By Trevor Hass, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The disappointing pattern to start the season almost seemed unimaginable for the Bridgewater State players and coaches.
Fresh off a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championship, the Bears entered this season with high expectations once again. Their first four games to open the year were all close, but they lost them by a combined 10 points.
"It's been wearing," Bridgewater head coach Joe Verria said. "It's been tough on the kids and on everybody. We didn't expect this."
BSU (1-4) entered Saturday's matinee against Westfield State (0-5) in desperate need of a win. This time, for the first time all season, the Bears didn't find themselves in a close game. Instead, they blitzed the Owls, 28-9, at Swenson Athletic Complex behind a monster performance by senior captain Alex McLaughlin.
McLaughlin racked up 23 carries for 176 yards and three touchdowns, moving into eighth place on the school's all-time scoring list. Junior Jack Lavanchy added a fourth-quarter touchdown, eclipsing the 1,000-yard receiving plateau.
On defense, Cam Williamson recovered a fumble and Jonathan Marrero reeled in an interception, helping the Bears win the turnover battle for the first time this year. BSU flaunted its potential in snippets early this season, but Saturday was its most complete performance yet.
"Finally, we had a little perfect storm going, with offense, defense and even special teams working at the same time," McLaughlin said.
The Bears established McLaughlin early as he plowed into the end zone from 7 yards out to give them a 7-3 edge. After a WSU touchdown, McLaughlin scored again, late in the second, guiding BSU to a 14-9 halftime lead.
It wasn't a flawless first half, but McLaughlin made sure it didn't have to be. Bridgewater bounced back after sophomore quarterback Stefano D'Emilia threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage, seizing control in the second quarter.
Westfield didn't have an answer for the back, who, with the help of his offensive line, used both power and speed to consistently gain extra yardage. McLaughlin is now 13 yards away from becoming the third BSU player ever with 3,000 rushing yards.
"This is a horse right here," Williamson said after the game as he shook hands with McLaughlin. "That's the homie."
After an up-and-down first half, the BSU defense locked in the rest of the way to keep Westfield State from scoring any points. The Owls faced a fourth-and-5 from BSU's 7 midway through the third, and the defense came up with a massive stand.
That set up an eight-play, 95-yard drive that ended with another McLaughlin TD scamper. The Bears, who trailed twice in the first half, suddenly held a commanding 21-9 cushion. Lavanchy added a 65-yard TD reception late, and BSU pulled away for a convincing victory.
Typically, this would have been a standard, ordinary home win. But in this case, the players and coaches acknowledged afterward that it meant a whole lot more.
"These kids have hung tough," Verria said. "This has been a tough pill to swallow for a little while here, these four weeks. They stuck together and here we are."
They were in all four games to start the year – losing by 1, 1, 6 and 2 – and they had good reason to believe they could have won all four. For whatever reason, it just didn't happen. Williamson even called it "heartbreaking."
It's a long climb back toward MASCAC contention, but all agreed that Saturday was a significant step in the right direction.
"The whole season's been humbling, but to get one right now is good," McLaughlin said. "Hopefully we can roll off this one."