News
Football Falls To Union College On Senior Day
By Joshua Mraz, Interim SIDNovember 07, 2009
Richard Grennen
Kings Point, NY - The United States Merchant Marine Academy football team fell to Liberty League opponent Union College, 37-6. The Dutchmen were able to hold the Mariners to just 137 total yards of offense. Sophomore kicker Richard Grennen led the way for the Mariners with 23 and 41 yard field goals.
USMMA falls to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the Liberty League while the Dutchmen improve to 7-2 overall and 6-0 in the Liberty League.
Quarterback Derrick Ventre (7-15) was good for 35 yards while quarterback Carlton Hobkirk (4-8) threw for 31 yards. The Mariners finished with only 71 total rushing yards in which 25 came on one play. Andrew Price led the receiving core with two catches for 21 yards. Senior Calder Kaatz finished with a game high 17 tackles while juniors A.J. Hunt and Marcus Broeder each added 10 tackles. Hunt added two interceptions while Broeder added one. Jacob Fabricius recorded the Mariners fourth interception and also finished with seven tackles.
Kyle Holmes led Union with 114 rushing yards and one touchdown. Chris Coney added 92 rushing yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns. Quarterback Drew Connolly finished the game with 119 yards and four interceptions. Jared Gourrier led all receivers with six catches for 87 yards. Eric Baxter led the defense for Union with seven tackles and one interception while Steve Modliszewski added six tackles. The Dutchman defense held the Mariners to just 137 total yards of offense and forced five turnovers.
Union took an early lead in the first quarter when Coney rushed for a 13-yard touchdown with 9:14 remaining in the quarter. The score finished a nine play 60 yard drive by the Dutchmen. The Mariners would answer on their next possession as they took 11 plays to go 65 yards to set up a Grennen 23-yard field goal, 7-3.
With 13:23 to go in the second quarter Union put up there second points of the game. Zach Epley knocked through a 27-yard field to go give the Dutchmen a 10-3. After a Mariner punt nine minutes later, Union would strike again. This time Epley would split the uprights with a 21-yard field, 13-3. As time was winding down in the second quarter, Broeder picked off pass by the Dutchmen quarterback and returned it 37 yards to the Union 33 with eight seconds left in the quarter. After Ventre hit Price with a 14 yard pass, the Mariners would send out the field goal unit with three seconds left. Grennen then connected on a 41-yard field goal attempt to make it a 13-6 game at the break.
The second half proved to be all Union as they outscored the Mariners 24-0. The Dutchmen made it a 20-6 game after Coney rushed for his second touchdown of the game with 13:21 left in the third quarter. Epley put the Dutchmen up 23-6 with his second 21-yard field goal of the game.
In the fourth quarter, Union would add two more touchdowns to put the game out of reach. Holmes found the endzone for the first time of the game with 9:14 to go to make it a 30-6 game. Four minutes later, Tim Mogan put the nail in the coffin with a 25-yard touchdown run as the Dutchmen went onto the 37-6 victory.
The Mariners will return to action on Saturday, November 14th when they travel to RPI in their final game of the regular season. Game time is slated for 1:00 pm in Troy, NY. Last time the two teams met, the Mariners won, 23-21. USMMA leads the series 10-7.
Name: Chaise Dunn