The Mount Ida College football team dropped their season opener Friday night at UMASS-Dartmouth in non-conference action falling 24-21unable to capitalize on a late game rally. The Corsairs team turned a pair of crucial turnovers into touchdowns and built a 17-point lead holding off the Mustangs for the victory. The Mustangs fall to and overall record of 0-1 while the hosts improve to 1-0.
Leading, 10-7, at the start of the second half, UMass Dartmouth got the ball back on their kickoff when freshman running back Chris McNally (Bourne, MA/Bourne) was hit by Corsairs freshman linebacker Alex Kershaw (Foxboro, MA/Oliver Ames) and fumbled the ball at the Mount Ida 19-yard line. Kershaw recovered, and the Corsairs scored on the ensuing play, when junior quarterback Patrick Orlando (Manchester, MA/Essex HS/Saint Anselm) hit junior wide receiver Brendan McNeish in the end zone. Junior Edgar Osols (Summit, NJ/Summit) added the extra point to make it 17-7.
UMD took advantage again later in the quarter, when junior defensive back Darrien Furr (East Taunton, MA/Taunton) intercepted a pass by Mustang junior quarterback Scott Drosendahl (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) at the Mount Ida 22-yard line. On first down, Orlando rushed for eight yards, and a penalty against the Mustangs put the ball on the seven-yard line. Freshman running back Mike Janey (Dorchester, MA/Wellesley) carried twice, going in from the four on his second attempt to make it 24-7 with 2:22 to play in the third quarter.
Mount Ida came back. Senior running back Johrone Bunch (Meriden, CT/F.T. Maloney) raced 76 yards up the middle for a touchdown to make it 24-13 with 1:58 left in the third quarter. Corsairs sophomore linebacker Joe Teixera (Seekonk, MA/Seekonk) blocked the extra point.
The Mustangs made it close on their final drive. Drosendahl completed three of four passing attempts on the drive, hitting sophomore wide receiver Jordan Hyman (Middletown, CT/Xavier) for 20 yards and a score with 1:32 left. Drosendahl connected with junior wideout Matt Valentini (Lake Hopatcong, NJ/Jefferson Township) for a two-point conversion to make it 24-21. But sophomore defensive back Phil Vieira (Portsmouth, RI/Portsmouth) recovered senior Bobby Hemann's (Newington, CT/Newington) onside kick, and the Corsairs ran out the clock.
Mount Ida grabbed the early lead when Bunch capped a nine-play, 55-yard drive with a 20-yard scoring run with 9:30 remaining in the first quarter. UMD tied it when Janey scored on a 13-yard run with 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter, and took the lead when Osols kicked a 38-yard field goal with 11:49 left in the first half.
Janey gained 75 yards on 20 carries and Orlando was nine of 19 for 119 yards for UMD, which was outgained by the Mustangs, 319 yards to 245. Bunch ran 35 times for 171 yards, Drosendahl was 10 of 27 for 153 yards, and Hyman caught five passes for 115 yards. Osols punted eight times for a 33.2 yard average, averaged 66.6 yards on five kickoffs, including one touchback, and drilled a 38-yard field goal.
Defensively, UMD's Kershaw made 16 tackles, including nine solo stops, had 2.5 tackles for 19 yards of lost yardage, forced a fumble, and recovered one. Teixera had nine stops, including six solos, made 3.5 tackles for nine yards of lost yardage, added a sack and blocked a kick. Senior linebacker Herve Kasanda (Woburn, MA/Essex Junction) and sophomore defensive lineman Jon Proto (North Haven, CT/North Haven) each had nine tackles for Mount Ida. Proto had 2.5 tackles for five yards of lost yardage, and Kasanda recovered two fumbles.
The Mustangs will host Plymouth State next Saturday for their home opener with kick-off slated for 1:00 p.m.