DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Mount Ida College football team opened the 2015 season at UMass Dartmouth, but the occasion was spoiled by the Corsairs, who posted a 41-6 victory on Friday evening in front of a jam-packed Cressy Field crowd.
Mount Ida (0-1) fell behind in the first half, but came charging out of the halftime locker room, scoring on its second drive of the second half. The Mustangs marched 76 yards on seven plays, capped by a 23-yard rush by senior Melquawn Pinkney (Springfield, Mass.). Pinkey finished the contest with a game-high 88 yards on 20 carries.
That was not enough to push Mount Ida past UMass Dartmouth and their junior quarterback Cory Burnham (Essex, Mass.), who threw for four touchdowns and ran for another two.
Burnham connected on 26-of-43 passes for 255 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. He tossed three first half touchdowns, while completing a one-yard scamper to stake UMass Dartmouth (1-0) to a commanding 27-0 halftime lead.
Mount Ida running back Jared Lucas (Saint Paul, Minn.) gained 97 all-purpose yards, including a 40-yard carry on a fake punt that set up the Mustangs touchdown. Sophomore Travis O'Brien (Portsmouth, R.I.) averaged 5.7 yards per carry (14-80).
In his first collegiate game, freshman Jack Sheehan (St. Petersburg, Fla.) completed three passes for 51 yards. Two of those connections went to fellow first year Shakir White (Salem, Mass.), who had 41 yards receiving, including a 35 yard completion.
Defensively, Mount Ida was led by 12 tackles from Matt Martin (), who also forced and recovered a fumble and broke up a pass. Chris Toyloy (Yonkers, N.Y.) and Sean Chinova (Watertown, Conn.) each had seven tackles, with Toyloy also recording the only sack of the night.
Freshman Anferne Jimenez (Salem, Mass.) and junior Jared Lucas (Queens, N.Y.) each picked up interceptions in the opening game of the year.
Junior Jakarrie Washington (Everett, Mass.) made an immediate impact in his Corsair debut, pulling in a game-high 12 passes for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also took his lone carry of the night for 14 yards to eclipse the century mark of total offense (101). Freshman Abbi Bamgbose (Fitchburg, Mass.) had three receptions for 47 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown. Senior Jason Ferri (Billerica, Mass.) also hauled in three catches for 42 yards, including the opening four-yard touchdown.
UMass Dartmouth featured a variety of ball carriers with eight different rushers gaining a total of 167 yards, highlighted by Burnham's 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
The Corsairs seized the momentum early in the contest, when sophomore Marvey Mathurin (Woburn, Mass.) blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt on the first series of the evening. Sophomore Alex Ortega (Lynn, Mass.) picked the loose ball up on the goal line and returned it near midfield.
UMass Dartmouth needed just seven plays to crack the scoring column. Burnham connected with Ferri in the back right corner of the end zone to give the hosts a lead they would never relinquish.
Mount Ida tried to spark its offense with a fake punt from its own eight-yard line that was stopped shy of the first down yardstick by sophomore DaVon Fuller (Washington, D.C.) at the Mount Ida 13. Two plays later, Burnham found Bamgbose on a skinny post to double the Corsair advantage.
Later in the quarter, the Corsairs orchestrated their longest drive of the night, marching 78 yards on 13 plays. Burnham hit Washington on four passes over the course of the drive for a combined 45 yards, while the visitors prolonged the drive with a crucial roughing the passer penalty on a third down play that would have stalled the drive. Burnham capped the drive on a run from one yard out.
With less than three minutes remaining in the half, UMass Dartmouth converted a 3rd and 20 with a 25-yard strike to Bamgbose. Three plays later, Burnham found Washington in the flat from four yards away to cap the first half scoring.
UMass Dartmouth was led defensively by senior Derek Tarpey (Tewksbury, Mass.) with nine tackles, including one for a loss, and two QB hurries. Sophomore Brandon Miller (Holden, Mass.) registered seven stops, including 1.5 sacks. Sophomore Jon Biggs (Stone Mountain, Ga.) caused the lone turnover, intercepting a pass in the third quarter.
Mount Ida has three home games ahead on their schedule, beginning on September 12th when they host Plymouth State at 1:00 pm.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, when the Corsairs travel to Springfield College.