Box Score Box Score
 
NEW LONDON, Conn. (Nov. 13, 2021) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy football team retained the Secretaries' Cup with a convincing 49-14 victory over arch-rival Coast Guard on Saturday at the Bears' Cadet Memorial Field. The win improves the Mariners' record to 8-1 (5-1 NEWMAC) on the season, with the eight wins tying a program record for victories in a season. The Bears end the year 2-8 (0-6 NEWMAC) in defeat.
 
USMMA amassed 561 yards of total offense on the day (435 on the ground and 126 in the air), while the defense allowed 279 yards (213 passing and just 44 rushing). The Mariners also won the turnover battle, 3-1, picking off two passes and recovering one fumble, and Coast Guard had one fumble recovery.
 
Merchant Marine scored touchdowns on its first four drives and led 21-0 after one quarter and 28-0 at the half, as the Mariners had 345 yards in the first half (256 rushing).
 
Browse through our friend Frank Rossi from the In The Huddle podcast's Twitter page to see highlights from throughout the game and postgame interviews that should be posted by the end of the day on Saturday. You can access that Twitter page at this link.
 
Senior quarterback Ian Blankenship (McRae, Ga.) passed for all 126 yards, completing on 5-of-9 attempts with two TDs, while also leading the team with 154 yards on the ground. The Mariners got two TDs from senior Brian McGovern (Cranford, N.J.) – one rushing and on receiving) as well as junior Matthew Savard (Orlando, Fla.). The other scores came from senior Alec Kiernan (Centereach, N.Y.) and junior Jeremiah Wang (Manassas, Va.) on the ground and freshman Talsen Smith (Roseville, Calif.) who finished the game three catches for 69 yards and a score. Freshman kicker Jackson Tinkis (Bossier City, La.) nailed all seven PATs.
 
Defensively, senior Eric Davidson (Savannah, Ga.) led the Mariners with seven tackles, while also forcing a fumble. Juniors Thomas Joyce (Taunton, Mass.) and Connor Caffrey (Spokane Valley, Wash.) both had five tackles apiece, with Caffrey recovering one fumble. The two interceptions were recorded by seniors Hunter Matthews (Reno, Nev.) and Joshua King (Haymarket, Va.). Merchant Marine also got three sacks by three different players - junior C.J. Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) and seniors Cliff Manning (Houston, Texas) and Tyler Sloman (Poulsbo, Wash.).
 
For the Bears, freshman QB Joe Armentrout threw for 213 yards on 22-of-36 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior Cody Fidler hauled in six passes for a game-high 77 yards .Junior Jared Colletti was the leading rusher with 59 yards. The two Coast Guard TDs were caught by Colletti and junior Tafari Wall. On defense, senior Michael Palermo led all players in the game with 10 tackles and junior Connor Healy was not far behind with nine stops.
 
Up next, the Mariners expect to get an invitation to a regional bowl game early next week. That game will be played next weekend on a date and location to be announced. Once that invite is official, the information will be posted on our website, www.USMMASports.com.
 
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