The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy football team was done in by the turnover bug Saturday afternoon, Sept. 18, at Biddle Field, as the Mariners gave up the ball six times and allowed 24 unanswered points to host Dickinson, in a 24-14 loss.

USMMA (0-3) opened the scoring with 5:07 left in the first quarter, when junior running back Jason Hardwick (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley) plowed into the end zone off-left tackle from two yards away. Senior kicker Ramin Hatami (League City, Texas/Clear Creek) drained the point-after kick for a 7-0 Kings Point lead --- its first of the 2004 season. The drive was set up by a punt return by senior Brian Lipski (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) that put the Mariners at the Red Devils' (2-1) 32-yard line to start the drive.

The Blue and Gray defense got one from senior cornerback Cole Patterson (Douglasville, Ga./Alexandria) midway through the second quarter. He stepped in front of a Keven Williams left-side pass at the KP 22-yard line, and ran it back 78 yards down the sideline with 6:48 left in the first half. Patterson's second-career interception return touchdown (2003, week four, vs. WPI) gave the Mariners a 14-0 lead.

But the Red Devils responded right back after the ensuing kickoff. After a long Gerald O'Hara kickoff return and a face mask penalty put the ball on the Kings Point 15-yard line, O'Hara made a diving right-side catch in the end zone from Williams just 15 seconds after Patterson's score, slicing the Mariners' lead in half at 14-7.

Dickinson cut the lead down to 14-10 before halftime after Drew Magyar made a 25-yard field goal with 1:04 remaining.

The Red Devils then went on top with 5:43 left in the third quarter, when O'Hara made a one-handed grab on an 11-yard Williams pass, scoring his second touchdown of the day and putting his team up, 17-14.

Dickinson closed out the scoring and converted a big play of their own with 5:49 left in the game, when Bob Ziegler sacked USMMA quarterback Chuck Kleinschnitz (Melbourne, Fla./Palm Bay), forcing a fumble and returning it 15 yards for a touchdown.

On the afternoon, Hardwick eclipsed his career-high in rushing for the second consecutive week, toting the pigskin 34 times for a game-high 133 yards. Patterson, who also had a 40-yard kickoff return, finished the day with 118 return yards. Defensively, senior tri-captain Josh Hansen (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) made a game-best 11 tackles, while junior free safety Matt Swank (Bear, Del./Caravel Academy) added nine hits. Senior strong safety Nate Pickard (Moravian Falls, N.C./Wilkes Central) made his first career interception in the contest.

Head coach Tim McNulty's USMMA squad will look to snap a six-game losing streak, the first of its kind since 1987-88, when it matters the most: at the beginning of its first Liberty League season. The Mariners will play host to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) next Saturday afternoon (Sept. 25), with the kickoff at Capt. Tomb Field in Brooks Stadium slated for 2 p.m.