United States Merchant Marine Academy

BRONX, N.Y. (Oct. 10, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy football team scored 48 unanswered points in the first half and rolled up 538 yards of total offense en route to a 55-6 NEWMAC victory over rival SUNY Maritime on Saturday afternoon at the Privateers' Reinhart Field. The Mariners remained unbeaten at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while Maritime fell to 2-4 (0-3).
 
Game Files

• Box Score
• WATCH: Three First Quarter Touchdowns
• WATCH: Four Second Quarter Touchdowns 

Junior Bubba Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) completed 6-of-8 passes for 208 yards and four touchdowns while adding a team-high 71 rushing yards and a score on 12 carries. Junior Angelo Cimino (Salinas, Calif.) caught two passes for 107 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown, while classmate Sonny Endicott (Colorado Springs, Colo.) hauled in two receptions for 53 yards and two scores. Sophomore Mason Wilson (New Orleans, La.) and junior Dane Grunder (Towson, Md.) each added a 24-yard reception, with Grunder's catch going for a touchdown.
 
Merchant Marine also spread the ball around on the ground. Junior Blake Griffin (Montrose, Colo.) rushed nine times for 59 yards and a touchdown, senior Will Surdez (Colts Neck, N.J.) carried four times for 46 yards, classmate Braden McEldowney (Spring, Texas) added 42 yards on 10 attempts and junior Dallas DeForest (Santa Ynez, Calif.) scored on his only carry, a 14-yard run. The Mariners finished with 330 rushing yards on 57 attempts.
 
Defensively, freshman Blake Bishop (Lakewood, Colo.) led USMMA with five tackles and provided one of the game's biggest plays with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Sophomore Brendan Cochrane (Rio Rancho, N.M.) and senior Armondo Orcesi (Dexter, N.Y.) also finished with five tackles apiece, while freshman Max Martin-Beckmann (Sun Valley, Calif.), junior Blayne Shiraki (Honolulu, Hawaii) and sophomore Robert Gallagher (Clark, N.J.) each recorded four stops.
 
Sophomore Karson Bye (Liberty Hill, Texas) went 7-for-8 on extra points and handled all eight Merchant Marine kickoffs, averaging 61.5 yards per kick with one touchback. He also punted once for 31 yards, pinning the Privateers inside the 20.
 
USMMA dominated the team statistics, finishing with a 538-330 advantage in total offense and a 30-16 edge in first downs. The Mariners rushed for 330 yards and passed for 208 while averaging 8.3 yards per play. Merchant Marine converted 8-of-9 third downs and went a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone.
 
The Mariners wasted little time taking control. On their opening possession, Mustain connected with Wilson for 24 yards before the drive eventually ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Endicott at the 12:29 mark of the first quarter.
 
Merchant Marine doubled its advantage on its next possession. The Mariners marched 88 yards in seven plays, capped by Mustain's 65-yard touchdown strike to Cimino with 7:23 remaining in the opening period.
 
USMMA made it three touchdowns in as many first-quarter possessions when Mustain found Grunder for a 24-yard touchdown with just 14 seconds left in the period, extending the lead to 21-0.
 
The Mariners continued to pour it on in the second quarter. Mustain broke off a 13-yard run before connecting with Cimino for 42 yards to the SUNY Maritime one-yard line, and the quarterback scored on the next play to make it 28-0 with 10:37 remaining in the half.
 
Less than a minute later, Bishop stepped in front of a Jaden Rotella pass and returned the interception 30 yards for a touchdown, pushing the advantage to 35-0.
 
USMMA struck again at the 6:14 mark when Mustain connected with Endicott for a 38-yard touchdown. Griffin then capped the first-half scoring with a three-yard touchdown run with 4:45 remaining, sending the Mariners into the locker room with a 48-0 lead.
 
SUNY Maritime broke up the shutout on its opening possession of the second half when William Siebert scored on a two-yard run with 10:24 left in the third quarter.
 
Merchant Marine answered with the final points of the afternoon early in the fourth. The Mariners put together a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with DeForest's 14-yard touchdown run at the 13:46 mark, producing the final 55-6 margin.
 
For SUNY Maritime, Gianni Spinelli rushed 18 times for 114 yards, while Rotella added 56 yards on the ground and completed 13-of-28 passes for 125 yards with one interception. Enrique Hernandez led the Privateers with six receptions for 44 yards. Dennis Matich paced the Maritime defense with 15 tackles.
 
Up next, the Mariners return home on Saturday, Oct. 17, when they host NEWMAC opponent Salve Regina at noon at Brooks Stadium.
 
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