BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team will travel to Alfred University to take on the Saxons in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Division III Football Tournament on Saturday, November 19th at noon.
Bridgewater State will be making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2012. The Bears also competed in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 1999 and 2000.
The Bears (8-2) will enter the tournament having won eight straight games as they captured the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) title with an unblemished 8-0 MASCAC record.
Alfred will take a perfect 10-0 record into the NCAA Tournament. The Saxons, who are ranked 14th in the D3football.com Poll for week 11, won the Empire Eight crown with an 8-0 conference mark.
The Saxons are 2-0 all-time against the Bears with both wins coming in an ECAC Bowl/Championship game. Alfred posted a 30-27 win at home in the 1989 ECAC North Championship, and recorded a 41-10 victory in the ECAC Northeast Bowl in 2011 at Swenson Field.
Under the guidance of first year head coach Joe Verria (29th overall), Bridgewater State is averaging 27.4 points per game while allowing just 18.6 points per contest. The Bears enter the tournament averaging 395.3 yards of total offense (213.2 passing, 182.1 rushing).
Senior quarterback Danny Higgins has thrown for 2,067 yards with 17 touchdowns. A trio of wide receivers have 500-plus receiving yards: Dukens Léon (54 catches, 572 yards, two TDs), Travis Bassett (47/531/4) and Jack Levanchy (45/503/6). Running back Alex McLaughlin leads the Bears in rushing with 1,068 yards and seven TDs, while Malik Garrett has run for 441 yards and leads the team in scoring with 14 touchdowns and 86 points.
Higgins is the Bears' all-time leader in passing yards (5,898), completions (461) and attempts (844). He is also third in passing touchdowns (44). Bassett is second all-time in receptions (125), third in receiving yards (1,834) and seventh in touchdown receptions (15), while Léon is eighth in receptions (84) and 13th in receiving yards (955).
McLaughlin is the Bears' first 1,000-yard rusher since former standout and current assistant coach Justin Fuller rushed for 1,375 yards in 2009. McLaughlin is seventh all-time at BSU in rushing yards (2,328), eighth in rushing touchdowns and 12th in scoring (176 pts.).
Bridgewater has allowed 18.6 points and 286.8 yards of offense per game (104.6 rushing, 182.2 passing). The Bear' defense is led by linebackers Stephen Jacobs (69 tackles, 11 for loss and 3 ½ sacks), A.J. Pascuzzo (63 tackles, 9 ½ for loss, two sacks) and Charles McCarthy (54 tackles, 11 for loss, three interceptions), and defensive tackle Elvis Romero (46 tackles, 16 for loss, five sacks).
The Bears rank seventh in all of Division III with 97 tackles for loss. Bridgewater is also 17th overall in defensive third fown conversion percentage (.279) and 25th in total defense.
Alfred enters the tournament on a historic note. The Saxons' 10 wins match the 1981 and 2010 teams for the most in a single season in program history, and Alfred's 10-0 regular season mark was equaled by only the 1981 squad. The Empire 8 has sponsored football since 2002 and this year AU became the first team in league history to go through a regular season unbeaten.
The Saxons are scoring 37.6 points per game while giving up only 19.1 per contest. AU possesses one of the top running attacks in the country (245 rush yards per game) and also averages 191 per game through the air. Senior quarterback Tyler Johnson leads the team in rushing (789 yards) and has a school-record 19 rush TDs this year, while senior tailback Casey Bright has run for 767 yards and three scores.
Johnson has also thrown for 1,906 yards with 20 TDs against just four interceptions. Senior wide receiver Brendan Buisch has 47 catches for 849 yards and 13 touchdowns; Bright has 21 catches for 257 yards, while senior wideout Rodney Etienne (240 yards, one TD) and senior tight end Ralph Pagliei (192 yards, two TDs) have each caught 15 passes.
The Saxons possess the top defense in the Empire 8 and one of the top rush defenses in all of Division III. AU allows 286 yards per game, including a mere 91 per game on the ground. Junior A.J. LiCata leads a trio of linebackers who top the defense in tackles. He has 110 stops, including nine for loss and 3 ½ sacks. Freshman Isaiah Moak has 85 tackles (6 ½ for loss, four sacks) and junior Shaquille Muscadin has 56 (7 ½ for loss). Senior end Charles Branwell leads the team in tackles for loss (11) and sacks (seven).
Alfred's last appearance in the NCAAs came in 2010, when the Saxons, winners of the Empire 8 title, won their first two tournament games before falling in the national quarterfinals to Mount Union. The Saxons' other tournament appearances came in 1981 and 2009.