Box Score
 
BRONX, N.Y. (Sept. 18, 2021) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy football team ran for a total of 447 yards and had six rushing touchdowns (all by different players) in their 56-7 road victory over rival SUNY Maritime on Saturday afternoon. It was the Mariners' (2-0) second-straight win over the Privateers by 45 points-or-more.
 
In addition to the six rushing TDs, senior Ian Blankenship (McRae, Ga.) connected with freshman Talsen Smith (Roseville, Calif.) for a 43-yard touchdown early in the second quarter in what wound up standing as the game-winning score. Blankenship finished 4-for-7 passing for 83 yards. Smith later returned a punt 80 yards to the end zone in the third quarter.
 
The Mariners (2-0) got rushing TDs from senior Brian McGovern (Cranford, N.J.), sophomore Ceaser Gonzalez (Norco, Calif.), Blankenship, junior Matthew Savard (Orlando, Fla.), junior Jeremiah Wang (Manassas, Va.) and senior Alec Kiernan (Centereach, N.Y.). Blankenship led all Merchant Marine rushers with 161 yards, while Wang amassed 66.
 
Freshman Jackson Tinkis (Bossier City, La.) went a perfect 8-for-8 on PATs, while also averaging 49.8 yards on eight kickoffs (398 total yards).
 
On defense, junior Daniel Falzone (Medford, N.J.) led the Mariners with 10 tackles, including one for a loss of two yards. Senior Joshua King (Haymarket, Va.) made seven stops with 1.5 coming for losses of four yards. USMMA also got interceptions by senior Hunter Matthews (Reno, Nev.) and sophomore Jackson Troutt (Fairfield, Calif.).
 
For the Privateers (0-2), who actually scored the first touchdown of the game on the third drive of the afternoon, fifth-year QB David Keogh passed for 152 yards on 17-for-34 completions with one touchdown and two interceptions. The TD was caught by junior Eric Borchert, who hauled in four passes for 64 yards. The Privateers amassed just 152 yards of total offense (152 passing and 16 rushing). Junior Sean Hart led the SUNY Maritime defense with nine tackles.
 
The Mariners will play their home-opener next Saturday, Sept. 25, against non-conference opponent Kean University. Kickoff against the Cougars is scheduled for 12-noon on the new turf at Tomb Field. Live stats and a live video feed of the game will be available with links on the USMMA Football Schedule Page.
 
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