CASTINE, Me. – The Western New England College football team made its first visit in 20 years to the Pine Tree State a successful one by holding on for a 21-13 victory over host Maine Maritime Academy in a non-division New England Football Conference (NEFC) contest Saturday afternoon (Sept. 15).

Sophomore quarterback Justin Walz (Groton, CT) had another strong performance completing 24-of-33 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns with only one interception. This was the second straight week that Walz has passed for over 300 yards. He had a school record 369 yards last week against Westfield State.

Walz, who entered the game fourth nationally in total offense (370.0 avg.), also scored on a one-yard run midway through the third quarter that proved to be the winning score.

Western New England College (2-1) took a 14-0 lead in the opening period on a five-yard pass from Walz to senior receiver Kevin Miculcy (Greenwich, CT) who finished with a game-high eight receptions for 61 yards. Walz then fired a 20-yard touchdown to sophomore receiver Cliff Carpluk (Long Valley, NJ) with 2:40 left in the quarter,

Junior running back Jordan Capitanio (Torrington, CT) rushed for 94 yards on 24 carries for the Golden Bears who compiled 435 yards.

Western New England College's defense did its part by recovering two fumbles in its own territory and keeping the Mariners off the board until the fourth quarter Freshman linebacker Dylan Chandler (Durham, ME) led the way with nine tackles while senior free safety Dan Ballantine (Staten Island, NY) contributed 7½ stops.

Maine Maritime (1-1) tallied on a 25-yard run by Brandon Goodrich (107 yards on 16 carries) and on a 9-yard pass from Tyler Angell to Travis Shaw with 4:24 left in the game.

The Mariners forced a punt on the next possession, but lost the ball on downs at its own 28. WNEC junior strong safety Lionel Houle (Granby, MA) made a key sack for a seven-yard loss on the third-down play. The Golden Bears then ran out the final 1:19 to secure only its second road victory in three years.

Western New England College posted a 38-21 victory over Maine Maritime in Castine in 1988.

The Mariners, who opened their season last week with a 48-21 win over Becker, finished with 295 yards.