BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior wide receiver E.J. Bennett (East Wareham, Mass.) earned Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player honors as the Massachusetts Maritime Academy football team held on for a 31-21 victory over Bridgewater State University in the 36th Annual Cranberry Bowl Presented By Ocean Spray on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.

Both teams finish the season with identical records of 4-6 overall and 3-5 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC).

The Buccaneers captured the "Cranberry Scoop" trophy for just the third time in the last 27 years and first since 2010.  Despite the loss, the Bears still hold a 26-9-1 advantage in the all-time Cranberry Bowl series which began in 1979.

Bennett caught 12 passes for 239 yards, including touchdown catches of 93 and nine yards. He broke Keith Caruso's program mark of 177 career receptions with his seventh catch of the day, a ten-yard reception on the first play of the fourth quarter.

MMA senior quarterback John Trudel (Niantic, Conn.) had an immense game as he completed 22 of 32 pass attempts for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Trudel also rushed for a team-high 68 yards as he amassed 383 yards of total offense.

Sophomore placekicker Ryan Quinn (North Andover, Mass.) opened the scoring with a 23-yard field goal on Mass. Maritime's opening possession.  A four-yard touchdown pass from Trudel to junior tight end Kevin Healy (Palmetto, Fla.) capped off a six-play, 73-yard drive later in the period to extend the lead to 10-0.  Trudel's 93-yard scoring strike to Bennett made it 17-0 as the first quarter came to a close.

The Bucs carried the momentum into the second quarter as freshman running back Richie Phillips (Onset, Mass.) capped of a 13-play, 71-yard scoring drive with a one-yard TD plunge to increase the visitors lead to 24-0.

After being dominated for most of the first half, the Bears finally got on the board with 4:43 remaining in the stanza as freshman back Alex McLaughlin (Littleton, Mass.) broke off a 59-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 24-7.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Bears moved the ball down to the Maritime 21-yard line.  On third and 13, BSU sophomore quarterback Danny Higgins (Manahawkin, N.J.) was sacked for a key loss of nine yards pushing the ball back to the 30.  Instead of booting a short 38-yard field goal, senior kicker Colin Neri (Upton, Mass.) pushed a long 47 yarder wide left as the remained 24-7 in favor of the Buccaneers as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime.

Bridgewater took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 66 yards on 12 plays culminating in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Higgins to senior tight end Nick Jablonski (Assonet, Mass.) to pull to within 24-14.

Mass. Maritime's ensuing drive stalled at the BSU 43 and they were forced to punt.  The Bears took over on their own 12 and moved the ball 52 yards on six plays down to the MMA 36.  On first down, Higgins was hit as he threw and his pass was picked off by senior defensive lineman Richard Ford (Lynn, Mass.) at the 41.

The Buccaneers moved the ball into BSU territory as the teams changed sides for the start of the fourth quarter.  A ten-yard pass to Bennett and a 16-yard Trudel run made it first and goal at the four.  However, the Bears' defense made a big goal-line stand and stopped the Bucs on fourth down.

Starting on their own two, the BSU offense moved the ball 98 yards on nine plays with Higgins finding freshman wideout Travis Bassett (Littleton, Mass.) in the end zone from six yards out to pull the Bears to within a field goal at 24-21 with 8:14 left to play.  The key play in the drive was a Higgins 30-yard run and additional 15-yard facemask penalty.

Needing one more stop on defense, the Bears could not come through.  The Bucs marched 69 yards on 12 plays, converting twice on third down and once on fourth down.  On fourth and one from the nine, Trudel found Bennett in the end zone to eliminate any chance of a Bridgewater comeback.

For the game, Mass. Maritime converted 7 of 14 third down plays, and finished 2-for-3 on fourth down. The Buccaneers also did not turn the ball over despite putting it on the ground twice.

The Bears outrushed the Buccaneers by a wide marging of 238 yards to 118. The Buccaneers, however, finished with a decided edge in passing, 336-189.

McLaughlin led the BSU offense with 112 yards rushing on ten carries with a touchdown. He also completed a pass for 12 yards.  Senior tailback Blaise Branch (Brockton, Mass.) added 91 yards on 17 carries.

Senior wideout Matt Green (Stoughton, Mass.) hauled in a team-high seven catches for 88 yards, while Bassett caught five passes for 61 yards.  Green ends his career as the Bears' all-time leader in reception (169) and receiving yards (2765).

Higgins completed 16 of 26 attempts for 177 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, BSU freshman defensive back Kyle Dance (West Roxbury, Mass.) led all players with ten solo tackles.  Senior safety David Console (Malden, Mass.) notched ten tackles (nine solo), to go along with a forced fumble and a pass breakup.  Junior linebacker A.J. Pascuzzo (Wallingford, Conn.) also finished with ten tackles (seven solo), while sophomore defensive lineman Elvis Romero (Wayne, N.J.) checked in with seven tackles (five solo) with 1 ½ sacks.

Senior linebacker Victor Andrade (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) was the Buccaneers' leading tackler with nine (seven solo) including one for loss.  Senior defensive back Kyle Hardy (Salem, Mass.) added eight tackles (seven solo), while junior linebacker Mike Williams (Marshfield, Mass.) chipped in with seven stops.

Prior to the game, the Bears honored 19 seniors who were playing in their final game in a BSU uniform.

Notes: With his 177 passing yards, Higgins eclipsed the program record for passing yards in a season as he wraps up the 2014 campaign with 2,168 yard passing. Higgins broke Adam Camobreco's previous mark of 2,119 yards set in 2005....Branch moved into 11th place on the Bears' all-time rushing list as he finishes his career with 1,929 yards on the ground.