Bridgewater State Kicks Off with Win over UMass-Dartmouth

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team opened its season in style on Saturday night.

The Bears’ defense allowed just 91 yards of total offense and sophomore quarterback Mike McCarthy threw for 192 yards, had one touchdown pass and ran for another score.

That combination allowed BSU to hand the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth a 27-0 loss at Cressy Field.

“It’s always positive to get one under our belts, especially when we didn’t know what we were getting into,’’ said Bears coach Chuck Denune, whose team took on an opponent that had already played a game. “We haven’t hit anybody else. It’s our first game. It’s a great way to start, no doubt about it.

“(UMass-Dartmouth) had a scrimmage and a game under their belts. We had a short camp. Being what it is, we came out and played well. We’ll take it and we’ll move on.’’

The Bears shook the rust off during the first quarter, then took over and dominated the Corsairs, who had opened the season a week earlier with a win over Mount Ida.

McCarthy ran 10 yards for a touchdown and threw a 42-yard scoring strike to Jake Scott while Justin Fuller of Berkley added a 1-ard TD run. The defense also contributed with Kevin Laudano returning an interception 40 yards for a TD.

The Bears limited UMass-Dartmouth to the 91 yards on 55 plays with the Corsairs getting only 72 rushing yards and 19 through the air. UMass-Dartmouth held a 41:19-29:30 edge in time of possession, but rarely threatened against BSU.

Leading the way on defense were Paul Melicharek, Alex Monteiro, Justin Cruz, Laudano, Chris Chamberlain of Easton and Christian Lavoie. The Bears recorded nine tackles which resulted in a loss of yardage.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more from the defense,’ ‘said Denune, whose team travels to Plymouth State next weekend. “It’s great to see the defense play like that. Melicharek was all over the place in the backfield. The whole unit was really good.’’

Once the BSU offense got a few series under its belt, things started clicking and the Bears were able to seize control, grabbing a 13-0 lead by halftime.

“The first quarter was our scrimmage,’’ said Denune. “It’s one of those things where it took a little while. They all looked kind of wide-eyed, coming out and seeing live action for the first time. But they kind of got their bearings and I’m really happy with everything, minus the mistakes we made in the kicking game.’’

The Bears took a 6-0 lead with just one second remaining in the first quarter when McCarthy scored on a 10-yard run to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive.

McCarthy faked a handoff to Fuller, cut to the left, bounced off a tackle and went into the end zone. The conversion kick failed when the snap was fumbled and a pass was overthrown.

BSU made it 13-0 with 6:45 to go in the first half when Laudano, a senior safety, returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.

The Bears were in double coverage along the sideline when Laudano went up in the air and picked off the pass, outracing the Corsairs for the score on a first-down play from the UMass-Dartmouth 20. Junior Brian Smith added the conversion kick.

BSU’s bid for more points in the final seconds of the half fell short when Corsairs’ freshman linebacker Alex Kershaw, who played at Oliver Ames High, blocked a Smith field goal try from 29 yards with nine seconds remaining. The Bears had moved from their own 20 to the UMass-Dartmouth 12 after taking over with less than two minutes remaining.

Kershaw finished with 10 tackles, intercepted a pass and broke up two passes in addition to blocking an extra-point try.

The lead went to 20-0 with 8:47 to go in the third quarter when McCarthy threw a 42-yard TD pass to a wide-open Scott.

The Bears extended the margin to 27-0 with 12:10 left in the game on a 1-yard run by Fuller, who dove into the right side of the end zone. UMass-Dartmouth fumbled a punt at its own 6-yard line with BSU sophomore Matt Brouillard of Plymouth recovering.