By Sports Editor Dylan Botelho.
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs visited the Bridgewater State Bears in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. Bears junior running back, Aidan Silva lead the team to a 44-28 win against the Corsairs with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
The game was back and forth in the first quarter, with both teams scoring a touchdown.
This game blew open in the following quarter though, as the host Bears punched the ball in from within 10-yards on back to back drives to take a commanding 20-7 lead.
Freshman Brad Thitgen started the scoring for the Bears in the second quarter with an eight-yard run, then Aidan Silva scored his first of the night with a six-yard run.
The Corsairs responded quickly though, scoring on their next play as sophomore quarterback Stephen Gacioch lobbed a 60-yard pass to fellow sophomore Leory Brown for a quick touchdown. The Bears weren’t done scoring in the half however. Junior Nick Santavicca finished off a six-play scoring drive for the Bears with a two-yard push into the end zone to regain their 13-point lead.
With 4:53 left in the half, the Corsairs still had time to answer – and answer they did. Gacioch and Brown linked up for another big play as Gacioch tossed up a 53-yard touchdown pass on the Corsairs next drive.
The Corsairs headed into the locker room down a manageable 27-21.
The Corsairs took their first lead of the game when Gacioch went deep to Brown for the third time in the game. Six minutes into the second half, Gacioch found Brown for a 59-yard pass that gave the Corsairs the 28-27 lead. The Bears regained their lead quickly though, scoring on their ensuing drive with a one-yard rush from Silva.
The Bears then extended their lead to 13 once again and wouldn’t look back.
Bridgewater State shut out the Corsairs in the final quarter while also adding two scores to their lead. Santavicca rushed for six-yards to kick off the fourth quarter and then senior Jacob Crear kicked a 24-yard field goal to cap off the scoring, giving the Bears the final 44-28 lead.
PHOTO COURTESY: CORSAIR ATHLETICS