Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior wide receiver Abiola Aborishade (Attleboro, Mass.) established a new single-season reception record and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth took a 21-19 lead into the halftime intermission, but the Massachusetts Maritime Academy responded with 27 second-half points to edge the Corsairs, 46-41, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) football game played on Cressy Field.
Aborishade needed to maintain his season average of nine receptions per game to break the UMass Dartmouth record (69) that was set by Ryan Bland in 1998. The Attleboro, Mass. product pulled in a nine-yard catch to eclipse the previous standard with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. He finished the contest with 12 receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Aborishade is now the program single-season receptions leader with 73 catches.
The Buccaneers (2-5) earned their first conference victory of the season to improve to 1-4, while the Corsairs (3-5) slipped to 2-4.
Trailing by five points with two minutes remaining on the clock, the Corsair defense stuffed the visitors on a 4th-and-1 as sophomore Marcel Flynn (Wilmington, Mass.) dropped senior Brad Skeffington (Salem, Mass.) for a two-yard loss to set up the hosts at their 39.
UMass Dartmouth opened the possession with a 14-yard screen pass to freshman running back JD Niles (Dorchester, Mass. / Belmont) to cross the midfield stripe. Freshman quarterback Cory Burnham (Essex, Mass. / Manchester-Essex) converted a 4th-and-10 with a 20-yard pass to Aborishade to extend the drive. On the ensuing play, Burnham avoided the Buccaneers' rush with a 14-yard shovel pass to Niles to enter the red zone at the visitors' 13. Massachusetts Maritime senior Kyle Hardy (Salem, Mass.) intercepted Burnham two plays later to quell the Corsair comeback and preserve the Buccaneers' victory.
Burnham directed the UMass Dartmouth offense to a season-high 474 yards of total offense. The rookie signal caller was 25-for-52 with a career-high 334 passing yards. Burnham matched his career-high with four touchdown passes, while also running in a score to trim the Corsair deficit to 46-41 with 3:36 to go in the contest. Niles racked up 176 yards of total offense, including posting his first collegiate 100-yard rushing game. He gained 110 yards on 26 carries, while turning five receptions into 66 receiving yards. Senior Jake Scott (Somerset, Mass.) hauled in a seven-yard TD strike, while sophomore Kevin Wadsworth (Bridgewater, Mass. / Bridgewater-Raynham) pulled in a 19-yard touchdown catch to give UMass Dartmouth its final advantage of the contest, 28-26, with 8:25 left in the third quarter.
Junior Derek Tarpey (Tewskbury, Mass.) and senior Nils Swenson (Ipswich, Mass.) each registered nine tackles to lead the defense. Tarpey recorded two sacks, a pass breakup, and two QB hurries, while Swenson tallied four tackles for a loss, including two sacks. Junior Blake Sullivan (Beverly, Mass.) accounted for eight tackles, including seven stops, from his free safety position.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action at 12 p.m. on Nov. 1, when the Corsairs travel to Western Connecticut State University.
