By Nick Costa, The Enterpise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- In a season of ups and downs for the Bridgewater State football team, the passing combination of senior quarterback Mike McCarthy and junior wide receiver Matthew Green has been there when the Bears’ offense needed them most.
The dynamic duo teamed up again as McCarthy capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive by finding Green for an 18-yard touchdown strike with 1:16 left in regulation, lifting Bridgewater Stateto a thrilling 26-20, come-from-behind victory against Westfield State in a MASCAC Homecoming showdown at Swenson Field on Saturday afternoon.
Green, a Stoughton native, had seven catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bears (5-3, 4-2).
Bridgewater State coach Chuck Denune was pleased by the way his team fought back to earn the victory on its final drive of the game.
“I just wanted our guys to make the big play,” said Denune. “We had a few weird things happen on that last drive, but all you can ask is that your players step up and make plays when your back’s against the wall and they did that.”
The Owls (4-3, 3-2) got a good game offensively from running back Brian Beauchemin, who had 22 rushes for 85 yards.
Westfield got things going early in the opening quarter as it marched down the field before kicker Michael Orellana booted a 36-yard field goal, putting the Owls ahead, 3-0, with 9:31 left in the first quarter.
After the Owls’ defense held the Bears’ offense scoreless again, a bad snap on a BSU punt set the Owls up at the BSU 1-yard line. Colby Bostek took the ball into the end zone, giving Westfield a 10-0 lead after the opening quarter.
The Bears’ offense responded midway through the second quarter as McCarthy ran for 39 of his 96 yards on a single drive, including a touchdown from 1 yard out, cutting the Westfield lead to 10-7 with 2:29 remaining until the break.
The Owls’ offense answered before halftime behind the arm of Tim Rich as he hit receiver Jake Storey for a 30-yard pass competition down to the Bears’ 10-yard line. After BSU’s Rob Ruggiero (six tackles, four solo) brought Rich down for his MASCAC-leading 12th sack of the season with 30 seconds left in the half, Orellana hit a 32-yard field goal, extending the Owls’ lead to 13-7 at halftime.
Denune noted that his offense was conservative in throwing the ball for the first 30 minutes due to battling a stiff wind, but opened things up in the second half.
“We had trouble throwing the ball in the first half because we had a hard time judging how the wind effected our game plan,” said Denune. “In the second half we knew there were going to be times where the wind was at our backs and times we’d have to throw into it. We just decided to throw it more to get life into our offense.”
The BSU offense struck again midway through the third quarter as McCarthy hit Mike Gentili for a 40-yard pass play down to the Westfield 18-yard line. McCarthy then hit Green on a 16-yard scoring strike, putting BSU ahead, 14-13, with 7:30 left in the third.
Bridgewater expanded its lead later in the third when a bad punt set the Bears up at the Westfield 42. McCarthy then hit Chris Constantine for a 16-yard gain down to the 26. After a series of runs by McCarthy and Blaise Branch got the ball down to the 6-yard line, McCarthy found Constantine in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard score, increasing the Bears’ lead to 20-13 after three quarters.
The Owls fought back to tie things up midway through the fourth when Bostek rumbled 18 yards for his second touchdown, tying the game at 20-20 with 13:06 left in regulation.
McCarthy took the ball with 4:48 left to play and drove his team down the field, highlighted by back-to-back catches by Green for 9 and 22 yards down to the WSU 25.
After McCarthy ran it for 7 yards down to the Owls’ 18, he found Green down the sideline for the score, putting BSU ahead, 26-20, with 1:16 left to play.
The Owls had one last shot to win it on a pass from the BSU 24, but Gentili knocked it down, forcing Westfield to turn it over on downs and seal a victory for Bridgewater.
McCarthy, who played with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, aimed to be as focused as possible during his team’s final drive.
“I was caught up in the moment and knew we needed to get first downs.” said McCarthy. “We were in the spread formation and as soon as I saw the safety move a little to the inside, I was able to find Matthew for the score.”
Said Green: “It all happened so fast. I saw an opening in the defense and did my best to beat the defender for the touchdown. We were very fortunate to execute big offensive plays to help us win today.”