Bourassa Shines in Mariners Victory

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – A pair of Nick Bourassa (Jay, Maine) touchdowns was the difference as Maine Maritime Academy knocked off Mass.-Dartmouth 21-13 at Cressy Field on Saturday. The Mariners' (2-0) captain rushed for 100 yards and the day's final two scores.

The Corsairs (1-2) grabbed their only lead of the game, 13-6 late in the first half when Patrick Orlando punched in from the one-yard line to cap a an eight-play, 42-yard drive that started as a result of a Maine Maritime fumble. Mass.-Dartmouth had gotten on the board on its previous possession with a 74-yard drive that Orlando finished with a pass to Joe Luiz to make it 7-6. Bill Wetherbee (Veazie, Maine) blocked the Corsairs' extra-point attempt.

Orlando's lead-grabbing plunge with 1:45 in the second quarter left the MMA offense with too much time to work. Bourassa broke of a 39-yard kickoff return to start the Mariners on their own 44. Four snaps later, Bourassa broke free for a 46-yard touchdown. Michael Brennan's (Manchester, Maine) extra point gave the Mariners the lead for good.

Pinned deep in their own territory, the Mariners marched 97-yards on 12 plays on their first possession of the second half. Bourassa got the sixth touch of the drive, picking up 22 yards and putting his team on the Corsairs half of the field. He got the final touch as well, running in from six-yards out for the final score of the game.

Bourassa rolled up exactly 100 yards on nine touches. He finished the game with 200 all-purpose yards, gaining 100-yards on three kickoff returns. Ian Champeon (Dover-Foxcroft, Maine) also rushed for 119 yards on 18 carries, while quarterback Matthew Rende (Augusta, Maine) picked up 79 yards on 27 keeps. He scored the Mariners' first touchdown from seven-yards out on the game's opening drive.

Junior linebacker Brock Lawrence (Benton, Maine) intercepted a pass by Orlando late in the fourth quarter and Maine Maritime ran out the clock. Mass.-Dartmouth, which had driven to the MMA 21-yard line before junior Edgar Osols' 38-yard field goal attempt sailed wide with 14:49 left in the fourth quarter, had taken over when Darrien Furr and Joe Teixera stopped Rende on fourth down at the UMD 35 with 3:23 remaining.

Orlando picked up a first down on an 11-yard scramble. On the next series, he was sacked by freshman defensive lineman Andrew Hammond (East Waterboro, Maine) and threw an incompletion before Lawrence made his interception on third down. Orlando finished the game with 12 completions and 91 yards on 32 attempts. He was sacked twice. Hammond combined with John Regis (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) for the other sack.

Corsairs' freshman running back Mike Janey rushed 20 times for 81 yards as the defense limited Mass.-Dartmouth to 250 yards of offense.  Joel Chadbourne (Westbrook, Maine) had 11 tackles for the Mariners, including three solos, and broke up a pass, while sophomore defensive back Pat Richardson (Eliot, Maine) had 10 tackles. Four of his stops were solos.

The Mariners return to action next weekend when Fitchburg State visits Castine for Homecoming Weekend.

Score by Quarters    1    2    3    4    Score    
Maine Maritime    7    7    7    0    21    Record: (2-0)
UMass Dartmouth    0    13    0    0    13    Record: (1-2)
               
1st    13:20    MEM    Matthew Rende 7 yd run (Michael Brennan kick), 4-53 1:40, MEM 7 - UMD 0
2nd    5:59    UMD    Joe Luiz 2 yd pass from Patrick Orlando (Edgar Osols kick blockd), 15-74 7:26, MEM 7 - UMD 6

1:45    UMD    Patrick Orlando 1 yd run (Edgar Osols kick), 8-42 4:01, MEM 7 - UMD 13

0:39    MEM    Nick Bourassa 46 yd run (Michael Brennan kick), 4-56 1:06, MEM 14 - UMD 13
3rd    4:53    MEM    Nick Bourassa 6 yd run (Michael Brennan kick), 12-97 6:19, MEM 21 - UMD 13
         

MEM    UMD
FIRST DOWNS    21    17
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)    61-371    37-159
PASSING YDS (NET)    20    91
Passes Att-Comp-Int    5-1-1    32-12-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS    66-391    69-250
Fumble Returns-Yards    0-0    0-0
Punt Returns-Yards    0-0    0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards    3-100    3-42
Interception Returns-Yards    1-10    1-19
Punts (Number-Avg)    1-24.0    6-34.3
Fumbles-Lost    6-2    0-0
Penalties-Yards    5-45    8-59
Possession Time    31:33    28:27
Third-Down Conversions    5 of 13    8 of 17
Fourth-Down Conversions    1 of 4    1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances    2-2    2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards    2-8    0-0
 

RUSHING: Maine Maritime-Ian Champeon 18-119; Nick Bourassa 9-100; Matthew Rende 27-79; Bill Wetherbee 5-74; TEAM 2-minus 1. UMass Dartmouth-Mike Janey 20-81; Patrick Orlando 12-64; Nick Hiou 3-7; Edgar Osols 1-7; Darrius Wood 1-0.

PASSING: Maine Maritime-Matthew Rende 1-5-1-20. UMass Dartmouth-Patrick Orlando 12-32-1-91.

RECEIVING: Maine Maritime-Nick Bourassa 1-20. UMass Dartmouth-Brendan McNeish 6-49; Joe Luiz 4-37; Lonnie Page 1-8; Joune Fraser 1-minus 3.

INTERCEPTIONS: Maine Maritime-Brock Lawrence 1-10. UMass Dartmouth-Ross O'Toole 1-19.

FUMBLES: Maine Maritime-Matthew Rende 5-1; Nick Bourassa 1-1. UMass Dartmouth-None.

SACKS (UA-A): Maine Maritime-Andrew Hammond 1-1; John Regis 0-1. UMass Dartmouth-None.

TACKLES (UA-A): Maine Maritime-Joel Chadbourne 3-8; Pat Richardson 4-6; Matthew Ball 3-4; Alex Hermes 3-4; Chase Hutchinso 4-2; Brock Lawrence 3-3; John Regis 1-5; Andrew Hammond 1-4; Michael Burgess 1-2; Frank True 0-3; Chris Brawn 1-1; Nick Cawood 0-2; Ryan Williams 1-0; Nate Duford 1-0; Michael Gendron 0-1; Jacob Albon 0-1; Ryan O'Neal 0-1; Bill Wetherbee 0-1. UMass Dartmouth-John Cordasco 5-10; Ross O'Toole 4-10; Joe Teixera 3-9; William Bizcain 3-6; Jordan McDonald 2-6; Darrien Furr 2-2; James Green 2-2; Joseph Martin 0-4; Nick Hiou 1-2; Derek Henry 1-2; Jake Walsh 0-3; Willia Cardello 1-1; Alex Kershaw 0-2; Bryant Joseph 1-0; Nils Swenson 0-1; Phil Vieira 0-1; Edwin Sustache 0-1.