Dave Geringer                                                                                      Athletic Department                                           (508) 990-9651

Sports Information Director                                                               Tripp Athletic Center                                           sportsinfo@umassd.edu

 

                                    UMASS DARTMOUTH WINS AT MASS MARITIME, 37-27

 

BUZZARDS BAY, MA-It’s four down and one to go for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth football team.

 

The Corsairs, who lost their first five games of the season, seized a large early lead and held off a late rally to defeat Massachusetts Maritime, 37-27, at Commander Ellis Field Saturday afternoon.

 

UMD took a 19-7 halftime lead, then scored 18 unanswered points in the third quarter to assume a 37-7 advantage before the Bucs came back.

 

The Corsairs took the lead on their second drive of the game. Starting at their own 48-yard line after a 15-yard punt, they drove 52 yards in seven plays. Freshman quarterback Alex Garro (Mattapoisett, MA/Old Rochester HS) hit sophomore wide receiver Derek George (Taunton, MA/Taunton HS) with a 36-yard pass on the first play of the drive, then ran four yards for the score on the final play of the drive to make it 7-0 after senior Derek Bealby’s (Peterborough, NH/Con Val HS) extra point.

 

UMD scored again on the next series. On third and 15 at the MMA 49, quarterback Mike Blomberg’s pass was intercepted by Corsair senior defensive back Sean Sullivan (Waltham, MA/Waltham HS), who returned it 59 yards for a touchdown. Bealby’s point after touchdown was blocked.

 

The Corsairs increased their lead midway through the second quarter. They drove 83 yards, highlighted by a 67-yard pass from Garro to senior wide receiver Manny Lopes (Norwood, MA/Norwood HS). That put the ball at the Mass Maritime 11. Two plays later, sophomore running back Rob Sullivan (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill HS) scored from eight yards out to make it 19-0.

 

The Bucs scored just before halftime. Taking over at the UMD 24 after a bad snap on a punt, they went the distance in five plays. Joe DeFrank threw a four-yard scoring pass to James McFarland 14 seconds before the end of the half and it was 19-7 at halftime.

 

The Corsairs scored thrice in the third quarter. They went 24 yards in one play after senior linebacker Eric Meza (Leominster, MA/Oakmont HS) recovered Tom Stralker’s fumble. Garro hit sophomore tight end Charley Gryska (Medfield, MA/Medfield HS) for the touchdown. Bealby’s extra point was blocked, and it was 25-7.

 

UMass Dartmouth then scored a pair of touchdowns on special teams. Crusco returned Mike Sarapas’ punt 49 yards for a touchdown with 3:42 to play in the third quarter. On the last play of the third quarter, Brendan Allen muffed Bealby’s punt deep into Buccaneer territory. Sophomore defensive back John Waldron (Lynn, MA/Lynn Classical HS) fell on it for a touchdown, and it was 37-7.

 

MMA scored three times in the fourth quarter. Blomberg scored from a yard after completing passes of 40 and 11 yards to Tyler Andrews on a drive that began at the Buc 39. The extra point failed, and it was 37-13. Blomberg hit Andrews for 24 yards and a score with 5:40 to play, and Stralker rushed 11 yards for a touchdown with 1:10 remaining. MMA recovered an onside kick, but the Corsair defense stopped Blomberg after three incompletions and a four-yard scramble, and UMD took over at their own 49-yard line and ran out the clock.

 

Sullivan rushed 24 times for 69 yards to lead the Corsairs. Garro completed seven of 18 passes for 159 yards, and Lopes caught three passes for 77 yards.

 

 The Corsairs improved to 4-5, while MMA dropped to 0-8. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they visit Salve Regina next Saturday at 12 noon. Mass Maritime will play at Bridgewater State next Saturday afternoon.

                                               

UMASS DARTMOUTH FOOTBALL

 

Box Score (Final)

  Score by Quarters     1  2  3  4   Score

  -----------------    -- -- -- --   -----

  UMASS DARTMOUTH..... 13  6 18  0  - 37       Record: (4-5,0-5)

  Mass Maritime.......  0  7  0 20  - 27       Record: (0-8,0-5)

 

<cpi17>

  Scoring Summary:

  1st 08:13 UMD - Alex Garro 4 yd run (Derek Bealby kick), 7-52 2:27, UMD 7 - MAM 0

      04:54 UMD - Sean Sullivan 59 yd interception return (Derek Bealby kick blocked), , UMD 13 - MAM 0

  2nd 05:05 UMD - Rob Sullivan 8 yd run (Sean Sullivan rush failed), 5-83 2:25, UMD 19 - MAM 0

      00:14 MAM - James McFarland 4 yd pass from Joe DeFrank (Mike Sarapas kick), 5-24 1:06, UMD 19 - MAM 7

