By Jim Seavey, Sports Information Director at Mass. Maritime Academy
BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- Junior Justin Fuller (Berkley, Mass.) rushed for 155 yards on 31 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns to lift Bridgewater State to a 20-7 victory over Massachusetts Maritime in the 31st Annual Cranberry Bowl Presented By Ocean Spray Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium.
Fuller's 46-yard scoring run midway through the opening quarter staked the visiting Bears, who finish the season 7-3 overall and 5-2 in New England Football Conference Bogan Division play, to an early 7-0 lead, and a 13-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Steven Clark (East Falmouth, Mass.) to fellow senior Eric Rygiel (Peabody, Mass.) with 10:39 remaining in the first half extended Bridgewater State's edge to 13-0 at the break.
Freshman quarterback Tyler Mansfield's (Falmouth, Mass.) five-yard touchdown run capped a 16-play, 86 yard drive with 46 seconds to play in the third stanza that enabled the host Buccaneers, who finish the year at 3-7 overall and 2-5 in NEFC Bogan Division action, to slice their deficit in half, and Massachusetts Maritime forced a Bear punt on the ensuing possession but allowed the visitors to keep the ball for an additional six minutes on a personal foul and a 23-yard run by senior Tim Powling (Orange, Mass.) on a fake punt.
Fuller capped Bridgewater State's 13th straight Cranberry Bowl triumph with a one-yard scoring plunge with two minutes remaining in the contest, as an interception by Bear junior John Farroba (North Attleboro, Mass.) with 1:43 to play sealed the victory.
Senior Jeff Creeden (Mansfield, Mass.) added 77 rushing yards in the win for Bridgewater State, which amassed 275 yards on the ground as part of 339 yards of total offense. Clark notched 90 yards of total offense with 62 yards through the air and 28 on the ground for the Bears, who overcame a pair of turnovers on the day.
Senior Alex Butler (Bourne, Mass.) rushed for 119 yards on 31 carries in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as Mansfield added 65 yards on 14 carries for the Buccaneers, who collected all 224 yards of total offense on the ground for the afternoon.
Senior Jason Flannery (Bridgewater, Mass.) was named as the Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player of the Cranberry Bowl after leading Bridgewater State defensively with 14 total tackles, including 11 solo stops and one for a loss, while fellow seniors John Ferbert (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Casey Florence (Bridgewater, Mass.) added 13 and 10 total tackles, respectively, for the Bears.
Senior Ryan Howley (New Fairfield, Conn.) closed out his career with a game-high 14 total tackles, including nine solo to go with a sack, in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received 11 total tackles from sophomore Mike Bois (Lakeville, Mass.) as well as a pair of solo stops and a fumble recovery by senior Chris Paze (Bridgewater, Mass.).
Fuller came within 25 yards and one touchdown of Brenden Kavey's BSC single-season rushing marks of 1,400 yards and 20 touchdown set in 2005. Fuller completed the 2009 campaign with 1,375 yards on the ground and 19 touchdowns.
Bridgewater State now leads the overall Cranberry Bowl series by a 23-7-1 margin, having won 13 straight in the series dating back to 1996. The Bears are now 26-9-1 all-time against the Buccaneers dating back to 1974.