KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Sept. 2, 2022) – The USMMA football team opened the 2022 season against FDU-Florham on Friday night under the lights at Tomb Field on Parents Weekend at KP, but it was the visiting Devils that came out on top, 17-7.
 
Game File

• Box Score 

After a scoreless opening quarter that featured a blocked field goal attempt against the Mariners, it was the Devils who grabbed the lead early in the second, capping off a 14-play, 76-yard drive with a four yard TD pass by senior QB TJ Brown to freshman Kwanir Edwards.
 
The Mariners would knot the game up at 7-7 right before halftime, as senior quarterback Jeremiah Wang (Manassas, Va.) connected with sophomore Jayden Colon (Bay Shore, N.Y.) on a 16-yard TD, with Colon keeping a foot in the back of the end zone after beating his defender with just 17 seconds left before the break.
 
FDU went back ahead with a 37-yard field goal to end its opening drive of the third quarter to make it 10-7. The visitors then went on to force a fumble on the ensuing Merchant Marine drive, and then turned that into seven more points after Brown connected with grad. student Eric Castorina II on a six-yard TD at 4:24. That drive featured a key 35-yard pickup on a pass from Brown to grad student Connor Perez that put the Devils into the red zone three plays before the TD.
 
After a USMMA three-and-out, the Mariner defense picked up its first turnover of the season when junior Thomas Joyce (Taunton, Mass.) picked off a pass on the FDU side of the field. However, the Mariners ran four plays, but fell just inches short of a first down inside the red zone, in a crushing blow.
 
The two teams traded three more punts over the next 13-plus minutes, as neither offense generated much in the quarter. A late interception by FDU-Florham allowed the Devils to burn out the remaining time to claim the victory.
 
The Mariners mustered 216 yards of offense (140 rushing and 76 passing), while FDU had 269 (231 passing and 38 rushing).
 
Wang completed four passes for 49 yards, with Colon catching two for 29 yards and senior Cody Miller (Goodyear, Ariz.) also bringing down two for 28 yards. Junior Ceaser Gonzalez (Norco, Calif.) led all rushers in the game with 52 yards.
 
Brown finished the night 27-for-34 for 225 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Castorina caught 10 passes for 75 yards and a score.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Joyce had nine tackles including half a tackle-for-loss and the one interception. Sophomore C.J. Livesay (Morristown, Tenn.) made seven stops (three solo and four assisted) and Teddy Brunger (Indialantic, Fla.) had six tackles. Senior C.J. Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) and sophomore Giovanni Orcesi (Dexter, N.Y.) both finished with five tackles, with Orcesi picking up the only sack for the Mariners on the night.
 
For the Devils, grad student Kenny Hands, senior Marquez Haywood and junior Tyrell Pereira all had a team-best six tackles each. Hands forced the costly turnover in the third quarter and grad student Matthew Dougherty had the late interception that helped seal the win.
 
The Mariners will go into a bye week, and return to action on Saturday, Sept. 17, when they play host to industry rival SUNY Maritime on Homecoming and Hall of Fame Weekend at Kings Point. 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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