FITCHBURG, Mass. – The visiting Bridgewater State University football posted a 38-14 win on the road over Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup at Elliot Field.
The Bears improve to 3-2 on the season with their third straight win and a perfect 3-0 in the MASCAC. The Falcons fall to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Bridgewater State has won each of the last five meetings of the two teams and six of the last seven. The Bears also hold a 30-8 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1986.
Bridgewater trailed early on in this one as the Falcons forced a fumble on the second play from scrimmage and capitalized on the turnover. Freshman quarterback Rocky Marchitelli (Gunnison, Colo.) connected with classmate Peter Norton (Marblehead, Mass.) on a 32-yard touchdown pass to give the hosts the 7-0 lead.
The Bears answered with a ten-play, 60-yard drive capped off by a four-yard touchdown run by junior running back Mack Driver (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) to knot the score at 7-7.
Fitchburg was primed to reclaim the lead on the ensuing possession as the Falcons moved the ball into BSU territory. On third-and-nine from the 26 , Marchitelli was sacked by junior defensive tackle Nicolas Canales (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.). BSU senior linebacker Brendan Albert (Canton, Mass.) ripped the ball out and retuned the fumble 63 yards for a touchdown.
After a forcing a punt, the Bears moved the ball 72 yards on ten plays with senior quarterback James Cahoon (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) connecting with junior wide receiver Jack McCarthy (Braintree, Mass.) on a 20-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 21-7.
Junior safety Zachary Souza (Tyngsboro, Mass.) forced another Falcon fumble on the ensuing drive and the Bears would again convert the turnover into points. Starting on the Fitchburg 37, back-to-back runs of 11 and ten yards by graduate running back Adam Couch (Winchendon, Mass.) moved the ball into the red zone. A key Falcon holding penalty on second-and-14 gave the visitors a first-and-goal at the ten. Driver then found the end zone following consecutive five-yard runs to make it a 28-7 game with 13:25 remaining in the second quarter.
The two teams exchanged punts with the Falcons taking over at their own 15. Six plays later, Marchitelli hooked up with senior wide receiver Elijah Zaire McKnight (Tracy, Calif.) on a 64-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 28-14.
After another exchange of punts, Bridgwater started the final scoring drive of the first half near midfield with 4:17 showing on the scoreboard. The Bears moved the ball down to FSU six, but the drive stalled. Sophomore kicker Joey Naso (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) booted a 23-yard field goal with just 37 seconds remaining to give the visitors a 31-14 lead at the break.
The only scoring in the second half came on a four-yard touchdown run by Driver on fourth down. Driver's third touchdown of the afternoon finished off a nine-play, 44-yard drive with 9:23 left to play in the game.
Driver paced the BSU offense as he rushed for 84 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Couch finished with 56 yards on ten attempts. Cahoon completed 15 of 26 pass attempts for 138 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wideout Ryan Coonan (Worcester, Mass.) was the Bears' top receiver as he caught seven passes for 61 yards.
Naso was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra points and converted his only field goal attempt.
Marchitelli was 21 of 37 passing for 263 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Senior tight end Matthew Aguire (Laredo, Texas) hauled in seven receptions for 79 yards. Freshman running back Oriowokite Fatoke (Worcester, Mass.) rushed for 80 yards on 20 carries.
The Bears' defense forced three turnovers (one interception and two fumbles). Albert finished with five tackles (four solo), one sack and two fumble recoveries including his 63-yard touchdown. Canales checked in with 11 tackles (seven solo) including 2 ½ sacks and a forced fumble. Sophomore linebacker Victor Martinez (Haverhill, Mass.) added nine tackles (eight solo) and pass breakup, while sophomore defensive end Mark DeGirolamo (Mansfield, Mass.) notched six tackles (four solo) with 1 ½ sacks.
BSU senior punter Shane Drake (Franklin, Mass.) averaged 37.5 yards on six punts with three inside the 20 and a long of 49. He also averaged 63.3 yards on seven kickoffs with three touchbacks.
Sophomore linebacker Camren Topkin (Ledyard, Conn.) paced the Fitchburg defense with a game-high 13 tackles (four solo), one tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
The Bears notched 298 yards of total offense (138 passing, 160 rushing) but converted just 4 of 13 (31%) third down attempt. The Falcons amassed 369 yards of total offense (263 passing, 106 rushing) and finished 7-for-16 (44%) on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down.
The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams next weekend. The Bears travel to Worcester State University on Friday night to take on the Lancer at seven o'clock. The Falcons entertain the Rams of Framingham State University next Saturday at noon.
Notes: Couch (2,397 yards) moved into seventh place on the Bears' all-time rushing list. He leadfrogged Justin Fuller who rushed for 2,372 yards from 2009 to 2011...Cahoon's touchdown pass marked the 52nd of his career as he tied Stefano D'Emelia (2016-19) for second place on the Bears' all-time list.