BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - - The Bridgewater State College football team dominated play from start to finish as the Bears easily disposed of Coast Guard Academy, 38-7, in an NEFC Bogan Division game this afternoon in Bridgewater.
The Bears (4-3, 3-1 NEFC Bogan) racked up 305 yards on the ground and 440 yards of total offense as they did not disappoint the Homecoming Game crowd of over 1,500 fans. BSC is now tied for first place in the division along with Maine Maritime and Fitchburg State.
Senior running back Bruce Burley (Mansfield, MA) led the offense once again as he rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns while also catching a pass for 43 yards. Sophomore quarterback Jessy Resende (Brockton, MA) added 116 yards on the ground to go along with a touchdown.
The BSC defense was outstanding throughout the contest limiting Coast Guard to just 49 yards rushing and 135 yards of total offense. Coast Guard's first five possessions were all three and out and resulted in punts. The Bears also punted on eight of their first ten possessions, turned the ball over on downs once and also fumbled.
BSC scored on their opening possession as senior quarterback Tyler D'Ambra (Mansfield, MA) hooked up with junior receiver Jesse Teixeira (Taunton, MA) for a 26-yard touchdown pass. The TD reception capped off a 10-play, 63-yard drive that covered 4:20.
Bridgewater in fact would score on four of its first five possessions. Resende put the finishing touches on a nine-play, 60-yard drive with a two-yard TD run. Sophomore placekicker Dave Leombruno (Lakeville, MA) booted a 22-yard field goal with 9:18 left in the second quarter to give BSC a 17-0 lead. Burley would then cap off the first half scoring with a five-yard touchdown run as the Bears led 24-0 at the intermission.
Burley added his second TD run of game as he found the end zone from six yard out to put the Bear up 31-0 with 4:33 left in the third quarter. Coast Guard ended BSC's shutout bid later in the quarter as freshman quarterback Jarrod Owens (Monroe, GA) connected with junior wideout Sam England (Grand Prarie, TX) on a 33-yard scoring strike to cut the deficit to 31-7.
D'Ambra rounded out the scoring with a six-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter as he capped off a six-play, 58-yard drive. D'Ambra finished 4-of-10 passing for 116 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for another 25 yards on nine carries.
Leombruno was a perfect 5-for-5 in extra point as he has converted a school record 44 consecutive PAT attempts since taking over the placekicking duties at midseason a year ago.
Junior defensive end Chris Dijak (Lunenburg, MA) paced the Bears defensively as he recorded six tackles (five solo), two tackles for loss and a sack. Junior linebacker Jason Flannery (Bridgewater, MA) forced a fumble, broke up a pass and also recorded a sack, while senior cornerback Aaron Santos (Providence, RI) intercepted a pass, broke up another and had two solo tackles.
Along with stopping the Coast Guard running game, the BSC defense also limited Coast Guard to just 86 yards in the air on 7 of 26 passing.
Sophomore linebacker Kyle Ennis (Mayo, MD) led the way defensively for Coast Guard as he registered ten tackles (seven solo), broke up a pass and forced a fumble. Senior linebacker Brian Field (Wantagh, NY) added ten tackles (eight solo), while fellow senior Brian Yurovich (Marlboro, MA) finished with nine tackles and a fumble recovery.
Next week, BSC hosts Westfield State at noon, while Coast Guard is home against Worcester State at 1:00.