Football Rolls to 42-7 Homecoming Win Over Worcester State

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team has reached the midway point of the season with momentum on its side.

The Bears head into their bye week with two consecutive victories after an 0-3 start to the season.

BSU treated a Homecoming Weekend crowd of over 2,500 to a dominant 42-7 win over Worcester State University at Mazzaferro Field.

The Bears' defense contributed a pair of touchdowns via a fumble recovery and interception and forced the Lancers into a pair of safeties.

Freshman quarterback Jaden Moseley (North Providence, R.I.) threw for a pair of TDs, senior running back Trevor Nunes (Falmouth, Mass.) went over the 100-yard mark for the third game in a row, and freshman Zy'Kie Askew (Middletown, Conn.) broke the school record with a 95-yard TD run to finish the scoring.

Askew surpassed the record 88-yard run from scrimmage by Andy Brems against Worcester State in 2003.

After losing to MIT in the opener and dropping close Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference decisions to Westfield State and Plymouth State, the Bears are pointed in the right direction at the halfway mark.

"We have come together," said coach Joe Verria. "We're starting to play in all three phases of the game -- offense, defense, special teams.

"A lot of kids are stepping up. We just had some bad breaks in those first few weeks. We protected the football and took the football away today, and that's how you usually win.

"Today was nice, a great atmosphere. It was a good day."

BSU is now 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the MASCAC while the Lancers own the same records. The Bears are 27-11 all-time against Worcester State with 18 wins in the last 19 meetings, including six in a row.

BSU built a 16-0 first-quarter lead by scoring all of its points in a span of 3:01, getting one offensive touchdown while returning a fumble for a touchdown and recording a safety.

The Bears added another safety in the second quarter and Moseley's second TD pass for a 25-0 lead at halftime.

BSU finished with 433 yards of total offense while limiting the Lancers to 205 yards.

Nunes gained 120 yards on 22 carries, while Askew had 104 yards on two carries.

Moseley completed just three passes, but they went for 131 yards and scores to senior Jack McCarthy (Braintree, Mass.) and freshman Josh Registre (Waltham, Mass.).

"He's still young, but he does some good things," said Verria of Moseley, the third quarterback to start for BSU this season.

On Worcester State's second possession of the game, junior quarterback Parke Hardesky (East Greenwich, R.I.) fumbled while being sacked by junior linebacker Victor Martinez (Haverhill, Mass.) and junior defensive end Mark DeGirolamo (Mansfield, Mass.) recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown with 6:40 left in the first quarter.

It marked the second game in a row that DeGirolamo scored off a fumble recovery as he took one 56 yards for a TD against Framingham State a week earlier.

The next time the Lancers had the ball, they faced a fourth-and-32 from the 1-yard line and took a safety when the punter stepped out of bounds, giving the Bears a 9-0 lead with 4:09 to go in the quarter.

The BSU offense added a TD with 3:39 left on a 30-yard TD pass from Moseley to Registre to make it a 16-0 game

The Bears recorded their second safety with five minutes to play in the half as the Lancers fumbled on a bad snap for a 15-yard loss into the end zone.

Twenty seconds later, Moseley threw a 60-yard TD pass to McCarthy, hitting him in stride on the first play of the possession.

BSU opened a 28-0 lead with 13:37 left in the game as graduate student Shane Drake (Franklin, Mass.) kicked a 19-yard field goal. The Bears had driven to the 3-yard line before settling for the three points.

Worcester State avoided the shutout by scoring with 11:38 remaining on a 27-yard TD pass from senior Adam Hill (Lunenburg, Mass.) to sophomore Lance Williams (Westerley, R.I.).

The Bears opened a 35-7 lead when freshman Mario Franciosa-Johnson (Braintree, Mass.) returned an interception 39 yards up the left sideline for a TD with 6:46 to play.

Askew then finished the scoring off in style with a 95-yard run, outracing everyone with 2:45 remaining.

"I haven't seen (back-to-back games with a fumble recovery for a TD) in a while," said Verria. "I haven't seen two safeties in a game. I haven't seen breaking the school record for a touchdown. But when you're playing hard, good things happen."

The BSU defense has allowed 24 points in the last three games.

"The defense is getting better every week," said Verria. "We're trying some new things and everything's working so far.

"The first game (a 37-17 loss to MIT), we definitely struggled. We made some adjustments personnel-wise and scheme-wise and it's getting better."

BSU had four sacks and nine tackles for a loss, and eight players had at least four tackles apiece.

The entire MASCAC takes next weekend off, then the Bears hit the road to play top teams Western Connecticut State and UMass Dartmouth.

      Asked about the timing of the bye week after two wins in a row,
Verria said, "That's a good question because we're playing pretty good.
Would I like to play next week? Absolutely. I like what I see
right now. But we've got the toughest part of the schedule
in front of us with Western COnnecticut and UMass Dartmouth, so
we'll see.''