WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Bridgewater State wide receiver Matt Greencaught eight passes for a career-best 216 yards receiving and three touchdowns, including the game winner with 41 seconds left, to lift Bridgewater to a 27-23 win over Westfield State and claim the Sodexo Cup rivalry trophy.
Green's impressive day included touchdown catches of 95 yards, 90 yards, and the game winner on a 4-yard toss from quarterbackDanny Higgins on a crossing pattern in the end zone as time was waning.
The 95-yard catch and came on a 3rd and-9 play from the Bears own five yard line. Higgins launched the ball to the midfield logo where green caught it in stride running free behind the Owls defense for the score and a 14-7 Bears lead with 4:20 left in the third quarter. The catch equaled a Bridgewater record for longest completion.
Westfield answered early in a fourth quarter that resembled a heavyweight prize fight.
The Owls took a 15-14 lead when senior quarterback Steve Guercio found tight end Peter Knowles for a four-yard TD completion. The ensuing extra point try went awry for the Owls with a bobbled snap, but holder Scotty Nye alertly rolled right and bought time until he lobbed a ball to the back corner of the end zone, where Knowles went up to high-point the ball like a basketball rebounder to catch the two-point conversion over pair of Bears defenders.
The Owls lead was short-lived. On the second play from scrimmage after the Owls score, Higgins found Green again on what looked like a mirror image play from the opposite end of the field, with Green catching the ball in stride at midfield, and outrunning the two deepest Westfield State defenders for the 90-yard score and a 20-15 BSU lead after the two point try failed.
Westfield then responed with a nine play, 68-yard drive that was capped when Guercio hit Colby Bostek with a 33-yard pass deep down the middle that Bostek caught at the three yard line and scampered in for the score. Westfield again went for two, and this time they converted with a wide-receiver screen to Sam Laurin on the right side, who caught the ball and dove to the pylon for 23-20 Owls lead.
The two teams traded punts on the next two series, and Bridgewater mustered a 9-play, 86-yard drive, highlighted by fourth-and-1 conversion on a 10-yard Blaise Branch run. With 1:01 left in the game and facing a 1st-and 15, Higgins hit Anthony Bullough on a deep pass on the right side that Bullough corralled with a diving one-handed catch at the Owls four yard line.
Higgins found Green on the next play for what proved to be the game winning score. The final result was not without question for the final 41 seconds. Starting from their own 25 yard line, Guercio smartly moved the Owls downfield with four straight completions, the biggest a 32-yarder to Bobby Boire to give Westfield 1st and goal from the Bears four yard line with 13 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.
The Owls riverboat gambled on the next play, hitting Laurin with a pass short of the endzone, and he was hit and forced to fumble by Jean Sylvain, and the bears recovered the loose ball to seal the victory with six seconds left.
Higgins finished 13-24 for 286 yards and three touchdowns. Guercio had a career day for the Owls with 324 yards on 19-28 passing with two td's. Bostek finished with four catches for 97 yards, Nye had four grabs for 91 yards, and Boire five catches for 72 yards.
Defensively, Nicholas Salois led the Bears with a career-high 20 tackles and a sack. Marty Voorhis had eight tackles and 1 1/2 sacks on the day.
The BSU defense limited Owl running back Michael Mercadante to just 23 yards on 19 carries. Mercadante entered the day averaging 134.8 yards over the first six games of the season.
Westfield got 11 tackles from senior linebacker Julon McCoy.
Bridgewater improved to 4-4 on the season and 3-3 in the MASCAC. Westfield falls to 4-3 and 3-2 in the MASCAC.
Notes: The Higgins to Green 95 yard-touchdown reception equaled the 2000 mark recorded by current BSU Co-Offensive Coordinator and former quarterback Pat Callahan and BSU Hall of Fame wide receiver Andy Macaione. Coincidentally both receptions came against Westfield....Green increased his career receving yardage total to 2,634 yards as he needs just nine yards to eclipse Macaione's all-time program mark of 2,642....Green's 216 receiving yards marks the second highest single-game total in BSU program history trailing only Macaione's 221 yards against Framingham State in 1998.