THE BASICS
Score: Maritime (N.Y.) 17, Dean College 14
Records: Maritime (N.Y) (8-1, 5-1 ECFC), Dean College (3-6, 1-5 ECFC)
Date: Saturday, November 4, 2017
Location: Dale Lippert Field, Franklin, Mass.
Time: 1:00 PM

THE LEAD:
Visiting Maritime (N.Y.) scored the game's final 17 points and the Privateers held on for a 17-14 win over a very energized Dean College squad on Saturday afternoon in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) action.

The Bulldog defense was the story of the afternoon despite the loss, forcing four turnovers and holding the nation's 12th highest scoring team (41.6 points per game), nearly 25 points below their average.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The game turned out to be a banner day for Dean defensive back Marquez Walls (Tampa, Fla.), who had three interceptions, a punt return for a touchdown to go along with seven tackles and two pass breakups.

Maritime's Thomas Wright, who entered the contest guiding the league's most potent aerial attack, was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage by Kaleel Harley (Providence, R.I.) – the first of his four interceptions thrown on the afternoon.

Remarkably, Wright's second pass of the contest was intercepted as well when Walls stepped in front of a ball up the right sideline and returned it 12 yards.

After a few empty possessions by both teams, a Walls 18-yard punt return setup the Cardinal and White at their own 40-yard line. Kordell Scott (Orlando, Fla.) found David Brown (Cheraw, S.C.) on a 60-yard touchdown strike, where Brown outmuscled a defender for the ball and then outraced everyone into the endzone for a 7-0 Dean lead.

Maritime's offense continued to sputter on the next possession and Matthew Murphy's 29-yard punt was corralled by Walls and after a few moves to avoid would be tacklers, Walls made one final move that saw him sprint the final 35 yards untouched into the endzone for a two touchdown advantage.

The Privateers answered immediately courtesy of a 43-yard kickoff return by Brandon Drumgole, setting up Maritime at the Dean 43. From there, Maritime marched the final 43 yards – all on the ground – as Chris Olberding began asserting himself and as the first quarter moved to the second, Wright snuck in from a yard out, slicing the Bulldog lead in half.

Dean looked poised to punch in another touchdown on their ensuing drive as they used ten plays and 80 yards to get to the one-yard line. Along the way, Scott connected for big plays to Brown (23 yards) and Carelle Hill (Bridgeport, Conn.) (28 yards) and Richard Harris (Uniondale, N.Y.) ripped off an 18-yard run. On second down it looked as if Noah Taiese (Aiea, Hawai'i) had burrowed his way into the endzone from the three-yard line but he was ruled down short of the goal line and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on the next play.

As was the case for the Cardinal and White on their previous possession, Maritime used ten plays to move deep into Dean territory. And as was the case for the Bulldogs, a turnover ended the drive when Walls snagged his second pick of the game at the goal line and he returned it to the Dean 22.

After Dean punted the ball away after picking up one first down, the Privateers moved the ball with a 29-yard pass from Wright to Andrew Geni to get into Bulldog territory. Later, Wright was sacked by Justice Taylor (Cromwell, Conn.) leaving Maritime down to their final play of the half. Incredibly, on that final play, Wright was able to find Matt Ward in the corner of the endzone from 25 yards out with no time remaining, sending the game into halftime knotted at 14-14.

The big play of the second half came when Maritime moved into Dean territory early in the second half when Wright was again picked off by Walls. Grabbing his third interception of the game, Walls was able to shake a few defenders and find a seam, sprinting 84 yards for what looked like the go-ahead score. An illegal block was called, however – the second touchdown called back by penalty of the game for Dean – and his return for score was nullified.

The Bulldogs possession from that turnover turned into a turnover when Wesley Joseph sacked Scott and forced a fumble that Steven Fehr recovered at the Dean four-yard line.

As they did all afternoon, the Dean defense stood tall and held Maritime out of the endzone and forced a Murphy 20-yard field goal that made the score 17-14.

With two minutes left to go in the third, the Privateers embarked on a 19-play, 75-yard drive that gobbled nine minutes off the clock. Once they got inside the ten yard line their offense stalled – largely in part to the play of a Bulldog defense and then consecutive incompletions by Wright on third and fourth down gave the possession to Dean.

The Bulldogs turned the ball back over when Scott was intercepted by a diving Liam Bailey. Once again, however, the Cardinal and White defense denied the Privateers a touchdown, stopping Olberding at the one-yard line on fourth down.

Dean took over possession with 2:58 to go, on their own one-yard line and they were able to move the ball out to the 22 but three incompletions and a completion for negative yards ended any hope of a comeback by the Bulldogs.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Wright, who entered the game as the league's top passer, had a difficult time with the Dean defense, going 8-for-24 for 94 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.

The Privateers relied heavily on their run game, rushing for 216 yards, highlighted by the 138 on 28 carries from Olberding.

With that running game leading the way, Maritime finished eight of 17 on third downs and held nearly an 11-minute edge in time of possession.

Bailey finished with a game-best 11 tackles, while Fehr ended with five tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery.

For the Bulldogs, Brown hauled in three catches for a season-best 90 yards and Scott threw for 165 yards and a touchdown. Harris totaled 81 all-purpose yards (55 rushing, 26 receiving), while Mujahid Camel (East Orange, N.J.) had a team-best ten stops and Gabriel McClain (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Ricco Aaron (Douglasville, Ga.) each had nine.

Walls was the story of the day, however, finishing with three interceptions, a pair of spectacular breakups, seven tackles, and 175 all-purpose yards.

UP NEXT:
Dean will wrap up their 2017 season with a trip to Anna Maria on Saturday, while the Privateers host Gallaudet.