DUDLEY, Mass. - Maine Maritime Academy rushed for 202 yards and held Nichols College to one score on their way to a 17-8 victory on Saturday afternoon in New England Football Conference play.
James Ferrar (Cumberland, Maine) led Maine Maritime Academy with 128 yards and two touchdowns, while senior quarterback Michael Fahey (Union, Conn.) rushed 18 times for 68 yards.
The Mariners extended their winning streak over Nichols to four games, and improved to 20-17 all-time against the Bison.
Both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm in the first quarter, but the Mariners jumped on the board at the start of the second quarter on a 7-play, 54-yard drive that resulted in a 4-yard touchdown run from Ferrar. Chad Martin's (Fairfield, Maine) extra-point was good, making it 7-0 in favor of Maine Maritime.
Maine Maritime's defense held Nichols' passing attack to a minimum all game, forcing incomplete passes on back-to-back plays to prevent the Bison from scoring late in the first half from the Mariner 23-yard line.
The Mariners started the second half with a sack from Christopher Ford (Pembroke, N.H.), to force a Bison punt, and on their next drive, Martin added a 37-yard field goal to make it 10-0 Maine Maritime.
At the end of the third quarter Bryan Hummel threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Warren, and Colton Hudson's two-point conversion pass was good to Lucien Cance, to close the gap to 10-8, but Justin Lovely (West Gardiner, Maine) grabbed an interception with a little over 10 minutes remaining in the game, giving the Mariners possession at the Nichols 21-yard line. The inteception set up a 5-yard touchdown run for Ferrar, and an extra point kick from Martin to make it 17-8.
Zachary Faskianos (York, Maine) led the Mariner defense with eight total tackles, including four solo stops and 2.5 for a loss. Michael Burgess (North Yarmouth, Maine) added six tackles, two for a loss, two quarterback hurries and a sack, and punted eight times for a total of 343 yards, including a long punt of 64 yards. Ford and Robert Bradley, Jr. (Slidell, La.) each added a sack for the Mariners.
Brett McEvoy led the Bison with 14 stops, including 10 solo, while TJ Ellison added 12 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, and Matt McEvilly recorded 11 tackles.
With the win, Maine Maritime concludes their season at 3-6 overall record and 2-5 in NEFC play. The Bison fall to 1-9 overall and 0-7 in the conference.