Luke Whitehouse
@Lwhitehouse12
Springfield inched one step closer to another NEWMAC championship Saturday on Stagg Field.
The Pride, led by Blaine Hart (119 yards, two touchdowns) and Arsen Shtefan (134 yards), defeated Merchant Marine 21-14 to remain undefeated in conference play.
“This team is relentless,” Springfield head coach Mike Cerasuolo said. “TDay in and day out they come out and work really hard on the field. Really proud.”
Springfield got things started early after receiving the opening kickoff.
And quickly.
Less than two minutes into the first quarter, Blane took the ball off the edge 67 yards down the sideline for a 68-yard touchdown – putting the Pride up 7-0.
Both defenses would hold strong the rest of the quarter and the Pride entered the second quarter clinging to its one score lead.
Until Hart attacked again.
The senior halfback took it 28 yards down the left sideline for his second touchdown of the game as Springfield increased its lead to 14.
The Mariners, who also run the triple option, loaded the box throughout the first half, allowing Hart to take advantage of the space outside.
“[Those touchdowns] are nothing without my blockers,” Hart said. “All i gotta do is run and they make it easier for me.”
On the other side, the defense for Springfield was dominating, limiting the merchant Marine offense that threw for 355 yards last week, to just 32 yards passing.
But the Mariners would score near the end of the second quarter
After holding the ball for nearly 10 minutes, Caesar Gonzalez punched it in from the one yardline to cut the Pride’s lead in half entering halftime.
Merchant Marine would receive the second half kick off – opening up an opportunity to “double-dip,” and tie it up.
“Anytime you play a triple-option team you have to relax and play your responsibilities,” Cerasuolo said. “That drive was like [long] and that’s hard on the defense. But they came out in the second half and stood tall.”
Stood tall they did.
On the Mariners first drive, the Pride defense forced a three-and-out to give the ball right back to its offense.
On the ensuing drive, Springfield marched down the field, but couldn’t quite get close enough for a touchdown – instead opting for a field goal try from Christian Hutra.
But, the usually-reliable Hutra missed the field goal – setting the Merchant Marine offense up at the 23 yard line.
Springfields defense went back to work – forcing another Merchant Marine punt.
On the Prides next offensive possession it was Arsen Shtefans turn to dominate.
The senior fullback accounted for 50 of Springfield’s 70 yards on the drive, while Dante Vasquez capped it off with a five yard touchdown to extend the Pride’s lead to 21-7.
With firm control of the game, all the Springfield defense had to do was continue to contain the Mariners offense.
With just over two minutes to go, the Merchant Marine offense finally broke through, as backup quarterback Ben Carney found Talsen Smith in space and Smith did the rest, running it into the endzone for a 70 yard touchdown to pull within one score.
Unfortunately for them, the onside kick attempt was unsuccessful – giving the Pride the ball on the other side of two minutes.
The pride did what they do best – running the clock out to secure the 21-14 win.
Despite allowing the late touchdown, Cerasuolo was proud of the way his defense held the Mariners passing game, specifically Smith, in check.
“Defensively, we put a plan in to stop [smith],” he said. “He’s an excellent football player and we did a good job. We got some great players too.”
The Pride (7-1, 5-0) will turn its focus to next Saturday, Nov. 4, as they travel to Northfield, VT to take on Norwich.
Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics