By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team spent the opening three weeks of the season steadily building momentum.
The Bears went 3-0 for the first time since 2005, picking up impressive wins over Springfield College and Endicott College, and were ranked No. 1 in this week's New England Div. 3 poll.
That momentum came to a screeching halt on Friday night, though, when BSU faced Framingham State University in an early-season New England Football Conference Bogan Division showdown.
Unable to move the ball against the defending division champions, the Bears lost for the third year in a row to the Rams, 16-0, before a crowd of 1,381 at Swenson Field. The teams were picked as co-favorites in the division in the preseason coaches poll.
BSU was limited to just 148 yards of total offense, most of that coming on its first possession of the game, and was shut out for the first time since Oct. 2, 2010 at Westfield State University.
The Bears were called for 10 penalties for 87 yards and were in Framingham State territory only twice after their first drive ended with a missed field goal.
"We knew they had a great defense," said BSU coach Chuck Denune. "There's no doubt about it. You've got to take your hat off to Framingham. They played very well. There's no denying that.
"I'm extremely disappointed (with all the penalties). We talked all week about not letting our emotions get to us in this game, to bottle it up and keep it under control. Our guys wanted this game real bad. To come out and have that many mental mistakes, it's really disappointing."
The loss puts BSU (3-1, 0-1 in the division) behind Framingham State (3-1, 0-1) right away in the race for first place, just like last season.
"It's one of those things where ultimately we lost control of our own destiny tonight," said Denune. "But we've got to worry about next week at this point. We can't come out and play this kind of football next week. The only thing that matters is getting ready for Westfield."
After a scoreless first quarter that included a missed field goal by each team, the Rams took advantage of a Bears' turnover to take a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
BSU had to start a drive at its own 15-yard line following a punt, and on first down, Dino Rizzo forced a fumble by running back Blaise Branch of Brockton that was recovered at the 17 by Sam Hill.
Framingham State needed five plays to get into the end zone with quarterback Matt Mangano scoring on a 2-yard run and Phil Clain adding the point-after with 10:20 to go in the half.
The Rams extended the lead to 14-0 with just nine seconds remaining in the half on a 9-yard TD pass from Matt Silva to Clain on third down. Framingham State went 59 yards in seven plays following a punt.
The Bears were able to get into Framingham State territory only once in the first half, moving to the 11-yard line the first time they got the ball, but Jarred Diorio missed a 33-yard field goal with 1:16 left in the first quarter.
"You put a drive together like that you expect to get some points out of it," said Denune. "But we stalled out with penalities."
After that, BSU's drives in the half ended with a fumble, two punts and an interception. The Bears hurt themselves with seven penalties for 62 yards and were limited to 105 first-half yards.
Framingham State made it 16-0 with 10:38 left in the game when junior defensive end Jeff Touron of Brockton tackled McCarthy in the end zone for a safety on a second-down play that began at the 14. Touron had two sacks in the game while James Muirhead of Middleboro had four tackles with a sack.
The Bears had 13 possessions and made it into Rams' territory just three times. They had only 30 rushing yards against Framingham State, which has allowed six points in its three-game winning streak.