United States Merchant Marine Academy

WORCESTER, Mass. (Oct. 31, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy football team bounced back in a big way on Saturday afternoon, building a 30-point lead through three quarters en route to a 40-26 NEWMAC road victory over WPI at H. Carr Field. The Mariners improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play, while the Engineers fell to 5-3 (3-2).
 
Game File

• Box Score 

Junior Bubba Mustain (Oro Valley, Ariz.) accounted for four Merchant Marine touchdowns, completing 9-of-16 passes for 200 yards and a score while rushing 19 times for a team-high 60 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Angelo Cimino (Salinas, Calif.) led the receiving corps with four catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, while classmate Dane Grunder (Towson, Md.) added a 44-yard reception and sophomore Mason Wilson (New Orleans, La.) caught two passes for 42 yards.
 
Junior Sonny Endicott (Colorado Springs, Colo.) rushed eight times for 38 yards and a touchdown, while senior Seamus Bonte (Westerville, Ohio) added 35 yards on seven carries. Sophomore Joshua Lock (Coppell, Texas) also found the end zone and finished with 22 rushing yards.
 
Defensively, senior Aidan Graham (Allen, Texas) led the Mariners with eight tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. Junior Dante Morganti (Houston, Texas) finished with seven stops and a pass breakup, while classmate Blayne Shiraki (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded six tackles, including one for loss, and a pass breakup. Senior Armondo Orcesi (Dexter, N.Y.) added four tackles, a sack and a quarterback hurry. Freshman Max Hall (St. Leonard, Md.) converted four extra points and averaged 43.0 yards on two punts.
 
Merchant Marine held a 414-301 advantage in total offense and a 27-19 edge in first downs. The Mariners rushed for 214 yards and held WPI to 52 net rushing yards, while controlling possession for 34:31. USMMA was also a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth-down conversions.
 
The Mariners set the tone immediately with a 16-play, 75-yard opening drive that consumed 7:41. Mustain converted a fourth-and-four with a five-yard run along the way before eventually scoring from two yards out to give USMMA a 7-0 lead with 7:19 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Merchant Marine quickly took advantage of favorable field position on WPI's next possession. The Engineers lost 32 yards on a fourth-down play, giving the Mariners possession at the WPI 14. Three plays later, Lock scored on a three-yard run to extend the advantage to 13-0 with 4:49 left in the opening quarter.
 
The Mariners continued to pull away early in the second. Mustain connected with Cimino for gains of 15 and 48 yards on a six-play, 80-yard drive before scoring on another two-yard run to make it 19-0 with 10:29 remaining in the half.
 
WPI got on the board with Nathan Napier's 20-yard field goal at the 5:54 mark, but Merchant Marine answered with another lengthy march. USMMA went 69 yards in 15 plays and converted a fourth-and-one from its own 40 before working all the way to the WPI goal line. On the final play of the half, Mustain scored from one yard out to send the Mariners into the locker room with a commanding 26-3 advantage.
 
The Merchant Marine defense came up with a goal-line stand on WPI's opening possession of the third quarter. The Engineers advanced to the USMMA 5-yard line, but Graham dropped Josh Macomber for a four-yard loss on third down before an incomplete pass on fourth-and-five turned the ball over on downs.
 
Later in the quarter, the Mariners put together another sustained scoring drive, going 80 yards in 13 plays and converting twice on fourth down. Mustain found sophomore Harrison Garrido (St. John's, Fla.) for 26 yards and later connected with Cimino for an eight-yard touchdown with 1:03 remaining, extending the lead to 33-3.
 
WPI scored its first touchdown of the afternoon early in the fourth quarter when Dylan Gallo found Dylan Dipietro for an eight-yard score, followed by a successful two-point conversion, to cut the margin to 33-11.
 
Merchant Marine immediately answered. Mustain connected with Wilson for 21 yards on third-and-10 and then found Grunder for a 44-yard gain to the WPI 9. Endicott scored on the next play, giving the Mariners a 40-11 lead with 8:17 remaining.
 
The Engineers added two touchdowns in the final 3:41, including their final score with 1:32 remaining, to account for the final margin. Merchant Marine recovered both ensuing onside kicks and ran out the clock to secure the 40-26 victory.
 
For WPI, Gallo completed 19-of-29 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Ethan Frisch caught five passes for 82 yards and a score, while Garrett Ranieri finished with six receptions for 64 yards. Macomber led the Engineers on the ground with 61 yards on 13 carries. Grant Engelhardt and Logan Kundred each recorded 10 tackles defensively.
 
The Mariners now turn their attention to the 46th Annual Secretaries' Cup, as USMMA will take on arch-rival Coast Guard on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. Tickets are still available at www.SecretariesCup.com. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
Additional information about the historic rivalry matchup in our nation's capital will be available on www.USMMASports.com and the USMMA Athletics social media pages (links below) in the coming weeks.
 
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