Box Score 

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Freshman QB Kris Sabourin produced 154 yards of total offense, and the Norwich defense forced six turnovers as the Cadets defeated New York Maritime, 15-3, in an Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) contest Saturday afternoon at Sabine Field.

The Cadets, who have won six straight games for the first time since the 1984 campaign, will host the inaugural ECFC Championship Game on Saturday, Nov. 14. Their opponent in that game will be determined based on the outcome of next week's games.

Norwich's defense played big throughout the game, coming up with a pair of goal line stands and the six takeaways.

The first critical series of plays came late in the first quarter with New York Maritime driving the ball deep into Norwich territory. The Privateers drove the ball 84 yards on 15 plays, but the Cadets stuffed a fourth-and-goal play from the two-yard line to keep the game scoreless.

Norwich (6-3, 5-0 ECFC) got its offense cranked up midway through the second quarter when they drove 88 yards in seven plays for the first points of the game. Sabourin connected with senior WR Kevin Ober for an 11-yard hookup, and then hit freshman WR Chris Denton with a 32-yard strike on successive plays to set up the Cadets at the New York Maritime 22-yard line. On the next play, sophomore RB Andrew Fulford ran around the left side and broke several tackles on his way to a 22-yard TD run.

New York Maritime (6-3, 3-2 ECFC) nearly scored right before halftime as the Privateers drove the ball 65 yards on 14 plays. An untimely holding penalty against New York Maritime moved the Privateers out of field goal range, however, and the half ended with the Cadets in front, 7-0.

New York Maritime got on the scoreboard early in second half as the Privateers took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and marched 43 yards in 15 plays. David Kittinger cashed in the drive as he drilled a 34-yard field goal with 6:34 to play in the third quarter. It appeared as though New York Maritime had scored a touchdown when Anthony Gagliano hit Jamie Spanopolous with a two-yard scoring pass on fourth-and-goal, but the Privateers were flagged for offensive pass interference and they had to settle for three points.

Norwich recovered fumbles on New York Maritime's next two offensive possessions, but the Cadets were unable to turn them into points and the game moved into the fourth quarter with NU clinging to a 7-3 advantage.

The Cadets' defense took matters into its own hands midway through the final quarter when senior DE Reza Afsarmanesh forced a fumble by Gagliano and sophomore LB Joseph Gumberwicz picked up the ball and raced 40 yards to pay dirt. Sabourin found junior TE Daniel Pellegrini with a two-point conversion pass and Norwich assumed a 15-3 lead with 7:59 to play in the game.

The Norwich defense then caused turnovers on New York Maritime's next two offensive plays as senior DB Donovan Brown forced and recovered a fumble, and sophomore DB Jeramie Little intercepted a  Gagliano pass. The Cadets forced their sixth turnover of the day with 2:33 to play as Brown intercepted a pass.

New York Maritime outgained Norwich 333-201, but the Privateers could not overcome the six turnovers. The Cadets' meanwhile, did not commit a single miscue.

Gagliano led the Privateers' triple option attack with 87 rushing yards and 136 passing yards.

The Cadets close out their regular season on Saturday, Nov. 7, when the Cadets travel to Castleton, Vt., to battle in-state rival Castleton State College at 1 p.m. The winner of the game will be awarded the inaugural Maple Sap Bucket trophy.