Football Falls to Westfield State in MASCAC Opener, 24-17

By Jim Fenton

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team opened the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule by losing on the road.

For the first time since 2011, the Bears lost to Westfield State University, which rallied for a 24-17 victory at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls last defeated Bridgewater State on Sept. 30, 2011 in Bridgewater, 10-7. Eight of the last wins by the Bears over Westfield State were by double digits.

BSU had held a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter and was in front, 17-16, during the fourth quarter. But the Owls scored the winning touchdown with less than seven minutes remaining and the Bears were held to a field goal in the game's final 43:07.

Westfield State took advantage of two second-half turnovers, scoring touchdowns after a fumbled punt and an interception. 

The Bears are now 0-2 after dropping the season opener at home last weekend to MIT. Westfield State improves to 1-1 after losing its first  game to Anna Maria.

BSU's offense had the ball for just 18:21 while the Owls' time of possession was 40:39.

The Bears were held to 207 yards of total offense while Westfield State gained 292 yards. BSU's rushing game was limited to 85 yards while the Owls had 164 yards.

The Bears opened the scoring just 2:40 into the game, turning a Westfield State fumble into a quick touchdown.

On the Owls' second play from scrimmage, junior Brandon Medeiros (Somerset, Mass.) recovered a Ryan Scott (Dalton, Mass.) fumble at the Westfield State 1-yard line.

On second down, senior Trevor Nunes (Falmouth, Mass.) scored on a 1-yard run and junior Joey Naso (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) added the point after for a 7-0 lead.

Westfield State took the ensuing kickoff into BSU territory where Andrew Currier (Attleboro, Mass.) finished the 11-play, 67-yard drive with a 25-yard field goal, pulling the Owls within 7-3 with 6:05 to go in the opening quarter.

BSU went ahead, 14-3, the next time it got the ball, moving 91 yards in 16 plays with the drive taking 7:53.

Senior quarterback SP Pragano (Northford, Conn.) converted a pair of third downs with passes to junior Ryan Coonan (Worcester, Mass.) and senior Dan Akinsheye (Pawtucket, R.I.).

The Bears had a third-and-five at the Westfield 14 when junior Dallas Murphy (Plymouth, Mass.) ran into the end zone for the TD and Naso added the point after with 13:07 left in the half.

Westfield State went on a nine-play, 67-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard TD pass from Gabe Fernandez (Holyoke, Mass.) to Jordan Lanoue (Belchertown, Mass.), and Cooper Harvey (Niskayuna, N.Y.) made the point after with 1:34 left before the break.

A 24-yard pass to Chazz Davis (Norfolk, Va.) was the key play in the drive, and the Owls were within 14-10.

BSU responded with a Naso 20-yard field goal as time expired in the half for a 17-10 advantage. Pragano had three completions in the drive, connecting with senior Jack McCarthy (Braintree, Mass.) for 41 yards.

Westfield State moved within 17-16 with 5:16 left in the third quarter on a 24-yard run by Jacob Swinehart (Holyoke, Mass.), but the point after try was blocked.

The Owls scored four plays after Tom Cascio (Agawam, Mass.) recovered an Isaiah Wright (Worcester, Mass.)fumbled punt at the BSU 40.

Westfield State took its first lead with 6:53 remaining in the game on a 22-yard TD pass from Fernandez to Conor Schlittler (Walpole, Mass.).

Zach Allen (Chelmsford, Mass.) intercepted a Pragano pass at the Westfield State 42 with 10:41 to play.

Six plays later, the Owls scored to take the lead, and Fernandez found Curtis Dion (Seymour, Conn.) for the 2-point conversion and a seven-point advantage.

BSU was in Westfield State territory late in the game after the Owls were stopped on a fake punt attempt with 2:25 to go.

Pragano moved the Bears to the 24 with completions to Akinsheye and Coonan, but two incompletions and a sack ended the threat.

That was only the second time BSU was in Owls' territory in the second half. The Bears' Mark DeGirolamo (Mansfield, Mass.) had recovered a Fernandez fumble at the Westfield State 31 early in the third quarter.

Pragano was 11-for-26 for 122 yards in his second career start while Nunes was the leading rusher with 42 yards on 13 carries. Coonan caught four passes for 20 yards while Akinsheye had three catches for 26 yards and McCarthy had 47 yards on two receptions.

Fernandez was 6-for-10 for 96 yards and two TDs for the Owls, who received 67 yards on 18 carries from Sean Willis.

DeGirolamo made 13 tackles with a sack to lead the BSU defense while senior Nicolas Canales (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) had 12 tackles, two for a loss.

Senior captain Zachary Souza (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and junior Thomas Rocha (Barrington, R.I.) made nine tackles each and sophomore Jorge Aquino (Bergenfield, N.J.) had eight tackles and a sack.

The Bears will travel north next Saturday to play Plymouth State University in New Hampshire at noon. The Panthers opened their season Saturday with a 27-21 loss to Worcester State.

Westfield State is home on Saturday to face Western Connecticut State.