Bears lose chance at division lead

Coast Guard quarterback Chris George paced a shot-gun option attack that was good for 245 total yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 27-24 victory over Bridgewater State College this past Saturday.

“It was a battle of two teams trading punches,” said head coach Charles Denune. “We couldn’t be happier with the effort. They went out there and worked hard as a unit.”

Junior quarterback Steven Clark led the way for Bridgewater State rushing 17 times for 78 yards and he threw the ball 176 yards for three touchdowns.

“I think our triple option was effective,” said Clark. “I don’t think they expected me to throw as much as they did, and when I did, we took advantage of them on their weak side.”

On defense, the visiting Bears were led by linebacker Tim Powler who led the team with an interception and 11 tackles (two for a loss) while lineman Sean Larkin notched 10 tackles. Linebacker’s Casey Florence and Marcus Wells, and lineman Chris Dijak all finished the game with eight tackles, respectively.

The key drive of the game came with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter, with the visiting Bears in possession of the ball and down by a three point margin. With the ball on their own 20-yard line, Coach Denune decided to bring in senior reserve quarterback Greg Borsari.

“I think the big spark for the offense was, on the final drive,” said senior wide receiver Jimmy Yaitanes. “He came out there like a warrior.”

Immediately making an impact from the second play of the drive, Borsari couldn’t find an open receiver and sprinted 28 yards for a first down.

“(When Borsari) ran it up the middle for 28 yards, you could see the emotion of the team get lifted at that moment,” said Yaitanes.

Following a nine yard reception from receiver Chris Joyce and an 11-yard dash by Chris Russell, Borsari found receiver Pat McGrail open in the seam for an 11 yard gain to the Coast Guard’s 35-yard line.

After first down incompletion, Borsari passed to Rusell for seven yards on the second and ten. On third down, Borsari found receiver Chris McCarthy open down the middle, but a Coast Guard defender caused the incompletion. Electing not to kick the field goal, Denune stuck with his best receivers on the field and went for it on fourth and three.

With 1:21 remaining in the game, Borsari hiked the ball, looked to the left at Joyce who was covered and then threw it to McGrail, but Coast Guard safety Kevin Novak stepped in front of the pass and picked the ball off.

“(Greg) drove us down the field while being thrown into the last drive of the game,” said Clark. “He put us in the best position for us to win. There wasn’t much time left on the clock and he got us within winning distance, but we just came off a little short.”

This weekend, the Bears will travel to Westfield State in an attempt to bounce back after suffering their first Bogan Division loss. Bridgewater State will be visiting the Owls for their annual homecoming game.

“We have three tough football games coming up,” said Denune. “We will be playing in a pretty hostile environment and be ready to play some football, because they are going to be ready to do the same.”

Coach Denune said that Westfield State likes to run in an I-formation, with two running backs right behind the quarterback and two wide receivers on the outside. Defensively, the Owls will counter with a 4-3 defense.

“They sure have some good athletes on both sides of the ball,” said Denune.

Clark said that he is expecting a tough matchup this week in playing Westfield.

“Westfield always plays us tough, and everyone is gunning for us this season,” said Clark. “It is just a matter of if we execute it to the best we can or not. We (just have to) take it one week at a time.”

With the loss, the Bears fall to 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in the NEFC Bogan Division. Bridgewater State College will play Westfield State at 1pm on Saturday afternoon. If you cannot make the game, the match-up will be webcasted at mascac.tv.

Bridgewater State College scored first on a 52-yard touchdown strike from Clark to McGrail in the first quarter. Following a BSC turnover in the second quarter, the defense buckled down and held the homestanding Bears to a field goal, with 8:02 remaining in the half.

The visiting Bears went up 14-3 on a 32 yard touchdown flick from Clark to Joyce. Coast Guard responded scoring on a 23 yard touchdown lob from George to wide receiver Matt Keith to cap off the scoring in the first stanza.

Coming out of the locker room at halftime both teams traded field position and then Coast Guard retook the lead on a one yard plunge from running back Niels Pierson. The homestanding Bears whittled off 8:39 off the clock in a drive that went for 22 plays and started on their own two yard line.

Following an interception, Bridgewater State College took full advantage and made the score 21-17 on a ten yard reception from McGrail (Clark pass).

After a good kick-off return, Coast Guard quickly scored on a three yard scamper (on fourth down) by George, with 8:31 remaining in the game.

“We just have to keep our heads on straight,” said Yaitanes. “If we prepare for it, with a little push one way or the other, our season might go longer than we expect.”

Photos courtesy of Bridgew.edu/athletics