UNION, N.J. (Sept. 24, 2022) – The USMMA football team won its first road game of the season, 9-7, over Kean University on Saturday at KU's Alumni Stadium. The win improves the Mariners' record to 2-1 on the season, while the Cougars fall to 1-3 in defeat.
Game Link
With the contest tied 7-7 late in the fourth quarter, the game-winning score came when junior
Cole Simmons (Montrose, Colo.) blocked a Kean punt deep in the Cougars' territory that went out the back of the end zone for a safety.
On Kean's prior possession earlier in the fourth, the Merchant Marine defense turned up huge to force a turnover-on-downs after a 4th-and-2 play from the Mariner five yard-line resulted in a combined tackle for loss by seniors
Daniel Falzone (Medford, N.J.) and
C.J. Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.).
A late comeback attempt by Kean was thwarted when junior
Payton Gourley (Simi Valley, Calif.) intercepted a pass near midfield which sealed the victory.
The Cougars also missed two field goals on the day, a 29-yarder that went wide-left in the first and a 33-yarder that fell short that was the first play of the fourth quarter.
After the hosts' first missed field goal, the Mariners couldn't score as the game moved into the second despite four chances inside the Kean 10 yard-line.
When USMMA got the ball back midway through the second, the visitors opened the scoring on the afternoon when senior
Matthew Savard (Orlando, Fla.) ran in a three-yard touchdown that capped off a 21-play, 80-yard drive.
The Cougars went three-and-out on their first possession of the third, but got the ball back two plays later on a fumble. A six-play, 47-yard drive ended with Kean's junior QB Robbie Nungesser ran in a four-yard TD and the PAT tied it up at 7-7.
Savard led all rushers with 84 yards on 25 carries, while fellow senior
Thomas Gehman (Valley Center, Calif.) compiled 72 yards on the ground on 10 carries. The Merchant Marine defense was led by Falzone, who had 12 tackles, while Mustain finished the day with nine stops and one quarterback hurry.
Nungesser passed for 205 yards on 19-for-32 completions with fifth-year player Jake Zerillo hauling in a team-best five catches for 71 yards. The Kean defense saw eight different Cougars record double-digit tackles, with fifth-year player Aaron Cottrell amassing 17 stops, including 1.5 for losses of three yards.
The Mariners open NEWMAC action on the road at WPI (2-2) next Saturday, Oct. 1. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at the Engineers' H.Carr Field at Alumni Stadium. 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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