Box Score
 
MADISON, N.J. (Sept. 3, 2021) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy football team nearly held FDU-Florham off the board in the second half, and turned a 21-20 halftime lead into a 49-27 victory over the Devils on Friday night in the 2021 season-opener at FDU's Robert T. Shields Field.
 
Senior quarterback Ian Blankenship (McRae, Ga.) scored five rushing touchdowns on 119 yards rushing to lead the Mariners, while classmates Matt Strong (Pacific, Mo.) and Brian McGovern (Cranford, N.J.) also found the end zone. Junior Matthew Savard (Orlando, Fla.) produced 102 yards on 19 carries.
 
USMMA held a 35:53 advantage in time of possession and outgained the Devils on the ground, amassing 362 rushing yards to FDU's -31. The Devils did complete 26 passes for 311 yards in the air, while Blankenship was 2-for-5 passing for 18 yards.
 
On defense, senior Ethan Brady (Palm Coast, Fla.) had a team-best 10 tackles, including 2.5 for combined losses of 19 yards, to go along with a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries. Junior C.J. Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) had seven stops, while classmates Kurt Voll (Cotopaxi, Colo.) and Daniel Falzone (Medford, N.J.) both had five tackles each.
 
The Mariner defense also had five total sacks on the day, with senior Tyler Sloman (Poulsbo, Wash.) in on two of them for combined losses of nine yards. Falzone had one for a loss of 12 and senior Joshua King (Haymarket, Va.) had one for a loss of seven. Junior Connor Caffrey (Spokane Valley, Wash.) had an interception for the second-straight game.
 
After a field goal by FDU-Florham on the opening drive, the game was back-and-forth with the two teams trading the next three scores. The Mariners went ahead at 7:43 on Blankenship's first TD on a one-yard run. That was answered by a six-yard pass from Devils' grad student Anthony Caserta to classmate Rory Sullivan at 4:18 that gave the hosts the lead back.
 
The Mariners found the end zone on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter (with the D forcing a punt in between) after runs by McGovern and Blankenship, to make it 21-10. However, the Devils scored on back-to-back drives of their own – first on an 18-yard pass from Caserta to senior Connor Perez at 2:37 and then, after a fumble recovery, on a field goal with just 18 seconds left in the half that made it a one-point Mariner lead, 21-20.
 
The Mariners got the ball to start the second half, but fumbled the opening kickoff, giving it right back to FDU at the KP 35-yard line. However, Caffrey picked off the Devils' second play from scrimmage and that set up an 18-play, 84-yard possession that took off 9:22 of the clock and ended with Blankenship rushing for two yards for the score and then the PAT by senior Jack Ruark (Urbanna, Va.) made it 28-20.
 
The USMMA offense couldn't be stopped in the second half, as they scored a touchdown on every possession, including one midway through the fourth quarter after Brady forced a fumble on a fourth-down play, giving the Mariners the ball at the FDU 6-yard line. Just one play later Strong barreled into the end zone to make it a 42-20 game.
 
Blankenship recorded his fifth rushing TD later in the fourth to make it 28-straight points for the Mariners in the second half. The Devils tacked on a late touchdown with just 17 seconds left – it was Caserta's third of the night.
 
Ruark went 7-for-7 on PATs and had one punt that sailed 35 yards, while freshman Jackson Tinkis (Bossier City, La.) averaged 48.1 yards on eight kickoffs (385 yards total). Strong also brought back five kickoffs 96 yards, including a long of 35 yards.
 
InTheHuddle D3 Football Podcast Co-Host Frank Rossi was at the game and captured many plays and posted them on Twitter. You can view those on his page at https://twitter.com/frankrossi.
 
The Mariners will now go into a bye week and will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 18, when they travel to The Bronx, N.Y., to face rival SUNY Maritime. Kickoff is scheduled for 12-noon at the Privateers' Reinhart 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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