By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- The 37th annual Cranberry Bowl turned into a showcase for the high-powered Bridgewater State University offense.
The Bears tied a school record for points, scoring seven second-half touchdowns, compiled 597 yards of total offense and averaged 8.5 yards per play.
One year after a rare loss in the Cranberry Bowl, Bridgewater State overwhelmed the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 64-42, before a crowd of 1,460 at Clean Harbors Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
After trailing, 21-10, deep into the second quarter, the Bears’ offense exploded as quarterback Danny Higgins (11-for-15, 194 yards) threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more to earn the Lee Harrington most valuable player award in the highest scoring Cranberry Bowl ever.
Alex McLaughlin rushed for 168 yards and scored twice, Carlton Williamson of Easton ran for 134 yards and a TD while Travis Bassett caught two TD passes and Michael Viola had one scoring catch.
The Bears had 403 yards on the ground, the most since getting 422 against Mount Ida on Sept. 5, 2009. The 64 points ties the school record set against Salve Regina on Oct. 22, 2005.
“We’re really blessed with talent,’’ said BSU coach Chuck Denune, whose team averages 34.2 points per game. “There’s a lot of athletes on offense. You can’t really hone in on one guy and if they do, that gets you in trouble.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can make plays, and the offensive line is improved from last year. They really played above their level most of the year. We saw the potential in our offense.’’
The victory gives BSU a 7-3 record, including 6-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Bears are hoping to receive a berth in one of the six ECAC bowl games and will find out on Monday if they have another week left this season.
“It’d be great,’’ said Denune, whose team leads the Cranberry Bowl, 27-9-1. “This is one of those young teams where a postseason game could really catapult us into next year. I think our chances are good. I told the team I can’t guarantee anything, but I think we’ve got a darn good shot.’’
The Bears held a 10-7 lead after one quarter, getting a 32-yard field goal from Liam Murphy and a 6-yard TD catch from Bassett, but Mass. Maritime (4-6, 3-5) was in front, 21-10, with time running out in the first half.
Viola then caught a 27-yard TD pass from Higgins on third down with 2:46 left in the half to get BSU within 21-17 at the break.
The Bears scored three times in the third quarter to take a 37-28 lead going into the final 15 minutes. McLaughlin scored on a 1-yard run with 11:09 to go in the third quarter and raced 80 yards with 8:06 left before Bassett caught a 25-yard TD pass from Higgins with 18 seconds remaining.
David Console, who had three interceptions, picked off a pass and went 44 yards to make it 44-28 with 13:34 left in the game, and after the Bears recorded a safety, Higgins ran 40 yards for a TD to up the lead to 52-28.
Williamson (36-yard run with 7:13 left) and Higgins (16-yard run with 4:26 to play) finished the scoring for BSU, which failed to convert the extra point four times.
“We knew they were going to score some points,’’ said Denune of Mass. Maritime, which averages nearly 35 points, “so we figured we’d better score a lot, too.
“I didn’t like (falling behind, 21-10), and I was worried we were going to start giving up tons of points, but I knew the way our offense looked we were going to be able to score some points. We just had to tighten up on defense and we eventually did.’’
Mass. Maritime freshman Paul Sances of Middleboro intercepted his fifth pass as he is tied with Console for the MASCAC lead.