NEW LONDON, Conn. (Nov. 11, 2023) – For the fifth-straight year, the Secretaries' Cup is coming back to Kings Point, as the USMMA football team defeated arch-rival Coast Guard, 39-27, on the road at the Bears' Cadet Memorial Field in a game broadcasted and aired on ESPN+! The victory improved the Mariners' record to 7-2 (5-2 NEWMAC), while CGA closes out the season with an even 5-5 mark (3-4 NEWMAC).
Game Link
Senior
Ben Carney (El Paso, Texas) got the start behind center and led Merchant Marine to the exciting victory after rushing for 56 yards and one touchdown on the ground, while also passing for 33 yards on 3-of-7 completions. Classmates
Cole Simmons (Montrose, Colo.) and
Ceaser Gonzalez (Norco, Calif.) were the catalysts of a ground-and-pound offense for USMMA that finished with a total of 330 rushing yards. Simmons amassed 144 yards with three touchdowns and Gonzalez ran for 135 yards and two scores.
Defensively, senior
Joseph Franco (Staten Island, N.Y.) recorded two huge interceptions in the second half, the first which led to a touchdown and the second in the final minute that secured the victory. Junior
Nicolas Espada (Babylon, N.Y.) recorded a team-best nine tackles with one half-tackle for a loss, while classmate
Chad Hollar (Wilmington, N.C.) had eight stops including a big sack on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter that dropped the Bears back 13 yards and turned the ball over on downs.
Senior
Teddy Brunger (Indialantic, Fla.) and junior
C.J. Livesay (Morristown, Tenn.) both finished the day with seven tackles apiece. Sophomore
Stephen Scroggins (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) also had a sack for the Mariners.
Merchant Marine had the ball for over 15 more minutes than the Bears did on the day, winning the time of possession battle, 37:34 to 22:15. They also converted an impressive 5-of-6 fourth downs.
The first half of the game was a bit interesting, as the Bears scored first on the opening drive, but had the snap on the PAT mishandled, which led to a passing try that failed and the hosts led 6-0 at 12:19. The Mariners answered with back-to-back touchdowns on their next two drives,
the first by Gonzalez followed by a PAT and
the second by Simmons followed by a failed two-point conversion to make it 13-6 with just 15 seconds to play.
After three-straight punts to start the second quarter, the Mariners failed to get a first down on a fake punt and the Bears cashed in at 6:34 to tie the game up at 13-13, where it stayed into the halftime break.
It was all Mariners in the third quarter as they received the kickoff and proceeded to produce a ridiculous 24-play, 83-yard drive that lasted over 10 minutes before
Simmons ran in his second of the day from one yard out.
On the Bears' next drive, Franco picked off a pass down the near sideline and returned it 48 yards to the Coast Guard 26 and a personal foul (late hit) on the Bears gave the Mariners the ball at the 13. Four plays later,
Gonzlaez scored his second of the day and a missed PAT made it 26-13 with 18 seconds to go in the quarter.
The Bears made it a one-score game again after their following drive. The hosts' defense stopped the Mariners on three-straight plays early in the fourth and forced a punt which sophomore
George Ethan Ferrey (Bethlehem, Pa.) let loose for 47 yards and the return was muffed and fumbled by Coast Guard and Merchant Marine recovered the ball at the 20-yard line. Ferry finished the day averaging 42 yards on three punts.
Again, just four plays later the Mariners found the end zone on
Simmons' third of the day. A PAT rush failed and it was 32-20 USMMA at 11:04.
Facing a fourth down a few minutes later, the Bears attempted to get the first, but Hollar's sack turned the ball over on downs. Merchant Marine turned that into seven more points after
Carney capped off a nine-play, 48-yard drive with a two-yard run and the PAT made it 39-20.
Coast Guard made it a little interesting down the stretch, scoring a TD with 57 seconds left and the recovering an onside kick, but Franco's second pick of the day, after senior
Thomas Joyce (Taunton, Mass.) knocked the pass high into the air, sealed the victory for the Mariners.
For the Bears, Joey Armentrout threw for 234 yards on 20-of-34 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. His top receiver was Broock Desta, who caught 10 passes for 114 yards and had one TD, while James Patz hauled in six catches for 77 yards and a score. On the ground, Dennis O'Shea had a team-best 42 rushing yards and Glenn Patrick finished with 25 yards, while finding the end zone once. Jacob Vecchio also scored a TD for Coast Guard.
On the other side of the ball, six different players recorded double-digit tackles with Grant Bayesa leading all players on the afternoon with 16 tackles. Patrick McCaskey had 15, while Nico Berrios and Tyler Jones both had 13 apiece.
The Mariners have finished the regular season and will await word on any potential invitation to a regional bowl game. Stay logged on to
www.USMMASports.com and our social media pages (links below) for more information on any bowl game early next week.
Receive USMMA Football News Right To Your E-Mail!
If you would like to receive all the latest news on the USMMA football team, including all press releases, delivered directly to your inbox,
fill out this form.
Follow USMMA Athletics On Social Media!
Be sure to follow USMMA Athletics on social media to get up-to-the-minute updates on your favorite teams! Start following today on
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram and
YouTube!
