BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - - The Bridgewater State College football team rushed for 422 yards and piled up 533 yards of total offense, as the Bears opened the 2009 season with a 40-29 non-conference victory over Mount Ida College on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.
Junior running back Justin Fuller (Berkley, MA) racked up 183 yards on the ground on 22 carries and also rushed for three touchdowns to highlight the Bears' offensive explosion. Senior quarterback Steven Clark (East Falmouth, MA) added 142 yards and a score while also throwing for 111 yards and two more touchdowns.
Prior to the game, Bridgewater honored players from the 1960 team as part of the Bears 50th Season Celebration. 1960 was the year that football came back to BSC after a 33-year hiatus.
The two teams combined for 871 yards of total offense, but also turned the ball over nine times. A Bridgewater fumble at their own 20 led to the game's opening score with 6:38 remaining in the first quarter. Mount Ida capitalized as sophomore running back Johrone Bunch (Meriden, CT) found the end zone from two yards out to give the Mustangs the early 7-0 lead.
Bridgewater responded on the ensuing possession as the Bears went 78 yards on seven plays highlighted by a 61 yards pass from Clark to senior wideout Jesse Teixeira (Taunton, MA). That would set up a Fuller one-yard touchdown plunge to even the score at 7-7.
BSC fumbled again on their next possession as junior safety Julien Baptiste (Greenlawn, NY) picked up the loose ball and rumbled 50 yards to the Bears' seven-yard line. Bridgewater's defense was up to the task as the Bears forced the Mustangs into a successful field goal attempt. Mount Ida would take the points off the board however as a personal foul penalty gave the Mustangs a first and goal at the two. Bridgewater's defense put together a second goal line stand, keeping the Mustangs out of the end zone on four attempts inside the five-yard line.
A Clark interception gave Mount Ida outstanding field possession once again as the Mustangs took over at the BSC 19. Three plays later, freshman quarterback Scott Drosendahl (East Aurora, NY) hooked up with senior wideout Kyle Watkins (New Haven, CT) on a nine-yard touchdown pass.
Trailing 14-7 with 6:25 left in the half, the Bears tied the score on a 34-yard touchdown run by Clark. BSC had good field position to start the drive thanks to a short 24-yard punt that went out of bounds at the Bears' 43-yard line. Two plays and 26 seconds later, Clark broke free for the equalizing score.
After a Mount Ida three-and-out, Bridgewater strung together an 11-play, 65-yard drive capped off by a 22-yard touchdown pass from Clark to senior wideout Nikko Beck (Brockton, MA). The extra point attempt was blocked, however, as the Bears took a 20-14 lead into halftime.
The Bears upped the lead to 26-14 on the opening possession of the second half as they took just three plays to find the end zone capped off by a Fuller 34-yard scoring run. Bridgewater went for the two-point conversion but failed.
A fumble and three consecutive punts put the ball in the hands of the Mustangs at their own 46 with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter. Eight plays later, senior quarterback Mike Cloutier (Troy, NY) found Watkins in the back off the end zone on fourth and goal from the six. The ensuing extra point cut the deficit to 26-21 with 1:16 left in the third quarter.
A Baptiste interception and subsequent 35-yard return put the Mustangs back in business at the BSC 31-yard line. One play later, Cloutier once again found Watkins in the end zone to put Mount Ida back out in front. The two-point conversion attempt was good as the score was 29-26 in favor of the visitors early in the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing possession, Bridgewater took advantage of a poor kickoff that went out of bounds. Starting at their own 40, the Bears moved the ball to the Mount Ida 29-yard line. On third down and nine, Clark put the Bears back on top as he connected with Teixeira on a 29-yard scoring strike. Clark, who had left the game with an injury in the third quarter, also converted a third down play earlier in the series with a big ten-yard run.
.Down 33-29, the Mustangs marched into BSC territory. On a second down play from the 39-yard line, senior linebacker Jason Flannery (Bridgewater, MA) stripped the ball after a five-yard pass completion. Teammate and fellow senior linebacker Tim Powling (Orange, MA) recovered the fumble to put an end to the scoring threat.
After an exchange of punts, Bridgewater put the game out of reach thanks to a six-play, 81-yard scoring drive resulting in a Fuller ten-yard touchdown run. The game-clinching score came with just 1:50 left on the clock.
Bridgewater State's 533 yards of total offense was the most since 2006 when the Bears racked up 613 yards in a 46-17 win at Framingham State. The 422 yards on the ground, marked BSC's highest rushing output since 2007, when the Bears rushed for 470-yards in a 45-31 victory at Fitchburg State.
Along with the rushing performances from Fuller and Clark, senior fullback Jeff Creeden (Mansfield, MA) added 77 grueling yards on 14 carries.
Offensively for Mount Ida, Watkins caught 11 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Cloutier finished 16-of-29 for 196 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Flannery paced the Bears defensively as he recorded eight tackles (seven solo) and two tackles for loss. He also recovered a fumble to go along with his key forced fumble. Bridgewater limited the Mustangs to 108 yards rushing on 28 carries. The Bears also held Mount Ida to just 4 of 15 third down conversions and 1-for-4 on fourth down.
Baptiste put together a strong defensive performance for Mount Ida as he added six tackles to go along with his two interceptions and 50-yard fumble return. Sophomore safety Clarence Dukes (West Haven, CT) finished with a game-high nine tackles (eight solo) and also blocked an extra point.
Bridgewater will travel to UMass Dartmouth next Saturday to take on the Corsairs. Kickoff is slated for 7 PM. Mount Ida heads to Plymouth State University on Saturday for a 1 o'clock game with the Panthers.