BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior linebacker Steven Silvia (Dighton, Mass.) earned Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player honors to lead the Bridgewater State University football team to a 10-0 victory over Massachusetts Maritime Academy in the 43rd Annual Cranberry Bowl sponsored by A&A Metro Transportation on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.
The Bears improve to 6-4 on the season and 6-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). The Bears will play in the New England Bowl next Saturday, November 19th. The opponent, site and time will be announced later today.
Bridgewater is now 32-10-1 in the 43-year history of the Cranberry Bowl which began in 1979. The Bears also hold a 35-12-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Buccaneers which dates back to 1974.
The shutout marks the Bears' school record-tying third of the season.
Mass. Maritime ends the 2021 campaign with an overall record of 3-7 (3-5 MASCAC).
Silvia led a BSU defensive effort which limited the Buccaneers to 224 yards of total offense. The Dighton, Massachusetts product notched nine tackles with seven solo stops, a sack, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
The Bears also received four tackles (three solo) and a pair of interceptions from sophomore safety Zachary Souza (Tyngsboro, Mass.), while senior defensive end Dan Cataldo (Wakefield, Mass.) checked in with seven tackles (four solo), a sack and three tackles for loss. Senior defensive end Brian Campagna (Canton, Mass.) rounded out the BSU defensive leaders with seven tackles (four solo), a sack and 1 ½ tackles for loss.
In the first half, the two teams combined to throw four interceptions (two apiece) and miss three field goals. The only points of the first half came on a 30-yard field goal off the right foot of BSU junior kicker Shane Drake (Franklin, Mass.) with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter.
The key play in the first half was an interception by Souza at the goal line after the Buccaneers had put together their longest drive of the day (nine plays, 80 yards).
The third quarter featured a BSU interception, four punts and a turnover on downs before the Bears put together the only touchdown drive of the contest.
Starting at their own 13 late in the third, sophomore running back Isaiah Wright (Worcester, Mass.) reeled off back-to-back rushes of 23 and ten yards to quickly move the ball to the 46-yard line. After a tackle for loss, senior quarterback James Cahoon (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) found sophomore tight end Jalen Kopecky (Warren, R.I.) on a six-yard pass to set up third and seven as the game moved to the fourth quarter. On the very first play of the final period, Cahoon connected with senior wide receiver Michael Nocera (Cumberland, R.I.) on a 51-yard touchdown pass to extend the BSU lead to 10-0.
Maritime answered with an 11-play, 57-yard drive, but a botched snap on an attempted field goal kept the Bears shutout intact. The Buccaneers would not threaten again.
Nocera caught five passes for a career-high 98 yards and the only touchdown of the game to lead the BSU offense. Cahoon completed 19 of 31 pass attempts for 225 yards and a score. Senior running back William Pointer (Milford, Mass.) came off the bench to rush for a career-high 72 yards on 13 carries, while Wright rushed for a career-high 58 yards on 14 attempts.
Cahoon broke his own single-season passing record of 2,308 yards set last season. He now has 2,409 yards through the air with one game remaining in 2022. He also became the six quarterback in BSU football history to throw 40 touchdown passes. Cahoon increased his career passing total to 4,717 yards as he moved past Vince Hickey (4,530 yards), Dan Mauer (4,628 yards) and Mike McCarthy (4,672 yards) into third place on the Bears' all-time passing list.
The Bears finished with 386 yards of total offense including 161 on the ground.
Along with his 30-yard field goal, Drake also averaged 42.0 yards on two punts in addition to 58.7 yards on three kickoffs with one touchback.
Senior defensive lineman Hugh Wells (West Hartford, Conn.) paced the MMA defensive effort with 11 tackles (seven solo) with 1 ½ sacks and three tackles for loss. The Buccaneers also received interceptions from sophomore defensive back Liam Hines (Quincy, Mass.) and junior defensive backs Kevin Paul (Plymouth, Mass.) and Jack Mulligan (Newtown, Conn.).
Mulligan also excelled in the punting game as he averaged 46.4 yards on five punts with a long of 66 and one inside the 20.
Sophomore running back James Cassidy (Weymouth, Mass.) led Maritime on offense as he rushed for 71 yards on 13 carries to go along with a pair of receptions for 15 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Evan Vieira (Hull, Mass.) caught five passes for 60 yards, while senior quarterback Marc Murphy (Norwood, Mass.) completed 11 of 23 pass attempts for 110 yards.
At halftime of today's game, the Bears paid homage to the 1982 team and the 40th anniversary of Bridgewater State's first Cranberry Bowl win.