College Football: First-Place Bridgewater State Hosts UMass Dartmouth on Friday

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The second half of the area college football season begins this weekend with Bridgewater State University sitting in first place.

After dropping two non-conference games by a total of five points, the Bears are 3-0 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, just ahead of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (2-0) with three teams holding 2-1 records.

"We're getting better every week,'' said coach Joe Verria. "We're getting healthy every week, too. That's the other piece of it. Right now, the kids are where they thought they would be.''

BSU faces a significant test on Friday night as it attempts to stay atop the MASCAC standings.

The Bears play UMass Dartmouth at 7 at Swenson Field, taking on a team that ended Framingham State's 34-game conference winning streak last Saturday, a stretch that dated back to November 2011.

The Corsairs, who are tied with Framingham State and Plymouth State in the MASCAC at 2-1, edged the Rams, 35-34, in overtime and had 518 yards of total offense, including 436 rushing yards. Three players went over the 100-yard mark on the ground for UMass-Dartmouth (3-2), which averages nearly 340 rushing yards and 34.2 points per game.

"They run an option offense out of the spread formation, and they've got it down to a science,'' said Verria. "It's scary. They've got great running backs and the quarterback (Cory Burnham) does a great job running the offense.

"It's going to be a big challenge. This is a huge, huge game Friday night. They're a good football team. We're going to be tested big time.''

Senior wide receiver Kevin Wadsworth of Bridgewater is the Corsairs' second-leading pass catcher (15 for 214 yards and a touchdown) while senior defensive lineman Marcel Flynn of Taunton has made 16 tackles with two for a loss.

Bridgewater State won its third consecutive game last Saturday night, holding off host Western Connecticut State University, 20-14. Senior linebacker Stephen Jacobs earned MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the win over the Colonials.

The Bears began the season with losses to Curry College and Kean before defeating MASCAC opponents Worcester State, Fitchburg State and Western Connecticut State.

"That was a huge win for us,'' said Verria. "That is what you look for. We came to play and made some huge plays when we needed to make them on offense and defense and were able to pull it out.''

Stonehill on the road: Stonehill College (2-3, 2-2 Northeast-10 Conference) will attempt to defeat American International College for the first time in the history of a series that began in 1997.

The Skyhawks, who are 0-20 against the Yellow Jackets, face AIC (2-3, 2-2) in Springfield on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Stonehill has won two consecutive games since losing its first three of the season and is coming off a 31-6 victory over Merrimack College.

Last season, AIC sacked Skyhawks quarterback Matt Foltz eight times and held Stonehill scoreless until 3:38 remained in the game, which was won by the Yellow Jackets, 14-6.

One of the top defensive players for AIC is senior linebacker Jerrod Shelby of Brockton, who is second on the team with 38 tackles and has an interception.

The Yellow Jackets began the season with back-to-back losses but have won two of their last three games.

THE PREDICTIONS

• Clemson 38, Boston College 10: The Eagles get back to reality after playing a pair of pushovers the past two weeks.
• Texas A&M 31, Tennessee 24: The Vols lose a battle of top 10 teams.
• Harvard 24, Cornell 21: The Crimson win a key Ivy League game.
• Bridgewater State 28, UMass Dartmouth 24: The Bears hold on to stay perfect in the conference.
• Stonehill 24, AIC 21: The Skyhawks finally break through against the Yellow Jackets.

LAST WEEK: 5-0 (Season Total: 17-8)