Football Posts 17-9 Win Over Fitchburg State

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The last time the Bridgewater State University football team played at Mazzaferro Field was on Homecoming Weekend back on Oct. 5.

The bye week and two rough road games against the best teams in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference followed the past three weeks.

So the Bears were eager to play another game on campus Saturday afternoon, 28 days after their lopsided Homecoming win over Worcester State University.

BSU opened November by getting past Fitchburg State University, 17-9, to end a two-game losing streak before a crowd of 1,000.

The Bears held the Falcons scoreless over the final 35-plus minutes and overcame 13 penalties for 143 yards to improve to 3-5, 3-4 in the conference.

"It's great to be home again," said coach Joe Verria. "It's been almost a month since we've been home and it was great to be back here."

BSU trailed, 9-7, late in the first half when graduate student Shane Drake (Franklin, Mass.) hit a 38-yard field goal with nine seconds left to put the Bears up, 10-9, at the break.

Freshman Jeremiah Julmiste (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) finished the scoring with a 1-yard run with 10:07 left in the game.

After being no match for Western Connecticut State and UMass Dartmouth the past two weeks, BSU was in need of a victory with the season winding down.

With games remaining at Vermont State Castleton on Saturday and against the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the 45th annual Cranberry Bowl in two weeks, the Bears can finish at .500 by winning out.

"To get a win is huge," said Verria. "We've got two games left in the season, and now (.500), that's the goal. It's not a goal of my choice, but it's the goal."

Fitchburg State (2-6, 1-6 MASCAC) held a 3-0 lead after one quarter on a 39-yard field goal by sophomore Jonah Costa (East Providence, R.I.).

The Falcons took possession at the BSU 39 after the Bears were unable to convert a fourth-and-one.

BSU took its first lead at 7-3 with 13:48 to play in the half on a 10-yard pass from freshman Shamus Whiting (Plymouth, Mass.) to freshman Mateo Arellano (Marlborough, Mass.), finishing a 12-play, 62-yard drive.

The Falcons retook the lead at 9-7 with 5:39 to play in the half on a 4-yard run by senior Matthew Aguirre (Laredo, Texas) to finish a 14-play, 70-yard drive.

The Bears took over at the Fitchburg 48 with 1:48 left in the half, and Whiting had three completions as the ball moved to the 21 where Drake kicked the go-ahead field goal.

BSU had the ball at its own 46 with 2:22 left in the third quarter and covered 54 yards in 14 plays, Julmiste scoring on his third carry of the drive.

Junior Joey Naso (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) added the point after, giving him the school record for conversions (kicking) with 94. The mark had been held by Ripp Charters since 1990.

The Falcons were driving for the potential game-tying score midway through the fourth quarter when senior Corey Conlin (Smithfield, R.I.) intercepted a pass in the end zone. Senior Zachary Souza (Tyngsboro, Mass.) added another interception late in the period to seal the win for the Bears. For Conlin, the interception marked his first of the season.

Senior Isaiah Wright (Worcester, Mass.) had a career-high 116 rushing yards for the Bears while freshman Zy'Kie Askew (Middletown, Conn.) added a career-best 81 yards on 15 carries.

Junior Ryan Coonan (Worcester, Mass.) was the top pass catcher with three receptions for 39 yards.

Whiting made his first career start, the third player to start at quarterback this season, and was 9-for-23 for 78 yards. Senior SP Pragano (Northford, Conn.) was 1-for-2 for eight yards.

"We're trying to find an answer at the quarterback position," said Verria.

The Bears outgained the Falcons, 321-192, getting 235 yards on the ground.

Senior Zachary Souza (Tyngsboro, Mass.) had a team-leading seven tackles to go along with the interception while sophomore Jorge Aquino (Bergenfield, N.J.) had six tackles with 1.5 sacks.

Souza now has 12 interceptions over his four seasons in a BSU uniform.

"I saw improvement in a lot of areas today," said Verria, "but what I didn't see improvement was with the penalties, the unnecessary penalties that made the game close.

"Fitchburg State fought to the end and our kids did the same thing, and we made the plays at the end."

The Bears will make the four-hour ride north for a first-ever meeting with Vermont Castleton State in the last road game of the season.