Seth Sheridan Pushes Through To A Unique Graduation

Seth Sheridan (Ashburnham, MA) came to Bridgton Academy in the fall of 2010 in order to regain the strength he had lost after a life changing knee injury.

Not wanting to give up, Seth made the decision to attend Bridgton Academy in order to open up new options for the following year. Shortly after arriving on campus, Seth's worst nightmare came true -- another knee injury. Seth returned home for the remainder of the semester for more surgery and rehab.

A few months later, Seth returned to campus, never wanting to quit. He acknowledged how easy it would have been to simply give up. Instead, Seth worked harder than anyone could imagine. He spent all of his free time in the weight room training to be the best he could be. He even stayed after class everyday to complete a year long course in one semester.

Seth saw the opportunity that was laid out for him, and took full advantage of it. His time at BA was unique, starting in January of 2011 and ending that next December. This past week in Chapel, Dean of Students Fletcher Carr and Headmaster Grady Vigneau presented Seth with his well earned diploma.

All faculty, staff, and coaches are happy to see the progress Seth has made and the success he has found. Seth will start at either the University of New Hampshire or Arizona State University in January, where he will work hard to walk onto the football team.

Here is a quick video from Seth's Graduation!

Congratulations and Best of Luck!!!

2011 Black and Grey Scrimmage Finds Success

With the football season completed, the guys kept up the hard work in preparation for this years Black and Grey scrimmage. Coaches from all around showed up for the event and to talk to the players. It was a huge success, and Bridgton Academy coaches and players greatly appreciate all of the support!

There were a number of coaches in attendance from Division I, II, and III schools.

Bridgton's Headmaster Grady Vigneau was in attendance and was able to speak with various coaches about the players.

Headmaster Vigneau was also able to catch up with the head coach from Framingham State about various BA alumni.

Coach Marcella took some time during the event to chat with coaches and answer any questions they had.

The scrimmage gave the coaches an opportunity to talk with the guys on the field and evaluate their skills. Pictured here Robert Kaslander (Verona, NJ) took a break to speak to a coach from Colgate University.

After the field work was complete, the guys sat down with the coaches to talk about opportunities for next year.

Jon Higgins (Cumberland, ME) spoke with representatives from a few schools, including UNH pictured here.

Western New England College took some time to speak with Stephen Stuart (Rehoboth Beach, DE) and provide him with some information about the school and the program.

BA Secures Win In Last Game of Season

In the final game of the season for the Wolverine’s football team, they went down to New Hampshire to face off again the Hawks of St. Anselms College. Bridgton came into this game having lost three out of the last four games they had played and were looking to finish the season on a high note.

Bridgton won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. It only took three plays for Bridgton reach the end-zone on a beautiful throw from Mitch Graziano (Kingston, MA) to Derek Beck (Martinsville, NJ), unfortunately a late flag brought the play back.

The wolverines recovered and worked their way down inside the three yard line on a great run by Josh Morales (Mount Sinai, NY), but again the play was called back with a penalty. Finally, Graziano made it into the endzone on a run of his own without any penalties and scored BA's first point of the game.

The Wolverine's defense came out firing as well, giving no ground to the Hawks. Tre Sanders (Alexandria, VA), who is normally a middle linebacker, played a spectacular game at nose guard and consistently found his way into the backfield to disrupt the play.

The Hawks were unable to score until the second half. Bridgton Academy quickly put two more scores on the board before the end of the first quarter. The score 21-0 lasted until the 3rd quarter when The Hawks put a field goal through the uprights to make it 21-3. Bridgton couldn't find the groove on offense and St. A's took advantage.

The next score was a catch from BA Alum Nick Marcella '10, son of Coach Rick Marcella. Coach Marcella admitted to quietly rooting for his son on the play saying "He's open.......don't drop it.......run.......faster." St.Anselm's made the score 18 to 21 after the 2 pt conversion also caught by Marcella.

BA found their groove just in time with a great catch and run by Coley Graham (Hamilton, NY) to seal the game 28-18. Bridgton Academy finishes their season with a record of 6-3.

Congratulations on a great year!

