Bridgewater State Football Team Bounces Back to Down Coast Guard

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Two straight victories were followed by two consecutive defeats in the opening month of the Bridgewater State University football season.

After going through an up-and-down start, the Bears needed to head back in the right direction when they opened the October portion of their schedule on Saturday afternoon.

“You’re 2-0, then you’re 2-2,’’ said BSU coach Chuck Denune. “(Now) what are you going to do?’’

What the Bears did was submit a complete performance in earning a 34-16 New England Football Conference victory over Coast Guard Academy at Swenson Field.

The defense, led by defensive back Eddie Jewel, held Coast Guard to one touchdown until the final seconds. The offense got 111 rushing yards from freshman running back Blaise Branch of Brockton while quarterback Mike McCarthy threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for two more.

After turning the ball over four times in the home opener a week earlier in a 10-7 loss to Westfield State, the Bears were sharper on offense, surpassing the 30-point mark for the first time since a 32-25, double-overtime win at Coast Guard last Oct. 9.

“Our youth is still on offense,’’ said Denune. “If we can call ourselves young, it’s still on offense. But they’re going to get better and better. We made plays and that’s what we needed to do. We’re still making mistakes, but at least this time we made plays to counteract it.’’

Branch, a former Cardinal Spellman High standout, had carried nine times for 45 yards in his first four games. But leading rusher Justin Fuller of Berkley suffered a leg injury during practice last Tuesday and was unable to play, leading to an increased role for Branch, who had 21 carries.

“Blaise is a football player,’’ praised Denune. “We’re not worried about having Blaise in the game. He can make some excitement happen.’’

McCarthy, who shared the quarterback duties with Caleb Geisomino, was 4-for-6 for 95 yards with both touchdown passes to Jake Scott. He also gained 50 yards on 15 carries and scored on runs of 1 and 10 yards.

It was the defense that got BSU going as Jewel, a transfer from Monmouth, picked up a fumble following a pass reception and went 67 yards down the right sideline for a TD with 3:51 to go in the first quarter. Jewel, who made four tackles, later returned an interception 40 yards to set up a Bears’ score.

“Eddie Jewel had a tremendous game,’’ said Denune, who also got strong defensive performances from David Silvia, Tate Doehler, Kevin Laudano and Paul Melicharek. “What can you say about the game he had? He was something.’’

Justin Cruz recovered a Coast Guard fumble at the BSU 1-yard line in the second quarter to stop a threat, but Branch was tackled in the end zone for a safety on first down, making it 7-2 with 5:48 left in the half.

McCarthy and Scott hooked up for a 23-yard TD pass with 1:57 remaining in the half to end a five-play, 55-yard drive and giving BSU a 14-2 lead at the break.

On the Bears’ first possession of the second half, a 28-yard run by Branch set them up deep in Coast Guard (1-4) territory where McCarthy scored on a 10-yard run, making it 20-2.

Coast Guard finally solved the BSU defense with 1:15 to play in the third quarter when Jarrod Owens scored on a 1-yard run, but a wide-open Scott caught a McCarthy pass in stride for a 41-yard TD with 10:24 left in the game, giving BSU a 27-9 advantage.

McCarthy added a 1-yard run with 6:42 left, and Coast Guard scored its other TD with seven seconds to play.

The two-game losing streak is over, and BSU heads into its final four games riding some momentum.

“It was huge,’’ said Denune of getting a win. “You don’t want to lose three in a row ever. We had that back-against-the-wall mentality. It feels better today. They fought all week in practice for this. A lot of new guys stepped up. They stepped up and went out there and competed.’’