Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Lancers (1-3, 1-1 MASCAC) faced off against the Bridgewater State Bears (3-2, 3-0 MASCAC) in a crucial conference matchup Friday night at John F. Coughlin Memorial Field.
FINAL:
Lancers 7
Bridgewater St. 35
Tonight saw sophomore quarterback Cam Ayotte (Millbury, Mass.) under center as senior quarterbacks Mike Loveless (Nashua, N.H.) and sophomore Parke Hardesky (East Greenwich, R.I.) were out with injuries.
The Lancers defense started the night off on the right foot as they stopped the Bears prolific offense, forcing them to punt on their first drive.
After the punt from the Lancers, Bridgewater St. found the back of the endzone as graduate student Adam Couch (Winchendon, Mass.) rushed for a five yard TD to put Bridgewater St. up 7-0. The Lancers D put up a fight and made the Bears work for their score.
Bridgewater forced another Lancer punt and found themselves in enemy territory. James Cahoon (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) connected with sophomore receiver Ryan Coonan (Worcester, Mass.) for a 31 yard dart with 2:41 left in the first to put the Bears up 14-0 after the extra point attempt.
The Worcester offense eventually found a groove marching 90 yards off of a string of big gains from junior running back Nico Holmes (Mansfield, Mass.). The Lancers were within the opponent five yard line, but were stopped on four downs deflating the momentum that was built up from the drive at the close of the first half.
With time running down in the second quarter, the Bears marched down the field off the arm of Cahoon, connecting with multiple receivers to bring them down the field. Junior running back Mack Driver (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) rushed for a one yard TD to make it a 21-0 score with 0:37 left in the second.
Second Half:
After being stopped on the first drive in the second half, first-year punter Oliver Sciascia (Middleborough, Mass.) placed a beautiful punt on the Bears one yard line, giving his team's defense the upper hand.
Bridgewater countered the bad field position, marching 99 yards on the backs of Cahoons and Mac Driver. Cahoons found open receivers to bring the Bears down the field and Driver finished it off, punching in a TD 4:46 into the third quarter. The score now 28-0.
The Bears added to their lead as junior running back Trevor Nunes (East Falmouth, Mass) rushed in for a one yard TD, the score 35-0. Nunes capped off an eight play 45 yard drive for the Bears.
Worcester State eventually found the end zone as Nico Holmes capped off his monster day, 130 yards on 20 attempts, with a score from the one yard line. Holmes ended talks of a shutout as he made it 35-7 after the PAT from junior Santiago Rodriguez-D'Atri (Leominster, Mass.).
First-year Tridell Sharpe (Pawtucket, R.I.) added an interception to his career, swiping a pass away from the Bears backup QB.
With the loss, the Lancers drop to (1-4, 1-2 MASCAC) with Bridgewater St. improving to (4-3, 4-0 MASCAC).
The next game for the Lancers will be away at Mass. Maritime Thursday, October 12 for a 7 p.m. start.