MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME FOOTBALL
38th Annual Ocean Spray Cranberry Bowl
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Swenson Field, Bridgewater, Mass.
FINAL: BRIDGEWATER STATE 37, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 14
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Junior Malik Garrett (Dorchester, Mass.) amassed 108 all-purpose yards and scored a pair of touchdowns to earn Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player honors as Bridgewater State posted 37-14 victory over Massachusetts Maritime in the 38th Annual Ocean Spray Cranberry Bowl Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.
The host Bears (8-2, 8-0 MASCAC) took advantage of a pair of turnovers on the visiting Buccaneers' (4-6, 3-5 MASCAC) first two possessions of the contest to take an early 9-0 lead in the opening 6:18 of play, as junior Russ Bolarinho (Acushnet, Mass.) converted a 25-yard field goal and senior quarterback Danny Higgins (Manahawkin, N.J.) connected with junior Travis Bassett (Littleton, Mass.) on an 11-yard touchdown pass. Garrett extended Bridgewater State's lead to 16-0 on the second play of the second quarter by hauling in a four-yard scoring strike from Higgins, but Massachusetts Maritime answered back with an eight-play drive from midfield that was capped by senior Kenny Pierce's (Beverly, Mass.) 18-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes remaining in the half.
Higgins directed a 12-play, 82-yard drive in the closing minutes of the frame and found senior Dukens Leon (Paris, France) from seven yards out with 45 seconds to play before intermission for a 23-7 Bear edge at the break, and junior Alex McLaughlin (Littleton, Mass.) extended that margin to 30-7 with a 14-yard touchdown run that came with 3:54 remaining in the third stanza. McLaughlin's scamper capped a 98-yard drive after the hosts had stopped the visitors on 4th-and-goal at their own 2-yard line, and after junior Richie Phillips (Onset, Mass.) harnessed a 7-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Chris Haggerty (Cohasset, Mass.) for the second Buccaneer end zone visit of the day, Garrett's 18-yard scoring scamper with 5:09 remaining sealed Bridgewater State's 28th victory in the 38-game Cranberry Bowl series that dates back to 1979.
Higgins completed 15-of-26 pass attempts for 176 yards to go with his three touchdowns in the win for the Bears, who amassed 525 yards of total offense in running 81 plays on the day. McLaughlin rushed for 140 yards of Bridgewater State's 302 yards on the ground for the afternoon, as Garrett and Bassett combined for 10 receptions and 150 receiving yards. Chris Haggerty threw for 184 yards to go with his score in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received 83 rushing yards from Phillips as part of a 308-yard output of total offense. Senior Shane Haggerty (Cohasset, Mass.) closed out his Buccaneer career with five catches for 108 yards, as he broke E.J. Bennett's school single-season receiving yards mark with 915 on the year and extended his own school single-season receptions record to 66 for the campaign.
Senior Stephen Jacobs (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and freshman Dylan Anti (Plymouth, Mass.) each registered six total tackles to lead the way defensively for Bridgewater State, which also received a 37-yard interception return from junior Charles McCarthy (North Reading, Mass.) and a fumble recovery from junior Cameron Williamson (North Reading, Mass.). Senior Marshall McCarthy (Duxbury, Mass.) collected a game-high 12 tackles to become the first player in Massachusetts Maritime history to record back-to-back 100 tackle seasons, as he finished the year with 108 stops and currently leads NCAA Division III play nationally with 83 solo tackles in just nine games played. McCarthy recorded 208 tackles in 19 games in a Buccaneer uniform for an average of 11 stops per outing. Freshman Kenny Kern (Hopkinton, Mass.) added 10 tackles (nine solo) in the setback for the visitors on the day.
Bridgewater State, which ended Framingham State's three-year run as MASCAC champions with a perfect league mark this fall, will await word of its opponent in next weekend's first round action of the 2016 NCAA Division III Championships, as pairings will be announced on Sunday evening. Massachusetts Maritime closed out its 2016 slate with today's contest.