By John Connolly, Boston Herald
BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- Pete Mazzaferro is the unquestioned godfather of the Cranberry Bowl. The legendary coach founded the rivalry football game between Bridgewater State and Massachusetts Maritime 37 years ago, enticing the Edaville Railroad to donate a wooden cranberry scoop used by harvest growers to serve as the winning trophy.
The Bears, who will be the visitors today (noon), have claimed the scoop on 26 occasions. Last year, Mass. Maritime defeated the host Bears, 31-21, to take the scoop back to Taylor’s Point for the first time in five years. The two schools are separated by only 28 miles.
“It was a tradition until last year and they beat us and it’s a rivalry again,” Mazzaferro, the former Bears head coach, said during yesterday’s Cranberry Bowl luncheon. “But it’s great. I hope we continue to have it as the end of the year game. It’s like the Yale-Harvard game, or the Williams and Amherst game. It’s a natural rivalry. It’s really grown.”
Host Mass. Maritime (4-5, 3-4) hasn’t been successful in holding onto the coveted scoop since the 1987 team completed a four-year reign.
“This is our bowl game. We consider Bridgewater State the measuring stick for our program,” said Buccaneers coach Jeremy Cameron. “This year’s team never flinched. They showed up every Monday with a clean slate and ready to go.”
Said Brad Skeffington, the Buccaneers ace senior quarterback from Salem: “Obviously, it’s a huge rivalry game. Being the last one of the season only adds to that importance to us. The game has just been a great tradition. It’s been a super-intense environment. Everybody is really prepared to empty the tank. Both teams are going to come out firing.”
The visiting Bears enter the game with much on the line. At 6-3 (5-2 MASCAC), they still have an outside shot of reaching the postseason, while also looking to reclaim the scoop.
“We’re playing for a lot of things. A potential post-season game, we’re playing for the ‘scoop’ over there and we want it really, really bad. More importantly, we’re playing for the seniors,” said Bridgewater State coach Chuck Denune.
Bears senior middle linebacker Nick Salois said the game has taken on added importance each year.
“When you play in it as a freshman, you don’t realize how much value it has. It gains that much more each year that you play,” said Salois. “It means so much more now that I am a senior. We’d like to go out and bring the scoop back. It’s going to be a dogfight.”