PAXTON, Mass.—Mount Ida College had their fifth highest scoring day in program history and beat Anna Maria College for the seventh consecutive season with a 55-21 win in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) action on Saturday afternoon.
All phases of the game contributed to the win, which boosts the Mustangs to 4-4 overall and 4-1 in ECFC action. Anna Maria continues to search for their first victory of 2016.
Mike Elsey (Killingly, Conn.) caught two touchdowns from Jack Sheehan (St. Petersburg, Fla.), and Travis O'Brien (Portsmouth, R.I.) ran for 156 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
SCORING
A 24-yard touchdown catch by Elsey in the first quarter gave Mount Ida a 7-0 lead to start the game, but Anna Maria responded on their next drive with a Joseph D'Onofrio (Everett, Mass.) touchdown to even the score at 7-7.
A botched punt by Anna Maria allowed the Mustangs to start their final drive of the quarter from the AMCAT 29-yard line. The Mustangs needed just two plays to get into the red zone, and O'Brien snuck in a 12-yard touchdown run two plays later for the 14-7 lead.
The Mustangs took control for good in the second quarter as they scored 28 unanswered points on four touchdowns to own a 42-7 halftime lead.
A one-yard quarterback-keep touchdown by Sheehan in the third quarter gave Mount Ida a 49-7 lead before Anna Maria ended their scoring draught with Trai Weaver's (Waterbury, Conn.) 35-yard reception from Darius Jones-Clark (Baltimore, Md.) with 1:44 remaining in the third quarter.
Sean Chinova (Watertown, Conn.) returned an interception 30-yards for the Mustangs' final touchdown for the day at the 7:58 mark of the fourth quarter, the second non-offensive touchdown after sophomore Michael Whitsett (Chicopee, Mass.) returned a punt for a 75-yard score mid-way through the second quarter.
MOUNT IDA LEADERS
Sheehan completed 10 of 16 passes on the day for 187 yards and three touchdowns. His best throw of the day was a 65-yard touchdown completion to Matt Greenman (Portsmouth, R.I.) in the second quarter.
Elsey had three catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Hewitt (Killingly, Conn.) finished with a team-high four receptions for 44 yards.
Placekicker Tyler Rogers (Bridgewater, Mass.) finished 7-for-8 on extra-point attempts, missing only on the Mustangs' final touchdown of the day.
AMCAT LEADERS
Anna Maria exploded for 267 passing yards and scored two of their three touchdowns in the air. Starting quarterback Darius Jones-Clark completed 13 of 30 passes for 185 yards, including the 35-yard touchdown completion to Weaver in the third quarter.
Weaver also caught a three-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter from Greg McGoldrick (Brooklyn, N.Y.). McGoldrick completed three of seven passes for 57 yards, including a 38-yard pass to Weaver that set the AMCATS up for the touchdown.
On the ground, D'Onofrio compiled 57 rushing yards and scored the AMCATS' first touchdown of the day on a two-yard run.
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Mount Ida's Josh David (Sandown, N.H.) recorded a game-high 17 tackles in the win. Chinova added eight tackles, including a sack and two tackles-for-loss, in addition to his pick-six. As a team, the Mustangs totaled four sacks, 11 tackles-for-loss, and five pass breakups.
Anna Maria was led defensively by Stefano Marziale (Cranston, R.I.) with nine tackles, a sack, and two tackles-for-loss. Jarius Ransom (Williamstown, N.J.) recorded an interception and returned it for eight yards.
WHAT'S NEXT
Anna Maria hosts Gallaudet for senior day next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Mount Ida will host Maritime College for a noon start.