Football Falls to Mass. Maritime in the Cranberry Bowl, 20-7

By Jim Fenton

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- The six-game Cranberry Bowl winning streak for the Bridgewater State University football team came to an end Saturday afternoon.

The Bears lost to rival the Massachusetts Maritime Academy for the first time since 2017 in the 46th annual Cranberry Bowl at Clean Harbors Stadium.

The Buccaneers jumped to a 13-0 lead by halftime on the way to a 20-7 victory in the season finale for both teams.

BSU owns a 34-11-1 record against Mass. Maritime in the Cranberry Bowl, which began in 1979 with winner taking home the Cranberry Scoop.

The Bears finish the season 5-5, including 5-4 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, and had a four-game winning streak stopped.

The Buccaneers also completed the schedule at the .500 mark (5-5) and went 5-4 in the conference.

BSU had averaged 40.2 points during its four-game winning streak in the second half of the season, but the offense was unable to get going against Mass. Maritime.

The Bears had minus-2 rushing yards thanks in large part of the Buccaneers sacking freshman quarterback Joseph Dube-Garrett (Fort Myers, Fla.) seven times for 61 yards.

BSU had only 199 yards of total offense and 13 first downs.

Mass. Maritime junior linebacker Jackson Mahoney (Falmouth, Mass.) was named the Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player of the game.

Mahoney made 10 tackles, two for a loss, had a pair of sacks and forced a fumble to lead the way on defense.

Mass. Maritime scored on its first possession to take a 3-0 lead 3:21 into the game.

The Buccaneers returned a BSU punt 14 yards to start at their own 43 and drove to the Bears' 9-yard line.

The key play of the drive was a 41-yard pass from junior quarterback Evan Pierce (Ladera Ranch, Calif.) to sophomore Santiago Martinez (San Pedro, Calif.), getting the ball to the 16.

Freshman Grayson Smith (Kenner, La.) then made a 26-yard field goal with 11:39 left in the opening quarter.

With 4:18 to go in the quarter, senior Chase Dombroski (Pawtucket, R.I.) scored on a 2-yard run and Smith added the point after for a 10-0 lead.

A BSU fumble was recovered by sophomore Angus Pingel (League City, Texas) at the Bears' 40. A Pierce pass to sophomore Owen Lane (Canton, Mass.) covered 20 yards, and the Mass. Maritime running game got the ball to the 2-yard line.

The Buccaneers went up, 13-0, when Smith made a 25-yard field goal with eight seconds to go in the half.

Following a BSU punt, Mass. Maritime went 78 yards in 14 plays, a 20-yard pass from Pierce to Martinez being the key play to help get in position for the Smith field goal.

The Bears got on the scoreboard the second time they touched the ball in the second half.

Junior Ramar Robinson (Everett, Mass.) scored on a 77-pass play from Dube-Garrett with 5:27 to go in the third quarter.

The Bears were facing a third-and-19 after a quarterback sack when Dube-Garrett and Robinson connected for the TD. Senior Joey Naso (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) added the extra point.

It was Robinson's first TD catch of his BSU career and fifth reception of the season.

But Mass. Maritime answered with a TD on its next possession for a 20-7 lead.

Following a 41-yard kickoff return by Berad to the BSU 49, the Buccaneers needed 10 plays to score.

On third-and-goal, Pierce went in from 2 yards out and Smith added the point after just three seconds into the fourth quarter.

Dube-Garrett was 11-for-28 for 202 yards with sophomore Josh Registre (Waltham, Mass.) catching four passes for 52 yards.

Pierce was 5-for-9 for 90 yards and Dombroski was the game's top rusher with 47 yards on 12 carries.

The Bears had 12 penalties for 74 yards while Mass. Maritime hadone for 15 yards.

BSU was rarely in Buccaneers' territory, and Naso had to punt eight times.

Senior Mark DeGirolamo (Mansfield, Mass.) led the Bears with six tackles and two for a loss, while junior Dkari Rodrigues (Dorchester, Mass.) had two tackles for a loss.

BSU opened the season 1-4 before reeling off four wins in a row to get above .500 entering the finale.

Notes: Senior Isaiah Wright (Worcester, Mass.) became the 17th player in program history to reach the 1,500-yard rushing milestone. Wright wraps up his four-year career at Bridgewater State with 1,518 yards on the ground.