Bridgewater State, Stonehill to Host Football Opponents from Connecticut

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Two football teams from Connecticut will visit the area to face Stonehill College and Bridgewater State University this weekend.

Winless Southern Connecticut State University will be at W.B Stadium in Easton on Saturday at 6 p.m. to take on undefeated Stonehill.

Western Connecticut State University visits Swenson Field on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. to go against BSU.

The Skyhawks (4-0, 3-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference) are coming off a stunning comeback victory at LIU Post in which they rallied from 17 points down in the final 1:02 for an improbable 40-37 win.

Now, after getting three touchdown passes from Matt Foltz in the last 62 seconds, Stonehill turns its attention to the Owls as it tries to avoid a letdown following such an emotional victory.

"You always have to overcome everybody wanting to ask about the game last week, but we have to move past it,'' said Skyhawks coach Robert Talley, whose team is tied for first place with New Haven. "That was my message to the team this week.

"It was a memorable victory, but we put ourselves in a bad situation, getting behind (30-6) like we did in that game. I've given them that message. This team is pretty grounded. Our kids are good and locked in.''

Stonehill, which plays at New Haven on Oct. 10, is facing a Southern Connecticut team that is 0-4, including 0-3 in the conference.

The Owls nearly defeated Bentley University two weeks ago, losing, 15-13, when the Falcons scored the winning touchdown with 7:45 left. Last week, New Haven rallied from a 14-0 deficit to overtake Southern Connecticut, 28-14.

"Southern Connecticut is a good team, even though the record doesn't show it,'' said Talley. "They are a big, physical team.''

Foltz, who set a school record with 421 passing yards and tied the mark of six TD passes against LIU Post, won the New England Football Writers Gold Helmet Award for the top performance among Divisions 2 and 3 players. He was also selected the NE-10 offensive player of the week for a second time this season.

Kaleb Lutton, who caught three TD passes and had eight receptions for 131 yards, was picked as the NE-10 rookie of the week for a second time this season.

BSU (2-2, 1-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference) reaches the midway point of its season this weekend.

The Bears struggled in their 35-3 loss at Fitchburg State last Saturday, turning the ball over five times with three fumbles and two interceptions.

"You can't turn the ball over five times and expect anything good to happen,'' said BSU coach Chuck Denune. "I watched the play clips the day after the game and I was about three-quarters of the way through and I said, 'How did we not win this game?'

"We just made big mistakes and didn't make big plays. We moved the ball, and then we turned it over. We had good defensive series. We made just too many mistakes.

"This team isn't going to quit, though. They want to improve on last year (4-6) and make a run. We've got to find a way to put together a couple of wins."

Western Connecticut will be a difficult opponent for the Bears. The Colonials' two losses came to strong teams in Hartwick and Framingham State, which needed a touchdown with 34 seconds left to overcome Western Connecticut, 39-34, last weekend.

"They're a good football team," said Denune of the Colonials. "They have two losses. but they've lost to two really good teams."

The Predictions:

• Duke 27, Boston College 14: Injuries continue to take a toll on the Eagles.
• Clemson 28, Notre Dame 20: The Irish suffer a loss on the road.
• UMass 27, Florida International 17: The Minutemen break into the win column.
• Stonehill 35, Southern Connecticut 20: The Skyhawks make it five straight wins.
• Western Connecticut 28, Bridgewater State 14: The Bears fall at home.

Last Week: 2-2 | Season Total: 15-5