BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth football team racked up 627 yards of total offense as the Corsairs rolled to a 48-7 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon at Cressy Field.
The Corsairs improve to 8-1 on the season and remain unbeaten in MASCAC play with a 7-0 conference mark. The Bears fall to 4-4 overall and 4-3 in the MASCAC. UMass is 14-20 all-time against its Southeastern Massachusetts rival since the two teams first met back in 1988.
The Corsairs finished with 349 passing yards and 278 rushing. UMass found the end zone on each of their first five possessions of the game and led 35-0 at halftime.
Sophomore running back Jalyn Aponte (Boston, Mass.) led the UMD ground attack with 132 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts, while senior running back Luis Gonzalez (Greenacres, Fla.) carried the ball 17 times for 83 yards and three touchdowns. Junior running back Richarno Hylton (Shrewsbury, Mass.) added 64 yards and a pair of scores on 16 carries.
Junior quarterback Dante Aviles-Santos (Cumberland, R.I.) completed 21 of 35 pass attempts for 349 yards and a touchdown with one interception.
Four of the Corsairs' five first half touchdowns came on the ground with Gonzalez punching in a pair of one-yard runs, while Hylton added a nine-yard TD and Aponte found the end zone from a yard out. UMass also scored on a five-yard scoring strike from Aviles-Santos to sophomore wide receiver Thomas Zednik (Johnston, R.I.). Zednik finished with four catches for 100 yards.
Hylton capped off an eight-play, 80-yard drive to open the second half with a seven-yard touchdown run to as the Corsairs extended the lead to 41-0.
The Bears got on the board with a 38-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback James Cahoon (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) to sophomore wideout Jack McCarthy (Abington, Mass.) with nine minutes left to play in the third quarter.
A four-yard touchdown run by Gonzalez with 2:53 remaining in the fourth quarter capped off the scoring.
Senior running back Adam Couch (Winchendon, Mass.) paced the BSU offense with 68 rushing yards on 16 attempts to go along with five receptions for 46 yards. Cahoon completed 13 of 32 pass attempts for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Bridgewater finished with a season-low 223 yards of total offense (128 passing, 95 rushing). The Bears also gave up three sacks and lost a fumble.
Senior defensive back JP Mason (Providence, R.I.) tallied eight solo tackles to lead the UMass defensive effort. Junior defensive back Trell Best (West Haven, Conn.) added four solo tackles and two pass breakup for the Corsairs, while senior defensive back Stevie Kolodko (Woburn, Mass.), freshman defensive lineman Hassan Gaye (Providence, R.I.) and senior defensive lineman Josh Lacerte (Westerly, R.I.) each recorded a sack. Lacerte forced a fumble on his sack.
Sophomore punter Shane Drake (Franklin, Mass.) had a solid day on special teams for the Bears as he averaged 44.2 yards on six punts with two inside the 20. Drake also averaged 64.0 yards on two kickoffs with one touchback.
Senior linebacker Brendan Albert (Canton, Mass.) led the BSU defense with 11 tackles including ten solo stops and one for loss. Sophomore safety Zachary Souza (Tyngsboro, Mass.) checked in with nine tackles (seven solo) and an interception, while senior cornerback Jaren Alves (East Providence, R.I.) recorded eight tackles (six solo) and three pass breakups, and senior linebacker Steven Silvia (Dighton, Mass.) notched eight tackles (six solo) with one for loss and a pass breakup.
The MASCAC schedule continues next Saturday as the Bears host four-time defending conference champion Framingham State University at noon. The Corsairs are off until Saturday, November 12th when they travel to Plymouth State University to take on the Panthers at noon.