Stoughton’s Matt Green Sets Record in Bridgewater State Football Win

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Matt Green of Stoughton got the first-ever Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference football season going in memorable fashion.

The Bridgewater State University junior wide receiver broke a school record by catching five touchdown passes and the Bears made an impressive MASCAC football debut.

BSU rolled past Worcester State University, 51-20, before a crowd of 1,300 at Swenson Field on Friday night, giving the Bears back-to-back wins after an opening-day loss at Salve Regina.

Green had TD catches of 39, 6, 30, and a pair of 60-yarders and finished with six receptions for 202 yards for BSU, which had been members of the New England Football Conference since 1965 prior to this season.

The Stoughton High graduate broke the record of four TD catches that had been set in 1998 by Andy Macaione and tied in 2004 by Ben Bascon of Bridgewater.

“It’s a great feeling,’’ said Green, a 2010 Stoughton High graduate who last had five TDs in a Pop Warner game when he was 10 years old. “Without my teammates or working hard this offseason, it doesn’t happen. It’s an honor. I’ve never had a record before, even in high school.’’

Quarterback Mike McCarthy was 14-for-23 for 263 yards and tied a school record with five TD passes. The Bears broke the program record with 323 passing yards, Green getting most of them.

“He’s a good football player,’’ said BSU coach Chuck Denune, whose team had 528 yards of total offense. “He can get open and if he gets the ball in his hands, he’s very, very dangerous. He’s got great body control. He runs terrific routes.’’

The 51 points were the most scored by BSU since the Bears scored 64 against Salve Regina on Oct. 22, 2005.

The Bears opened a 20-7 lead with 10:08 to go in the first half on a 7-yard run by McCarthy (22 carries, 98 yards) and TD catches of 39 and 6 yards by Green.

The Lancers (2-1), playing without injured quarterback Kevin Bumpus of Bridgewater, cut the deficit to 20-13 at halftime as Matthew Lezama had a pair of TD runs.

BSU scored 17 points in the third quarter to pull away, opening a 37-20 lead as it recorded a safety, got a 25-yard field goal from Jarred Diorio and a 30-yard reception from Green in the span of five minutes.

After Dana Valentine’s 1-yard run pulled Worcester State within 31-20, Michael Viola was on the receiving end of a 54-yard TD pass from McCarthy with 2:13 left in the third quarter.

Green caught a pair of 60-yard scoring strikes in the fourth quarter, the first from Jon Criscuolo, who took a lateral from McCarthy and found the receiver open down the right sideline.

“It’s a step in the right direction,’’ said Denune, whose team is at Fitchburg State next Saturday. “We still need to play at a level that we need to compete on a week-to-week basis.

“They made the plays. You can’t take anything away from them. We put 51 points on the board and the defense (six sacks, two interceptions) rose up and made the plays.’