Bridgewater, MA --– Sophomore quarterback Jeff St.
Onge (Kingston, NH) threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns
to lead the visiting Salve Regina University Seahawks to a stunning
21-6 victory over Bridgewater State College in a New England
Football Conference (NEFC) crossover game this afternoon at Swenson
Field.
Salve (1-1) forced 5 turnovers in the game and limited Bridgewater
State (1-1) to just 102 yards of total offense in the second half.
The win was the Seahawks first victory over the Bears since
September 19, 1998 as they snapped a 7-game losing streak against
BSC.
Bridgewater out-gained Salve 238 yards to 109 in the opening half,
but turned the ball over three times including a big fumble at the
goal line on their first possession of the second half. BSC also
had a field goal blocked midway through the first quarter.
Salve opened the scoring with 7:06 remaining in the second quarter
on a 4-yard touchdown pass from St. Onge to freshman fullback
Rob LaRiviere-Tougas (Easthampton, MA). The
touchdown capped off a 7-play, 30-yard drive which began after
senior linebacker John DeMartino (North Haven, CT)
intercepted a Greg Borsari (Sr., Kingston, MA)
pass and returned it to the BSC 30-yard line.
After the teams exchanged punts, Bridgewater took over at the
Salve 40-yard line with 1:28 remaining in the half thanks to a
22-yard punt return by junior John Bascon
(Bridgewater, MA). Seven plays later, Borsari connected with senior
wide receiver Chris Joyce (Bridgewater, MA) on a
13-yard TD pass with 28 seconds left on the clock. The PAT attempt
however was blocked and Bridgewater trailed 7-6 going into the
half.
Salve’s best scoring chance in the third quarter came as a
result of BSC’s fourth turnover of the game, a fumble which
was recovered by junior linebacker Tim
Quagliarello (North Haven, CT) at the Bears’ 33. The
Seahawks drive stalled at the BSC 5-yard line, and a 22-yard field
goal attempt was blocked by junior defensive tackle Chris
Dijak (Lunenburg, MA).
The Seahawks increased their lead to 14-6 with eight minutes to go
in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by senior running
back Louy Marroquin (Hewlett, NY). The scoring run
capped off an 8-play, 83-yard drive with the big play being a
50-yard pass from St. Onge to junior wideout Jason
Giordano (Wolcott, CT) on third down and six from the
Seahawk 34.
Bridgewater State took over on their own 26-yard line with 7:57
remaining in the game. After four running plays gave BSC a first
down on their own 44, Borsari was intercepted by DeMartino for the
second time in the game and the Seahawks senor linebacker returned
the interception down to the BSC 29.
After picking up one first down on their ensuing drive, Salve was
faced with fourth and nine from the BSC 18. St. Onge put the
finishing touches on the game as he hit sophomore wide receiver
Ben Hall (Conway, NH) with an 18-yard touchdown
pass to cap off the scoring.
Marroquin carried the ball 27 times for 83 yards and a score to
lead the Seahawks ground attack. Defensively for Salve, sophomore
linebacker Brian Bernarducci (Pleasantville, NY)
recorded a game-high 19 tackles on the day including 14 solo.
DeMartino registered 4 solo tackles to go along with his 2
interceptions.
For the Bears, junior running back Bruce Burley
(Mansfield, MA) rushed for 113 yards on 22 carries, while Joyce
caught 6 passes for 65 yards and a score. Borsari completed 9 of 23
passes on the day for 100 yards and a touchdown, but was also
intercepted twice. He also ran for 64 yards on 13 carries as
Bridgewater finished with 217 yards rushing.
Defensively for the Bears, Dijak recorded 7 tackles on the day,
including a sacks and 4 ½ tackles for loss. Fellow junior
defensive tackles Mohammed Kanu (Randolph, MA) led
the team with 9 tackles, while senior linebacker Anthony
Vizakis (Bellingham, MA) recorded 8 tackles including 3
for loss. Bascon picked up his 11th career interception and also
forced a fumble.
The Bears will try to regroup next Saturday as they host NEFC
Bogan Division rival Maine Maritime Academy at noon. Salve will
host Endicott College next Saturday at 6:30 in their
“Homecoming Game”.