KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Oct. 19, 2024) – Senior
Talsen Smith (Roseville, Calif.) recorded 13 catches for 208 yards and found the end zone three times to lead the USMMA football team past NEWMAC opponent Norwich, 49-7, on an absolutely beautiful Senior Day Saturday at Tomb Field. The Mariners' record improves to 5-1 (3-1 NEWMAC), while the Cadets fall to 0-6 (0-3 NEWMAC) in defeat.
In the first quarter, Smith broke the Academy's all-time career receiving yards record, which was 2,676, set by Kevin Feighery '95 back in 1994. Smith's 208 yards today brings his career total to 2,868 career receiving yards.
Game Links
Prior to kickoff, the Mariners paid tribute to their 19 graduating seniors with a special Senior Day ceremony honoring
Stephen Pavlansky (Cortland, Ohio),
Nicolas Espada (Babylon, N.Y.),
Ryan Vannini (Moorpark, Calif.),
Zach Zebro (East Brunswick, N.J.),
Talsen Smith,
Connor Gaffney (Dallas, Texas),
James Menor (Gresham, Ore.),
Patrick Hauser (Milwaukee, Wis.),
Braden Layne (Millersville, Md.),
Jack Temple (Rockville Centre, N.Y.),
Christopher Cinocco (Firestone, Colo.),
Carson Ruschmeyer (Cottage Grove, Minn.),
Jayden Colon (Bay Shore, N.Y.),
William Boese (McKinney, Texas),
George Ethan Ferrey (Bethlehem, Pa.),
Jackson Tinkis (Bossier City, La.) and team captains
Chad Hollar (Wilmington, N.C.),
C.J. Livesay (Morristown, Tenn.) and
Cameron Taylor (Novato, Calif.).
Sophomore QB
Gervy Alota (San Diego, Calif.) complete 15-of-18 attempts for 265 yards and three TDs, while also amassing a team-best 72 yards on the ground with two rushing TDs. Menor added 32 yards on six carries and had a 15-yard TD in the third, while freshman back-up QB
Bubba Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) ran for a 24-yard score in the fourth quarter to close out the Merchant Marine scoring. Tinkis was also a perfect 7-for-7 on PATs, and Ferrey had a great day, averaging 49.0 yards on three punts with two over 50 yards, including a long of 53 yards, and two landing inside the Norwich 20-yardline.
On defense, sophomore
Aidan Graham (Allen, Texas) led the way with seven tackles, including a half-tackle for a loss, while classmate
Armondo Orcesi (Dexter, N.Y.) added six stops and one pass break-up. Junior
James Gleeson (Atlanta, Ga.), Temple and sophomore
Zatyk Holub (Mount Vernon, Iowa) all recorded five tackles apiece. Gleeson had 2.0 TFLs including one sack, while Temple registered 1.0 TFLs with a half-sack to his name. Juniors
Jonathan Hardy (Savannah, Ga.) and
Chase Shavey (Mercer Island, Wash.) both had interceptions on the day.
After a fumble on their opening possession, the Mariners got the ball back on their own 22 after the defense picked up a stop on fourth down. Three run calls moved the ball up to the 41-yard line, where
Gervy Alota hit
Sonny Endicott (Colorado Springs, Colo.) for a 50 yard strike. Alota called his own number on the ensuing snap, and dashed into the end zone for the first touchdown of the afternoon.
Norwich forced another fumble late in the first quarter but could not capitalize, as the two teams went into the second quarter with the score still 7-0 Merchant Marine. Norwich did manager to get deep into KP territory on their first drive of the quarter, but fell short on another fourth down attempt from the Mariners' 24-yard line.
Staring at a long field, USMMA turned in a slow, methodical drive. Nine run calls plus a pair of completions to
Talsen Smith got the ball down to the Cadets' 25-yard line, where Alota floated a pass to the endzone for Smith, putting King's Point up 14-0.
After a three-and-out forced by the Mariner defense, Alota needed just three plays to find his top target smith for another score, this one a 17-yard reception to pull ahead 21-0. Late in the half, DB
Jonathan Hardy (Savannah, Ga.) picked off Norwich QB Aidan Sullivan to keep the Mariners up three touchdowns going into the break.
Merchant Marine forced a stop on the first Norwich drive in the third, and the offense picked up right where they left off.
Talsen Smith's 30-yard grab helped get the ball into Cadet territory, then Alota scampered into the end zone from 23-yards out to make it 28-0 KP. Sullivan was quickly intercepted on the next Norwich drive, this time by senior CB
Ryan Vannini. Alota needed just four plays to hit
Talsen Smith for his third receiving touchdown of the afternoon, as the lead swelled to 35-0.
Following another defensive stand,
James Menor capped off a six play drive with a 15-yard rushing score as the Mariners pushed the lead to 42-0. First-year
Bubba Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) took over from Alota in the fourth quarter, and engineered a seven play, 55-yard drive that ended in his own 24-yard rushing touchdown to make it 49-0.
For Norwich, junior Aidan Sullivan completed 16-of-30 pass attempts for 96 yards with two INTs. Back-up QB freshman Landon Beecher tossed the only TD of the day on a 21-yard play right after a turnover late in the fourth quarter. Defensively, senior Shayne Leddy and junior Christian Masonius both had a game-high nine tackles apiece, with Leddy recording one for a loss of two yards, and Masonius adding one for a loss of three.
Up next, the Mariners hit the road once again to take on NEWMAC opponent WPI (3-3, 1-2 NEWMAC) next Saturday, Oct. 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the Engineers' Alumni Stadium.
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