College Football: Bridgewater State Seeks First Win

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team is in search of its first win as the opening month of the season comes to an end.

The Bears (0-3) travel to Fitchburg State University (1-2) on Saturday afternoon following a frustrating loss to Western Connecticut State University last weekend.

BSU had the edge in total yards (436-269), first downs (31-18) and time of possession (34:59-25:01) but were victimized by defensive breakdowns at inopportune times against the unbeaten Colonials in a 42-33 loss.

“Our offense has been good, but the defense has given up too many big plays,” said coach Joe Verria. “We had that team in third-and-long situations a lot last week, but it wasn’t good for us. It was pretty ugly.

“The offense is clicking. The backs are doing a good job. The offensive line is doing a good job. (Quarterback Stefano D’Emilia) is comfortable throwing the ball around. We just didn’t hold our end of the bargain on defense.”

Nick Santavicca made the MASCAC weekly honor roll after rushing for 200 yards on 31 carries with three touchdowns while D’Emilia was 20 for 30 for 200 yards and a TD.

Colin O’Brien of Middleboro caught the first two TD passes of his career and had five receptions for 78 yards while T.J. Hairston made eight catches for 70 yards.

But Western Connecticut State quarterback David James, the MASCAC offensive player of the week, threw four TD passes and was 18 of 23 for 283 yards.

“We had to fix some issues with schemes and responsibilities on defense,” said Verria. “We were helping in four or five different instances where we should haven’t been doing that. We were just out of position.”

Bridgewater State has a 26-8 lead over Fitchburg State in a series that began in 1986. The Bears defeated the Falcons last year, 42-15, when they had 466 yards of total offense. Fitchburg State is coming off a 37-13 loss to UMass Dartmouth.

“They’re a power football team up front and they’re fast and athletic on defense,” said Verria. “They run the ‘I’ behind a big offensive line, and we haven’t seen that in a while.”

The Falcons’ defense includes junior cornerback Joel Monteiro of Brockton, a transfer from New Haven who has 11 tackles, two pass breakups and a sack in three games.

Stonehill has bye: After improving to 2-1 last Saturday night, Stonehill College has a bye week before hosting American International College on Oct. 5.

The Skyhawks opened the Northeast-10 Conference schedule with a 38-14 road win over Saint Anselm College.

Sophomore running back Justin Felder, who gained a career-high 139 yards, scored three first-quarter touchdowns and was named the NE-10 offensive player of the week. Felder had 76 of those yards in the opening quarter.

Senior kicker Matt Haite of Pembroke was picked as the conference’s special teams player of the week for the second time this season. Haite made all five extra points and connected on a career-long 51-yard field goal in addition to averaging 64.4 yards with six touchbacks on kickoffs.

Haite has 32 career field goals, one behind the program record-holder, Steve Grzywacz, and is third in scoring with 187 points, 25 in back of Grzywacz.

Junior quarterback Anton Stoneking was named the NE-10 rookie of the week after completing 15 of 24 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He has a 145.8 passing efficiency rating in three games.

The Predictions:

• Boston College 27, Wake Forest 24: The Eagles pick up an ACC win at home.
• Notre Dame 31, Virginia 20: The Irish bounce back after losing at Georgia.
• Washington 35, USC 28: The Trojans lose in a matchup of top 25 teams.
• Harvard 28, Brown 17: The Crimson begin the Ivy League schedule with a victory.
• Bridgewater State 35, Fitchburg State 21: The Bears break through on the road.

LAST WEEK: 3-2 | SEASON TOTAL: 9-6