BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior quarterback James Cahoon (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) tossed a school-record six touchdowns passes, all in the first half, and nine different players found the end zone as the Bridgewater State University football team rolled to an 82-0 victory over visiting Fitchburg State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) affair on Homecoming Saturday at Swenson Field.
The Bears improve to 2-3 on the season with their second straight win and 2-1 in the MASCAC, while the Falcons fall to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Bridgewater State has won each of the last four meetings of the two teams and five of the last six. The Bears also hold a 29-8 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1986.
Cahoon completed 9 of 12 pass attempts for 199 yards and connected on scoring strikes of 42, 56, 7, 6, 35 and 24 yards. He also added a 42-yard run on his only carry of the day.
The Bears racked up a season-high 579 yards of total offense, 369 on the ground and 210 through the air.
Cahoon connected on three touchdowns in the first quarter. He hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Jack McCarthy (Braintree, Mass.) on a 42-yard score and added a 56-yard TD pass to junior wideout Dan Akinsheye (Pawtucket, R.I.) and a seven-yard scoring strike to senior receiver Michael Nocera (Cumberland, R.I.). Senior running back William Pointer (Milford, Mass.) added a seven-yard rushing touchdown in the opening period as the Bears led 28-0 after one.
The second quarter featured a six-yard touchdown pass to McCarthy, a 35-yard TD reception by sophomore tight end Jalen Kopecky (Warren, R.I.) and a 24-yard scoring strike to Nocera.
Bridgewater led 48-0 at the break.
The Bears found the end zone five times in the second half, all on the ground. Pointer, senior running back Kion Gilzene-Tucker (Boston, Mass.), sophomore running back Isaiah Wright (Worcester, Mass.), junior running back Greg Demetri (North Reading, Mass.) and junior running back Trevor Nunes (East Falmouth, Mass.) all rushed for touchdowns.
Wright and Nunes as well as Akinsheye each scored their first collegiate touchdowns.
BSU senior running back Adam Couch (Winchendon, Mass.) rushed for a game-high 119 yards on 12 carries. Couch moved into 16th place on the Bears' all-time rushing list as he now has 1,531 yards on the ground in two seasons at Bridgewater State.
Along with Cahoon's passing touchdown mark, freshman kicker Joey Naso (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) set the school single-game record for extra points with ten.
Senior linebacker Steven Silvia (Dighton, Mass.) led the BSU defensive effort with six tackles (three solo) including 1 ½ tackles for loss and half a sack. Junior defensive tackle Zachary Gamelin (Williston, Vt.) and linebacker James Fontaine checked in with six tackles (four solo) apiece with one for loss. Junior linebacker Ben McMahon (Somerset, Mass.) added five tackles (four solo) with one pass breakup, while freshman defensive lineman Thomas Rocha (Barrington, R.I.) notched three tackles with a sack and a fumble recovery.
Sophomore defensive back Matthew Mammone (Dedham, Mass.) recorded his first collegiate interception (44-yard return) and recovered a fumble to go along with a pass break up and a tackle.
The BSU defense limited the Falcons to 108 yards of total offense (43 rushing, 65 passing). The Bears also forced four turnovers (interception, three fumbles).
Junior running back Elijah Zaire McKnight (Tracy, Calif.) paced Fitchburg State with 234 all-purpose yards. Zaire McKnight returned eight kickoffs for 182 yards, caught three passes for 40 yards and rushed for 12 yards.
Freshman linebacker Camren Topkin (Ledyard, Conn.) recorded a game-high seven tackles (three solo) for the Falcons.
The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams next Saturday at noon. The Bears host the Lancers of Worcester State University, while the Falcons travel to Framingham State University to take on the defending conference champion Rams.
Notes: The Bears surpassed team single-game records for points (82), touchdowns (12) and greatest margin of victory. The previous single-game scoring record of 64 points was set back in 2005 against Salve Regina and equaled in 2015 versus Mass. Maritime. The previous mark for greatest margin of victory was 57 points against Framingham State in 2005...The NCAA Division III record for most players with a touchdown in a single-game is ten. Johns Hopkins set the record in 1997 against Swarthmore, and Salisbury equaled the mark in 2015 versus Southern Virginia.