By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University defense was at its best in the second half of the 2023 football season.

When the Bears went 4-1 in that stretch, they allowed more than seven points just once, holding opponents to 20 points in the four victories with one shutout.

That helped BSU finish in a three-way tie for first place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference with UMass Dartmouth and Western Connecticut State University.

The Bears return a significant majority of their defensive starters for the 2024 season, which begins with a non-conference matchups against MIT at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Mazzaferro Field.

"The defense has always been good at Bridgewater," said head coach Joe Verria, "and this defense could be special.

"It was good last year. It should be better this year. They've been playing together for a little while. They're very aggressive and they run to the football and they have fun. It's a good group of kids."

With BSU starting a new quarterback -- senior captain SP Pragano (Northford, Conn.) -- after the program's all-time leading passer, James Cahoon, graduated, a stingy defense will be needed as the offense grows.

"Having an experienced defense is going to help quite a bit to give our offense some time," said Verria.

The Bears lost all-conference linebacker Brendan Albert (first in tackles with 66, including 10 for a loss with three sacks.

Two All-MASCAC second team defensive players are back, including senior tackle Nicolas Canales (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) and junior end Mark DeGirolamo (Mansfield, Mass.).

Those two are joined by two other returning lineman on defense, junior Thomas Rocha (Barrington, R.I.) and sophomore Jorge Aquino Debes (Bergenfield, N.J.).

The secondary has plenty of experience with senior captain Zachary Souza (Tyngsboro, Mass.) returning after making 44 tackles with four interceptions along with junior Brandon Medeiros (Somerset, Mass.) and senior Matthew Mammone (Dedham, Mass.). Senior Mason Cardwell (Randolph, Mass.) is a transfer from Western New England.

At linebacker will be senior captain Kodi Saotome (Warren, R.I.), who tied for second on the team with 44 tackles, graduate student Quinton Browder (Mansfield, Texas) and senior Marvelous Nicholson (Falmouth, Mass.).

Another strong point figures to be the offensive line with senior captain Anton Vasquez (Nahant, Mass.) at center after making the All-MASCAC first team, senior captain Michael Garafola (Bradford, R.I.) at right guard, senior Matthew Leofanti (Franklin, Mass.) at left tackle, senior Jonah Varallo (Billerica, Mass.) at right tackle and junior John Vincent (Falmouth, Mass.) at left guard.

At quarterback, Pragano was the backup to Cahoon and won the competition in preseason practices to get the starting assignment. The other quarterbacks include freshman Shamus Whiting (Plymouth, Mass.), sophomore Jack Renaud (Waltham, Mass.), freshman Jaden Moseley (North Providence, R.I.) and sophomore Everson Quissanga (Boston, Mass.).

Cahoon threw for 7,065 yards and 56 touchdowns with 576 completions in his three seasons as a starter.

"Those are big shoes to fill," said Verria. "SP knows the offense after being here. He has that experience.

"Obviously, losing one of the best quarterbacks in the league has posed challenges. But it's great to see the quarterbacks we have here now working hard every day and competing. There's great competition every day."

Running back Adam Couch rushed for 2,811 yards and 34 touchdowns to go along with 61 pass receptions over the last three seasons, but he has graduated. Senior Trevor Nunes (Falmouth, Mass.) was second on the team in rushing a year ago with 325 yards on the ground.

"He's a very good player," said Verria. "He's a very hard runner, very fast. He cuts on a dime well."

Also at running back will be junior Andrew Cloutman (Hanson, Mass.), senior Isaiah Wright (Worcester, Mass.), who made the all-conference second team as a return specialist, and freshman Zy'kie Askew (Middletown, Conn.).

Senior wide receiver Dan Akinsheye (Pawtucket, R.I.) had 27 catches for 407 yards last season while senior Jack McCarthy (Braintree, Mass.) had 19 receptions for 291 yards. Junior Ryan Coonan (Worcester, Mass.) made 24 catches for 324 yards.

The tight ends will be sophomore Ethan Brown (Assonet, Mass.), sophomore Colton Johnson (Mansfield, Mass.) and junior Jonathan Martins (Franklin, Mass.).

All-New England punter Shane Drake (Franklin, Mass.), a graduate student who was on the all-conference first team, and junior kicker Joey Naso (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), who made the All-MASCAC first team, give the Bears a strong kicking game.

Drake, who is presently the Bears' all-time leader in punting average (41.8), averaged 41.2 yards on 43 punts with 13 inside the 20 and a long of 60 during the 2023 season. Five of his punts went for over 50 yards and he also averaged 58.2 yards on 54 kickoffs with 19 touchbacks.

Naso converted 40 of 42 point after tries in 2023, including 33 in a row, and was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goal attempts with a long of 36 yards.

"The team we have with over 40 new kids has melded together very, very well," said Verria. "They're all great kids. They've worked very, very hard and the returners have worked so hard in the offseason that we're very excited to see what they will do."