By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football has a pair of incentives in its regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears will be looking to continue their dominance in the Cranberry Bowl when they faces the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne at noon, and they will be attempting to secure a winning record.
“It is always a big game every year when you are playing for the (Cranberry) scoop,’’ said BSU coach Chuck Denune, whose team is 5-4. “And there is a big difference between going 5-5 and 6-4.’’
The Bears (4-3) lead Mass. Maritime (3-4) by one game in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference standings with the Buccaneers also 5-4 overall.
The teams will be meeting in the 35th annual Cranberry Bowl at Clean Harbors Stadium, BSU in command with a 25-8-1 record, including 23 wins in the last 25 games.
The Bears are going against a team that is averaging 36.6 points (and allowing 39.4) while picking up 507.3 yards (and allowing 500.9). Mass. Maritime has scored more than 45 points on four occasions with a season-high of 63 in a one-point loss to Worcester State.
“They score a lot of points,’’ said Denune. “Our offense is going to have to keep pace and the defense is going to have to come up with stops.’’
BSU had an early season three-game winning streak, dropped two in a row and won two straight before losing in the closing seconds to MASCAC champion Framingham State last weekend.
“We’ve been impressive at times,’’ said Denune, whose team has been hit with a number of injuries, “but the frustrating part to me is we’ve had a lot of upswing and played at such a high level at times, but we just couldn’t pull that consistency together.
“I hate to play the woe is me card, but you look at our sideline in practice and there’s another squad there. It’s just part of the game and something you have to be prepared for.’’
Senior Mike Gentili was on the field for 128 plays against Framingham State, making 12 tackles at linebacker, rushing for 57 yards and playing on special teams.
Saturday marks the final game for BSU quarterback Mike McCarthy, who is third on the school’s all-time list with 2,687 rushing yards and is third with 40 rushing touchdowns.
The Martha’s Vineyard resident is also fourth with 4,399 passing yards.
“He’s been such a staple of this football program for a long time,’’ said Denune. “I don’t want to think about him leaving.’’
McCarthy is the only player in the history of the Cranberry Bowl to twice win the Lee Harrington Award as the most valuable player. He ran for 180 yards and two TDs last season.
THE PREDICTIONS:
BOSTON COLLEGE 27, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 17: The Eagles become eligible to play in a bowl games.
AUBURN 24, GEORGIA 17: The Bulldogs can’t pull off the upset.
HARVARD 28, PENN 20: The Crimson wrap up the home schedule with a victory.
BRIDGEWATER STATE 35, MASS. MARITIME 31: The Bears hold on to win the Cranberry Bowl.
AIC 28, STONEHILL 21: The Skyhawks’ bid for the NE-10 championship falls just short.
Jim Fenton’s Colleges appears Wednesday and Friday in The Enterprise. He may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.