By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason football poll released last August had three teams picked to finish ahead of Bridgewater State University.
There was defending champion Framingham State on top followed by Fitchburg State and Western Connecticut State with the Bears in fourth place.
Not only did Bridgewater State leapfrog those three teams this fall, but the Bears ran the table to put together a perfect 8-0 MASCAC record.
The final piece of the undefeated conference season was added Saturday afternoon when Bridgewater State won the 38th annual Ocean Spray Cranberry Bowl, defeating the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 37-14, at Swenson Field.
One week ago, the Bears (8-2 overall) clinched their first conference championship since 2000 with a dramatic overtime win at Framingham State.
Now, Bridgewater State has its first undefeated conference record since going 6-0 in the New England Football Conference Bogan Division in 1999.
And the next stop for the Bears is a fourth appearance in the NCAA Division 3 tournament next Saturday with the pairings set to be revealed on a selection show tonight at 6 o'clock.
"It's tough to go undefeated because there's a lot of parity in this league,'' said BSU coach Joe Verria, whose team never trailed the Buccaneers and rolled up 525 yards of total offense. "They had us in fourth place in the conference before the season, so we slowly worked our way up.
"Every game in this league is tough. There's been some close games all year with us and with other teams. This league's come a long, long way.''
The Bears, who have a 28-9-1 lead in the Cranberry Bowl, are on an eight-game winning streak since opening the season with two non-conference losses by a total of five points.
They showed no signs of letting down following the emotional win at Framingham State, jumping to a 23-7 halftime lead over Mass. Maritime.
Versatile Malik Garrett was named the winner of the Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player Award after scoring two touchdowns, catching seven passes for 76 yards, rushing for 61 yards on 10 carries and completing his only two passes for 47 yards.
"Malik's a gifted kid,'' said Verria of the player who lines up at three positions. "He can throw the ball, catch it, run it. He can do everything.''
The Bears took advantage of two turnovers for a 9-0 lead in the first quarter.
Russell Bolarinho hit a 25-yard field goal just 2:04 into the game following a fumble recovery by Cameron Williamson of Easton and Travis Bassett caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Danny Higgins after an interception by Charles McCarthy, who returned it from the Bears' 6-yard line to near midfield.
Garrett caught a 4-yard TD pass from Higgins 35 seconds into the second quarter for a 16-0 lead before Kenny Pierce's 18-yard run put the Buccaneers on the board with 10 minutes to play in the half.
"The kids were ready to go,'' said Verria. "Mass. Maritime never quit. They always keep fighting and fighting and fighting, and fortunately we kept doing the same.''
Dukens Léon caught a 7-yard TD pass from Higgins with 45 seconds left before halftime and Alex McLaughlin extended the lead to 30-7 with a 14-yard run with 3:54 remaining in the third quarter.
McLaughlin (25 carries, 140 yards) has 1,068 rushing yards, the first BSU player to top 1,000 yards since Justin Fuller in 2009.
The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter with Richie Phillips scoring on a 7-yard pass from Chris Haggerty for Mass. Maritime and Garrett running in from 18 yards out.
"These kids are resilient, a tough group of kids,'' said Verria. "They love to play football. You knew they weren't going to let down. They couldn't wait to play. They wanted to be 8-0.
"They separated themselves and now they're going to the NCAAs and they're going to try to separate themselves and try to be the first team in school history to get a win in the NCAAs.''