Third Quarter Surge Pushes Bridgewater Past Worcester State

WORCESTER, Mass. - It was the third quarter that became the deciding factor at Coughlin Stadium on Saturday (Sep. 17) as the visiting Bridgewater State Bears (21-2, 1-0 MASCAC) preyed on the Worcester State Lancers (0-3, 0-1 MASCAC) in a 34-14 game, stopping any momentum Worcester attempted to generate.

The Lancers went ahead first in the first quarter as senior Matt Lezama (Milton, Mass.) scored a touchdown on a three-yard run. Following a good kick from Noah Hwang (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Worcester State jumped ahead 7-0.

In the second quarter, the Bears' knotted the score at 7-7 when senior quarterback, Danny Higgins (Manahawkin, N.J.) completed a 14-yard fade pass in the end zone to Travis Bassett (Littleton, Mass.) for their first touchdown of the afternoon. Bridgewater's Russ Bolarinho (Acushnet, Mass.) marked a good kick for the tie going into the half.

The second half began promising, as the Lancers had the energy, but the third quarter was all Bridgewater, ringing in three touchdowns to knock the wind out of the Lancers.

The Bears' first drive in the third quarter started with run after run through the Lancers defensive line. The Bears eventually found a wide-open Jack Lavanchy (Wapole, Mass.) in the end zone for the lead.

Just two minutes later, Lavanchy, once again, caught a wide open pass in the next drive, to put the Bears up 21-7.

The Bears' third touchdown of the third quarter came from Higgins, running the ball through the Lancer defensive line, as they once again showed the Lancer's fault.

Hope came alive for the Lancers in the fourth after a tough third quarter. Worcester's senior wide receiver Derek Moore (Mendon, Mass.) got his hands on the ball from a pass by freshman quarterback Ismael Jenkins (Lawrence, Mass.) to close the gap at 28-14.

Though, the final touchdown of the game came from Bridgewater State's A.J. Pascuzzo (Wallingford, Conn.) on a 70-yard interception return, to result in a final score of 34-14.

The Bears held the advantage in overall yardage 456-292 and also in possession of the ball (37:53 to 22:07).

Bridgewater State's Higgins piloted the team with 28 completions for a total of 245 yards and three touchdowns. On the receiving end, Lavanchy led the squad with 80 yards and two touchdowns. Dukens Leon (Paris, France) wasn't far behind Lavancy, as he notched a total of 78 receiving yards.

Rushing the ball for the Bears was Alex McLaughlin (Littleton, Mass.) who ran the ball for a total of 130 yards in 23 attempts.

On the defensive end for the Bears, Lesedi Malete (Stony Brook, N.Y.) grabbed 10 tackles, while Pascuzzo and Emmanuel Omere (Bessemer, AL) filed in with nine and six tackles, respectively, and notched 3.5 and four sacks.

For Worcester State, Cameron Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.) completed 16 passes for a total of 183 yards, while Jenkins went 5-for-10 at the quarterback position.

Lezama and Frank Catanoso (Marshfield, Mass.) led the team in rushing yards with 26 apiece. Wide receiver Tyler Barrie (Oxford, Mass.) racked up 120 receiving yards throughout the contest.

On the defensive end, the Lancers' Theo Bryant (Lowell, Mass.) totaled a game-high 13 tackles, while senior captain, Samuel Weeks (Methuen, Mass.) and Mike Holder (Lowell, Mass.) each picked up one sack.

Next week, the Lancers travel Mass. Maritime for a 12 noon matchup, while the Bears host Fitchburg State in week two of MASCAC play.

Portions of this Release Courtesy of Bobby Costanzo | Sports Information Intern