College Football: Bridgewater State Nets Fourth Straight Win

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team opened the second half of the season by extending its winning streak to four games.

The Bears remained atop the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference standings by holding off UMass Dartmouth, 27-19, at Swenson Field Friday night.

After starting the season with two close non-conference losses, Bridgewater State has gone 4-0 against MASCAC opponents.

“It was a tremendous team win,’’ said coach Joe Verria. “We’re coming together and playing much better. We are getting better week after week.’’

The Corsairs entered the game with momentum on their side after handing defending champion Framingham State its first conference loss since 2011 last weekend, ending a 34-game winning streak.

The Bears’ defense slowed down UMass-Dartmouth, which had gained 518 yards of total offense in the win over Framingham State and was ranked fourth nationally in Division 3 with 339.6 rushing yards per game.

The Corsairs were in position to tie the Bears after getting within 20-19 late in the game on a 28-yard TD pass from Cory Burnham to John Beardsley. But the Corsairs were unable to convert the point-after kick, the second miss of the game.

UMass Dartmouth started its only scoring drive of the second half at its 9, but on second down, Eddie Sheridan went 39 yards and a 15-yard penalty on the Bears brought the ball to the 28 where Burnham and Beardsley connected for their second TD.

On their next possession, the Bears went 65 yards with Malik Garrett scoring on a 12-yard run with 2:11 remaining.

UMass Dartmouth drove to the BSU 20 with time running out, but Juan Gonzalez intercepted a pass in the final minute.

Running back Alex McLaughlin gained 207 yards on 32 carries and scored a TD for the Bears, who hold a 17-12 lead in the series with six wins in the last eight meetings.

It marked the fourth straight game that McLaughlin has eclipsed the 100-yard mark.

“Alex is money in the bank,’’ said Verria. “He’s one of the toughest kids on this football team. He’s resilient. He’s one of the hardest runners we’ve had here in a long time.’’

Bridgewater State quarterback Danny Higgins (15-for-24, 172 yards) threw for two touchdowns and went over the 5,000-yard mark in passing yards for his career.

Bridgewater State took a 6-0 advantage just 2:04 into the game after Garrett set them up with by returning the opening kickoff 62 yards to the Corsairs’ 18.

Garrett caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Higgins on a third-down play, but the point-after kick was blocked.

UMass-Dartmouth tied the game with 6:36 remaining in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Johnny Mims.

The Corsairs were put in prime scoring position when Scott Tupper returned an interception 25 yards to the 1-yard line on the previous play.

BSU went back on top, 13-6, with 11:21 remaining in the half when Higgins threw a 3-yard TD pass to tight end James Keating with Russell Bolarinho adding the kick.

UMass Dartmouth (3-3, 2-2) quickly responded to even the game at 13-13 on a 34-yard TD catch by Beardsley from Burnham with 9:11 left in the half.

The Bears grabbed a 20-13 halftime lead by going 75 yards in 12 plays with McLaughlin scoring on a 1-yard run with 1:27 to go before the break.

Higgins completed passes of 18 and 13 yards to Dukens Leon and Travis Bassett to pick up first downs on the drive.

“Danny Higgins makes the plays when we need them,’’ said Verria.

The Corsairs opened the second half by driving to the Bridgewater State 21, but the Bears’ defense stopped them on fourth down to maintain the lead.

Stephen Jacobs led BSU with 16 tackles, including 31/2 for a loss, while Charles McCarthy had 11 tackles with four for a loss, including two sacks.

UMass-Dartmouth had just 177 yards on the ground, well below its average.

“We wanted to control their running game and we were able to do that,’’ said Verria.

Bridgewater State hosts Plymouth State next Saturday at 4 p.m.

“We’ve got another good team coming here next week in Plymouth,’’ said Verria.