Bridgewater State Looks to Rebound in Cranberry Bowl

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- There will be no Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title or trip to the NCAA Division 3 football tournament for Bridgewater State University this fall.

There is, however, still plenty of incentive remaining for the Bears when they close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon.

BSU will be trying to avenge a rare loss in the Cranberry Bowl when it faces the Massachusetts Maritime Academy at noon at Clean Harbors Stadium in Bourne with the winner receiving the Cranberry Scoop.

The Bears also need a win to keep their hopes alive for an invitation to one of the ECAC bowl games that will be played in New Britain, Conn., later this month.

BSU dropped a MASCAC showdown against Framingham State University last weekend, giving the Rams another conference title and the automatic berth in the NCAA tourney.

“It was disappointing, but at the same time, there’s still so much to play for,’’ said coach Chuck Denune, whose team will take part in the 37th Cranberry Bowl holding a 26-8-1 lead.

“The Scoop would heal a lot of things right now.’’

After getting off to a 2-2 start, the Bears enter the regular-season finale 6-3, including 5-2 in the MASCAC. With a young team, getting the chance to play in a postseason ECAC game would help kick-start the 2016 season.

“It’d be great, perfect this year,’’ said Denune of an ECAC bowl bid.

“After being down a little bit last year (4-6), to have a team that’s kind of building towards the future, to have a chance for a postseason game would really help springboard us.

“There’s no doubt about it, next year we’re coming into this thing thinking championship run all the way. We’re going to finally have a veteran team for the first time in three years. We are losing some good seniors, but we have some decent depth going forward.’’

Mass. Maritime (4-5, 3-4) has defeated BSU just three times in the past 27 meetings.

The Buccaneers broke through last November, jumping to an early 17-0 lead on the way to a 31-21 victory.

“We don’t have to remind them,’’ said Denune of his players.

“Watching them award the scoop, which we consider to be ours, good for them, but it was hard to watch and our players remember it.

“I think we always get Mass. Maritime’s best, and Mass. Maritime’s going to get our best this year.’’

The Buccaneers have scored at least 30 points in seven of their nine games and are eighth among Division 3 teams nationally in rushing offense (295.4 yards per game) and 14th in total offense (506.8 yards).

“They score a lot of points, a lot of points,’’ said Denune.

“They don’t blow you out of the water as far as their record, but they’re scary. They play hard. It makes you nervous.’’