Box Score
 
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Oct. 30, 2021) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy football team was handed its first loss of the season on the road at Springfield College, 28-23, on Saturday at the Pride's Stagg Field. The Mariners' record drops to 7-1 (4-1 NEWMAC), while SC improves to 5-3 (4-0 NEWMAC) with the win.
 
Down by five points, the Mariners had two possessions late in the fourth quarter to try and take the lead, but turned the ball over on downs on the first, giving Springfield the ball with just 1:46 to play, before the defense forced a three-and-out and Merchant Marine got the ball back with just 1:17 to play down five.
 
USMMA got two first downs and then senior quarterback Ian Blankenship (McRae, Ga.) tried a pass up-field to freshman Talsen Smith (Roseville, Calif.) that got whistled down for a pass interference on the Pride, which gave the Mariners a first down at the Springfield 41-yard line. After a sack and then a spike, Merchant Marine had two more chances, the first a completion for just five yards and then as time wound down, a fourth-down pass along the right side that fell incomplete to end the game.
 
Blankenship finished the afternoon with 178 rushing yards and one touchdown, while also passing for 135 yards on 12-of-23 completions. Senior Alec Kiernan (Centereach, N.Y.) scored the Mariners' two other TDs, both on the ground, as he amassed 38 rushing yards. Smith hauled in a team-best six catches for 83 yards.
 
Defensively, senior Eric Davidson (Savannah, Ga.) led all players in the game with 15 tackles, while junior Colton Ray (Bellevue, Ohio) had 12, including a half-tackle for a loss. Fellow junior Daniel Falzone (Medford, N.J.) also had a double-digit tackle effort with 10 (one for a loss).
 
The Pride scored on the game's opening drive, before Kiernan barreled into the end zone from one yard out at 4:37 and freshman Jackson Tinkis' (Bossier City, La.) extra point tied the game up at 7-7. The Mariner defense then forced a safety at 2:50 after forcing a three-and-out, with the snap on the punt sailing over the punter's head and into the end zone, where Springfield jumped on it. The Mariners led 9-7 after the first quarter.
 
The hosts had the only TD of the second quarter, however, but also missed a field goal in the closing seconds of the half, and the Pride took a 14-9 lead into the locker room for halftime.
 
Both teams scored two touchdowns apiece in a wild third quarter. Blankenship ran the first play from scrimmage to the house from 71 yards out and senior Brian McGovern (Cranford, N.J.) ran in a two-point conversion to make it 17-14 in favor of the Mariners. However, Springfield responded with a dive that started in Merchant Marine territory due to a costly penalty, and then five plays and 40 yards later, the Pride went back ahead, 21-17.
 
After a USMMA fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Springfield cashed in with another TD after a four-play, 25-yard possession, and led 28-17 at 10:39 of the third. The Mariners then responded with a 68-yard drive on nine plays that was capped off by Kiernan's second one-yard rush for a touchdown, but a two-point conversion was stuffed, and Merchant Marine trailed, 28-23.
 
Neither offense could get much going the remainder of the afternoon, as there were a combined four punts as well as a fumble and two turnovers on downs over the next seven possessions before the Mariners' final drive of the game came up just short.
 
For Springfield, grad student Tim Callahan rushed for 137 yards and one touchdown, while senior Patrick Ladas amassed 108 yards and found the end zone twice. Senior quarterback David Wells picked up 40 yards on the ground and had one score. On defense, junior DJ Brown had 10 tackles and recovered one fumble, while classmate Kyle Niehr had nine stops and forced a fumble.
 
The Mariners go into a bye week and will return to action with the 41st Annual Secretaries' Cup against arch-rival Coast Guard on Saturday, Nov. 13, up in New London, Conn. The game is set to begin at 12-noon at the Bears' Cadet Memorial Field and will be streamed on ESPN3.com. More information about the Secretaries' Cup will be available in the coming weeks on www.USMMASports.com.
 
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