College Football: Bridgewater State Hosts Fitchburg State Friday Night

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team has a key early-season test tonight at Swenson Field.

After getting into the win column last Saturday at Worcester State, the Bears have a 7 o’clock matchup with Fitchburg State University, which went 8-3 a year ago and is picked to finish second in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference this fall.

The Falcons, who coasted to a 35-3 victory over Bridgewater State a year ago for their second straight win in the series, are coming off a 14-0 loss to defending champion Framingham State in the MASCAC opener.

“This is a big game in September, especially because they lost last week,’’ said Bears coach Joe Verria, whose team is 1-2. “They’re a good team.

“They’re pretty balanced. They’re very good on defense and offensively they’re physical up front with a huge offensive line, probably 300 pounds across the board. They’d like to run the ball.’’

Fitchburg State’s defense includes senior cornerback Joshua Brewster of Brockton, who has six tackles and two pass breakups.

Bridgewater State dropped a pair of non-conference games by a total of five points before starting its MASCAC schedule with a 34-14 win at Worcester State.

That was a boost the Bears needed, especially with the Fitchburg State test next on the agenda.

“It was huge because we’d been flirting with it for two weeks,’’ said Verria. “We started off slow again, but we got going in the second quarter and played very well in the second half.’’

Bridgewater State senior quarterback Danny Higgins was named the MASCAC offensive player of the week after completing 22 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns against Worcester State. He also ran for a score against the Lancers.

Stonehill on the road: Winless Stonehill College will look to bounce back from a 51-20 loss to LIU Post when it travels to Saint Anselm College for a game at noon Saturday.

Both the Skyhawks, who were outscored, 35-3, in the final 32:25 by LIU Post, and the Hawks are off to 0-3 starts and are 0-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference.

Stonehill’s defense could not contain the Pioneers last weekend after opening a 17-16 lead late in the first half.

Saint Anselm has allowed an average of 41.7 points and is coming off a 51-21 loss to New Haven. The Hawks’ opened the season by losing to Wagner, which faces Boston College Saturday.

The Predicitions

• Boston College 35, Wagner 10: The Eagles take advantage of an easy part of the schedule.
• Michigan State 24, Wisconsin 17: The Spartans pickup a key victory.
• Harvard 31, Brown 17: The Crimson travel to Rhode Island and get a win.
• Bridgewater State 28, Fitchburg State 21: The Bears slip by the Falcons.
• Stonehill 27, Saint Anselm 13: The Skyhawks break into the win column.

Last Week: 3-2 (Season Total: 8-7)