Privateers Comeback Attempt Falls Short Against Husson

The Maritime College football team opened up ECFC play with a tough loss to Husson university on Saturday afternoon. The Privateers trailed by as much as 21 in the first half, but were able to cut the lead to six points in the fourth quarter and force a punt from the Eagles. However, a questionable roughing the punter penalty reignited Husson's drive and they were able to put the game out of reach. The Privateers won the coin toss to start the game and chose to defer to the second half, however the Eagles took advantage right away by scoring three plays into the game. On third and four, the Eagles found Kyle Gaudet on the sideline who broke a tackle and took the ball to the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead. After the second failed drive of the quarter, the Privateers special teams unit returned to the field to punt with 5:32 remaining in the quarter. Quan Soyini caught the punt and made Maritime pay the price by returning it 81 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead. Things continued to get worse for the Privateers as they couldn't get any offensive momentum going and early in the second quarter the Eagles added another touchdown and a two-point conversion to advance their lead to 21 points. With 7:11 remaining in the half, Thomas Wright (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) and the Privateers offense finally found some rhythm and was able to drive into the red zone. After a carry for negative two yards and an incomplete pass, Maritime was staring down a third and 12 from the Eagles 13-yard line. Wright dropped back to pass on the long third down and the pocket collapsed, but the Wantagh, NY native escaped to his right and found Kahlil Lewin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Erasmus Hall) on the sideline. Lewin made an acrobatic catch on the run and kept his feet in bounds to get the Privateers on the board. With time winding down in the half, the officials made the decision to only keep the time on the field, but with less than two minutes on the clock, the Eagles added another touchdown to their first half total and took a 27-7 lead with very little time left. The Privateers didn't have much time to work with, but decided to try one more play. They ran an out route to Matthew Cebulski (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) and the sophomore wide receiver made two defenders miss and took off down the sideline. Cebulski was being chased down, but made a dive for the pilon and just got the ball across before his knee hit the ground to complete the 60-yard touchdown play. The big play to close the half woke up the crowd and gave the Privateers the energy boost they needed going into the locker room.