Springfield, Mass. – October 25, 2025 – Behind a trio of touchdowns from junior halfback James Green (Gales Ferry, Conn.), the Springfield College football team defeated the Merchant Marine Academy, 35-7, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon on Stagg Field.

Springfield, now winners of four straight, improved to 5-2 overall and to 4-0 in NEWMAC play and are one of two teams which remain unbeaten in the conference standings alongside Coast Guard. Merchant Marine dipped its record to 5-2, 3-2.

Green rushed for a career-high 141 yards to go along with his three touchdowns this afternoon. Stanford Davis (Montague, N.J.) added 81 yards on the ground and a touchdown, while TJ Welch (Shrewsbury, Mass.) sprinted for 78 yards and a touchdown of his own. The Springfield defense held Merchant Marine to just 185 yards of total offense and its second lowest scoring output of the season.

As a team, Springfield produced 338 yards of rushing offense – an average of 7.7 yards per play – with all five of its touchdowns coming on the ground. Despite only holding the ball for 25:38, the Pride went 6-for-11 on third down and 1-for-1 on fourth down. Defensively, Hunter Hayes (Auburn, Maine) registered 12 total tackles, while Tyler Pohlman (St. James, N.Y.) added ten tackles. Bryan Feliciano (Clifton, N.J.), Mike Mendicino (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) and Nick Peterson (Kingston, Mass.) all notched nine tackles for the Pride with Feliciano producing a fumble recovery and Mendicino tallying three tackles for a loss.

Springfield forced Merchant Marine to punt on its very first drive of the game after just three plays. The Pride took over at its own 27 and embarked on an 11-play drive that lasted just over six minutes. An 11-yard rush by Davis put Springfield into Merchant Marine territory before Welch connected with Luke Zoller (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) for 39 yards through the air on second and five putting Springfield at the eight-yard line. Green ran to the left and into the endzone for the 7-0 lead.

After three changes of possession, Springfield took control of the ball on its own 20-yard line with 3:09 left in the first. Five plays on the ground set up a third and five at the Springfield 38 when Green ripped off a rush of 62 yards into the endzone for his second touchdown of the day extending Springfield's lead to 14-0. Merchant Marine's offense didn't make it past midfield until early in the second and ultimately punted the ball once again.

Midway through the second, Feliciano recovered a botched snap at the line of scrimmage and on the very first offensive play for Springfield on the ensuing drive, Green ran into the endzone – this time 52 yards – giving the Pride a 21-0 lead. The score remained the same until the break.

Merchant Marine took over at its own 36-yard line following a Springfield punt midway through the third. The ten play, 64-yard drive that lasted over six minutes gave the Mariners its first points of the game when Danny Ferris ran 24 yards into the endzone. A pair of Springfield penalties set up Merchant Marine deep in Springfield territory leading to the touchdown.

Springfield answered immediately as a third and three set up a 53-yard touchdown rush by Welch for a 28-7 lead. Merchant Marine was able to take over seven minutes off the clock and got down to the Springfield 37 yard, but ultimately couldn't get into the endzone. The punt by Calvin Evans set up one final scoring drive for the Pride as Davis rushed to his left following a 15-yard pass interference penalty accounting for the 35-7 final.

Springfield is set to travel to Norwich next weekend for a NEWMAC tilt in Vermont with kickoff slated for 12:00 pm.

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