Colleges: Bridgewater State, Stonehill Quarterbacks in Spotlight

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BROCKTON, Mass. -- The quarterbacks at Bridgewater State University and Stonehill College turned in impressive performances during wins last weekend.

Bridgewater State University senior Danny Higgins became the program’s all-time leader in career passing yards when the Bears defeated Fitchburg State University.

 Stonehill junior Matt Foltz earned the Gold Helmet from the New England College Football Writers after leading the Skyhawks to their first win of the season over Saint Anselm College.

 Higgins surpassed the BSU passing record of Mike McCarthy, who is now the Bears’ quarterback coach. McCarthy threw for 4,672 yards from 2010-13 and Higgins has 4,777 yards.

 In the win over Fitchburg, Higgins was 24 of 45 for 314 yards and three touchdowns.

 “He’s a hard worker,’’ said BSU coach Joe Verria, whose team has won two straight games. “He’s got a great handle on the offense. You can count on him to make the big play.’’

The Bears face a test in Western Connecticut State, which nearly defeated defending MASCAC champion Framingham State last weekend. The Colonials (1-3, 0-2 MASCAC) held a lead going into the fourth quarter.

“They’re better than their record,’’ said Verria. “This is going to be a tough one for us, going there on homecoming weekend.

“It’s a huge game for us. We’re 2-0 in the conference right now. If we can continue to play well and win this one, we’re getting ourselves in a position we thought we’d be in.’’

The Skyhawks (1-3, 1-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference) will be hosting Merrimack College Saturday at 1 p.m. at W.B. Mason Stadium while the Bears (2-2, 2-0 in the MASCAC) play at Western Connecticut State Saturday at 6 p.m.

Foltz, the conference’s offensive player of the week, set the school record with 448 yards of totals offense against Saint Anselm. He threw for a season-high 330 yards and five touchdowns, completing 21 of 36 passes, and ran for a career-best 118 yards on seven carries, winning the Gold Helmet for the second time in his career.

“When Matt plays with the confidence he played with Saturday, we’re a tough team to stop offensively, that’s for sure,’’ said Eli Gardner, who earned his first victory as the Stonehill head coach. “It was nice to see him get it rolling last weekend.

“We feel like we have a couple of different weapons on the perimeter and our running back (Mike Cordova) really does a tremendous job for us catching the ball in the backfield, running tough in between the tackles, creating stuff that’s not there and he’s playing at a really high level.’’

The win broke a three-game losing streak for the Skyhawks, who had been routed by LIU Post the week before.

“I think last week was obviously a confidence builder,’’ said Gardner. “Our players prepared like we were 3-0, not 0-3. It was good to get that weight off our shoulders with that first win. It helps them understand the recipe for success. Hopefully we continue to carry that over.’’

Merrimack is also off to a 1-3 start and is 1-2 in the conference. The Warriors are coming off a 55-23 loss to 17th-ranked Assumption and have allowed 37.5 points per game.

“It’s always a tough game when we play them,’’ said Gardner. “We’re expecting their best.’’

The Predictions:

• Boston College 38, Buffalo 10: Another easy touch for the Eagles at home.
• Clemson 21, Louisville 20: The Tigers win the game of the week.
• Harvard 31, Georgetown 14: The Crimson continue their winning ways.
• Stonehill 27, Merrimack 17: The Skyhawks make it two wins in a row.
• Bridgewater State 24, Western Connecticut 17: The Bears keep winning.

Last Week: 4-1