team-leading six tackles on four solo stops, two assisted tackles and a pair of passes defended, while freshman linebacker Kenny Kern and McCarthy combined for six solo tackles, one TFL and an interception.

Fitchburg State (2-3, 0-3 MASCAC) returns to action next Saturday as it travels to Worcester State to take on the Lancers for a contest starting at 1 p.m. Mass. Maritime (3-1, 2-0 MASCAC) will host Western Connecticut State next Saturday at 12 p.m.

Follow the Falcons on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!