Leombruno Boots Game-Winning Field Goal as Football Edges UMass, 10-7

BRIDGEWATER, Mass.  – Junior place kicker Dave Leombruno (Lakeville, Mass.) booted a 37-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to lift the Bridgewater State University football team to a dramatic 10-7 victory over UMass Dartmouth this afternoon in Bridgewater.

With the win, the host Bears improve to 2-0 on the season as well as 13-10 all-time versus UMass.  The Corsairs even their 2010 record at 1-1.

Leombruno's game-winning kick capped off a 13-play 71-yard drive which started at the BSU 20-yard line.  With just 4:15 left to play, seven consecutive running plays moved the ball to the Bears' 45 as the clocked ticked down to 1:13.  After a timeout, freshman quarterback Mike McCarthy (Edgartown, Mass.) connected with classmate Chris Constantine (Hingham, Mass.) on an 11-yard screen pass with an additional 15 yards tacked on after a roughing the passer penalty to put the ball at the UMass 29.

A McCarthy nine-yard run was nullified on a holding penalty, but senior running back Justin Fuller (Berkley, Mass.) bulled his way for four yards and McCarthy added a six-yard gain to set up third-and-one at the 20.  After a time out with 18 seconds remaining, McCarthy hit sophomore receiver Matt Monahan (Wrentham, Mass.) in the back of the end zone for an apparent touchdown, but the official ruled that Monahan was out of bounds.  Leombruno was then called in to attempt the game-winning field goal and he promptly knocked it through.

Fuller rushed for a game-high 124 yards on 25 carries and also scored on two-yard run to tie the game up at 7-7 with 10:33 left to play in the fourth quarter.  The touchdown run, his fourth of the season, capped off a 16-play, 58 yard drive.  With his 124 yards, Fuller moved past Dan Maurer (1996-99) into 11th place on the Bears' all-time rushing list as he now has 1,616 yards on the ground in just 12 games.

UMass opened the scoring on a Patrick Orlando (Manchester, Mass.) touchdown pass to sophomore wide out Joe Luiz (New Bedford, Mass.) with 3:26 to go in the first half.  The drive began after a Darrien Furr (East Taunton, Mass.) goal-line interception and long return gave the Corsairs outstanding field position at the BSU 47.  Seven plays later, Orlando and Ruiz hooked up on the scoring strike.

Bridgewater's defense held the Corsairs in check the rest of the way.  UMass accumulated 185 yards of total offense, including just 49 yards in the second half, and converted on only 2 of 12 third down attempts.  The Bears outrushed the Corsairs by a margin of 248 to 92, and held a time of possession advantage of more than 12 minutes.  BSU, however, was flagged for 11 accepted penalties totaling 78 yards.

McCarthy added 96 yards on the ground for the Bridgewater, but struggled throwing the ball as he finished 2-for-14 passing for 22 yards and an interception.  When the Bears needed it the most, however, McCarthy came up with the biggest completion of the day on the 11-yard pass to Constantine which helped set up the game-winning kick.

Orlando threw for 93 yards and a touchdown on 14 of 27 passing and also added 27 yards on the ground. Freshman tight end A.J. Hoose (Attleboro, Mass.) hauled in two receptions for 46 yards include a 43-yard catch and run.

Both punters had a busy day as the teams combined for 13 punts.  UMass freshman Chris Berganti (Haverhill, Mass.) averaged 39.1 yards per punt and placed two inside the 20.  BSU junior Mike Pettus (Concord, Mass.) averaged 35.8 yards with a long of 53 and also placed two inside the 20.  

Junior defensive end Jacob Curren (North Attleboro, Mass.) paced the Bears defensively as he tallied five tackles with a sack and a forced fumble.  Freshman linebacker Kevin Donahue (Norfolk, Mass.) recorded a team-high seven tackles (five solo), while senior safety John Farroba (North Attleboro, Mass.) notched four solo tackles, including one for loss, to go along with a pass breakup.  Freshman defensive end Tate Doehler (Lakeville, Mass.) added four solo stops with two of those going for loss.

In addition to his interception, Furr also registered three pass breakups for the Corsairs.  Sophomore defensive lineman Ben Mitsmenn (West Greenwich, RI) led all players with nine tackles (eight solo) and also forced a fumble.

Next week, Bridgewater State is home once again as the Bears entertain the Panthers of Plymouth State University at 1:00 PM.  UMass travels to Maine Maritime Academy for a one o'clock game with the Mariners.