Springfield, Mass. - October 18, 2014 - Posting 571 yards of total offense over the course of the game, the Springfield College football team cruised to a 48-21 victory over Merchant Marine on Saturday afternoon at Stagg Field.

With the win, the Pride improve to 6-2 overall, 3-1 in league play while the Mariners suffered it's sixth loss of the season, falling to 2-6, 0-4.

Springfield set the tone in the opening half, registering an incredible 405 yards of total offense despite having the ball for just 6:16. Junior quarterback Jonathan Marrero (Boston, Mass.) totaled 205 rushing yards in the first half on nine carries, and finished with 209 for the game. The Sport Management major also passed for 131 yards on five completions over the course of the contest.

Junior fullback Keith Rodman (Northvale, N.J.) accumulated 83 yards on the ground over 10 carries, while Andres Martin (Torrington, Conn.) registered 100 receiving yards on three catches, two for scores.

Max Nacewicz (Sandy Hook, Conn.) led a Springfield defensive unit that was on the field for nearly 39 minutes as he posted 12 tackles.  Teammate Brian Kelly (Closter, N.J.) added 10 tackles.

The Pride did not hesitate to get on the board, scoring just 1:33 into the contest. Marerro capped off a five play, 80-yard drive when the junior broke free along the sideline and rushed in from 39-yards out to give the Pride a 7-0 lead following an extra-point conversion from Nick Pydeski (Hazlet, N.J.).

Junior quarterback Matthew McDaniels (Malverne, N.Y.) evened the game at seven pwith a rush up the middle and into the endzone from the 11-yard line, ending a drive that took nearly seven minutes on 11 plays.

Junior halfback Drew Brown (Barrington, R.I.) made the most of a 4th-and-1 when he broke free for a 46-yard touchdown run, putting Springfield up for good with 4:34 remaining in the first quarter.

With 22 seconds remaining in the opening stanza, Marerro put forth an incredible effort, weaving through the Merchant Marine defense before finding daylight for an 87-yard touchdown run to make it a 21-7 game

Opening the second quarter, Merchant Marine put together a remarkable 20-play drive, lasting 11:53, finished off with a McDaniels 1-yard touchdown run to make it 21-14 with 3:24 left in the first half.

On the ensuing drive, Marerro needed just 30 seconds to score again for Springfield, running in from 59-yards out to double the Pride's lead.

Springfield's final score of the opening half came with 50 seconds remaining, when Stephen Speidel (Sussex, N.J.) barrelled in from 5-yards out to give the Pride a 35-14 advantage.

Opening the second half, Springfield went up 42-21 after a 45-yard completion between Marerro and Martin. After Springfield turned the ball over on downs, Merchant Marine capitalized when McDaniels bounced his run to the left and cruised down the sideline, out-running the defense and into the end zone for an 86-yard touchdown run.

With 3:32 remaining in the contest, Marerro escaped the pocket and extended the play, until he hit Martin in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown pass, giving the hosts a 48-21 lead late in the contest.

Springfield will continue league play next Saturday when it makes the trek to play St. Lawrence for a 1:00 pm showdown.