  3rd 12:29 UMD - Charley Gryska 24 yd pass from Alex Garro (Derek Bealby kick blocked), 1-24 0:08, UMD 25 - MAM 7

      03:42 UMD - Mike Crusco 49 yd punt return (Todd Harold rush failed), , UMD 31 - MAM 7

      00:00 UMD - John Waldron 0 yd fumble recovery (Derek Bealby kick failed), , UMD 37 - MAM 7

  4th 12:19 MAM - Mike Blomberg 1 yd run (Mike Sarapas kick failed), 5-61 2:32, UMD 37 - MAM 13

      05:40 MAM - Tyler Andrews 24 yd pass from Mike Blomberg (Mike Blomberg pass intcpt), 6-58 2:34, UMD 37 - MAM 19

      01:10 MAM - Tom Stralker 11 yd run (Ross Jarvis rush), 6-44 2:05, UMD 37 - MAM 27

 

<cpi10>

                                      UMD      MAM

  FIRST DOWNS...................       12       19

  RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............    45-67   45-156

  PASSING YDS (NET).............      159      170

  Passes Att-Comp-Int...........   18-7-0  35-13-1

  TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   63-226   80-326

  Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0

  Punt Returns-Yards............     2-61     2--4

  Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     3-36    7-121

  Interception Returns-Yards....     1-59      0-0

  Punts (Number-Avg)............   7-29.9   6-25.2

  Fumbles-Lost..................      2-1      4-4

  Penalties-Yards...............     8-83     6-50

  Possession Time...............    28:45    31:06

  Third-Down Conversions........  5 of 15  7 of 18

  Fourth-Down Conversions.......   1 of 3   1 of 4

  Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      2-2      3-4

  Sacks By: Number-Yards........     1-13      2-9

 

  RUSHING: UMASS DARTMOUTH-Rob Sullivan 24-79; Alex Garro 9-8; Jameson Humphries

  2-5; Aaron Russo 5-5; Todd Harold 2-3; Kraig Mello 1-minus 1; Mike Knolker

  1-minus 3; Team 1-minus 29. Mass Maritime-Tom Stralker 25-97; Mike Blomberg

  7-39; Ross Jarvis 3-8; Kyle Audette 4-6; Tyler Andrews 3-4; Joe DeFrank 3-2.

 

  PASSING: UMASS DARTMOUTH-Alex Garro 7-18-0-159. Mass Maritime-Mike Blomberg

  7-22-1-114; Joe DeFrank 6-13-0-56.

 

  RECEIVING: UMASS DARTMOUTH-Manny Lopes 3-77; Charley Gryska 2-39; Derek

  George 1-36; Mike Crusco 1-7. Mass Maritime-Tyler Andrews 5-87; Joe Bushy

  5-51; Tom Stralker 1-21; Timothy Wellman 1-7; James McFarland 1-4.

 

  INTERCEPTIONS: UMASS DARTMOUTH-Sean Sullivan 1-59. Mass Maritime-None.

 

  FUMBLES: UMASS DARTMOUTH-Eric Meza 1-1; Kraig Mello 1-0. Mass Maritime-Tom

  Stralker 2-2; Ross Jarvis 1-1; Brendan Allen 1-1.

 

  Stadium: Cdr.Ellis Field       Attendance: 444

  Kickoff time: 12:00     End of Game: 2:46      Total elapsed time: 2:46

  Officials:

  Temperature: 46        Wind: NE 5-10   Weather: cloudy

 

 

<page>

      UMASS DARTMOUTH vs Mass Maritime (Oct 29, 2005 at Buzzards Bay, MA)

 

  SACKS (UA-A): UMASS DARTMOUTH-Rich Braley 1-0. Mass Maritime-Nick Bartucca

  0-1; J. Strickland 1-0.

 

  TACKLES (UA-A): UMASS DARTMOUTH-Rich Braley 9-0; William Reiss 7-0; Mike

  Bleakley 7-0; Eric Meza 7-0; John Regan 4-0; Dave Bombardier 3-0; Jack

  Dolabany 3-0; Eric Wilbur 2-0; Dan Rank 2-0; Joe Calden 2-1; John Waldron

  2-1; Matt Moeckel 1-0; Jordan Wright 1-0; Manny Lopes 1-0; 50 1-0; Sean

  Sullivan 1-0; Adam Hood 1-0. Mass Maritime-Kyle Audette 7-2; James Gibbons

  5-1; Patrick Tryon 4-2; Brendan Allen 4-0; G. Dominguez 3-2; Ron Varrichione

  3-0; Augustus Flemmi 2-1; Derek Parent 2-0; John Calnan 2-0; Gus DeOliveira

  2-0; J. Strickland 2-0; Nick Bartucca 2-1; Jonatas Silva 1-0; Nick Rasetta

  1-0; Tyler Andrews 1-0.