Dartmouth Downs BA 21-12

The Bridgton Academy Wolverines traveled down to Hanover, New Hampshire this weekend to play the Big Green of Dartmouth. It took Bridgton a quarter to get off the bus, and by the time they came around, the score was 21-0 Dartmouth. The BA defense was forced into tough positions due to dropped passes, some of which resulted in tip-drill interceptions, and missed assignments. Dartmouth never found the score board again, however, as the BA defense found a way to get it done. Bridgton in the second half managed to score twice, but it wasn't enough. Dartmouth put pressure on the quarterback all day especially in the second half and managed to hold on to the victory, 21-12.

This game was all about starting and finishing. Bridgton started slow and couldn't finish, which led to their 3rd loss of the season. Bridgton travels to St. Anselm's in Manchester, NH next Sunday for their final game of the season.

Important Schedule Change

This Sunday's football game vs. Becker College has been canceled. We will not be seeking a replacement game at this point so the boys will have a much needed weekend off. The next game will be November 6th at Dartmouth College.

BA Falls to Brown

The football team has a tough match up this week as they traveled down to Providence Rhode Island to play the Brown University JV squad. Although it was a well played game, Bridgton ultimately lost 31-18 to Brown. Bridgton came out of the gates fast, scoring on the third play of the game on a screen pass from quarterback Mitch Graziano (Kingston, MA) to wide receiver Derek Beck (Martinsville, NJ) for a 75 yard touchdown. Brown quickly answered with a long 69 yard touchdown pass of their own giving Brown a 7-6 lead just minutes into the game. The next score was a Brown touchdown pass with just under five minutes to go in the half. Bridgton was the team to answer back this time with a score right before the half with a touchdown reception to Austin Harrington (Chanhassen, MN) from quarterback Mike Luks (Amherst, NH). Brown had a slight 14-12 lead going into the half.

The second half started off with a “Brown Bang”. Only 21 seconds into the half, Brown threw for a 54 yard touchdown making the game 21-12. Bridgton got the ball back and threw an interception which led to the second consecutive touchdown drive for Brown in the second half giving them a 28-12 lead. In the fourth quarter, Brown extended their lead with a field goal to make the score 31-12. Bridgton showed some life and made a successful drive which ended in a touchdown pass to Harrington. Brown blocked the extra point, and took away the 31-18 win.

Bridgton Sneaks Past Columbia J.V.

Bridgton Academy drove all the way down to New York City this week to face off against Columbia University. The BA-CU game last year was a barn-burner and this year proved to be just the same.

Bridgton brought their defense up to the plate first with a couple of stops, but eventually Columbia was the first to get on the scoreboard with a field goal making the game 3-0. Bridgton then responded with two touchdowns to make the score 14-3. Columbia answered with a touchdown of their own closing the gap to 14-10 with only a minutes remaining in the first half. The Wolverines then worked their two minute drill to perfection and scored as time ran out to take a 21-10 lead going into the half. Coach Marcella at half time was adamant that the game was not over, "Columbia will find a way to get back into the game."

As Coach Marcella predicted, Columbia did just that. Columbia scored first in the 2nd half making it a 21-17 game. Bridgton came back with a score of their own to make it 28-17. Columbia then scored a touchdown, failing on a two point conversion, to make it 28-23 Bridgton followed by another touchdown to make it 28-30 Columbia. This was their first lead in the game since their first field goal in the first quarter. Columbia's next possession again started well into Bridgton territory. They were looking to score a touchdown and go ahead by two scores, but the Wolverine defense who had played very well all game stopped the Columbia offense in dramatic fashion and forced them to take a field goal to make the score 33-28 Columbia. Poor Special Teams play by Bridgton and great Columbia field position swung the momentum back their way. Bridgton answered back with a touch down of their own in the final minutes of the game to make the score 34-33 Bridgton after a failed two point conversion.

In one last attempt, Columbia drove the ball into BA territory well inside field goal range. Bridgton defense had a huge sack which pushed Columbia out of field goal range and made it fourth down. Columbia’s throw was incomplete and the Wolverines took over to finish the game with a final score of Bridgton 34, Columbia 33.

Bridgton will travel to Brown University next Sunday, a game that has proven to be tough battle every year. Kick off is set for 1:00 P.M.

Important Information About Columbia Game!

Urgent information for fans attending the Columbia game on Friday:

Click this link for Columbia University's Visiting Team Informational Guide.

Due to construction, the vehicle entrance to the Baker Athletics Complex on 218th Street between Broadway and Park Terrace East will be closed for the entire 2011-12 academic year. There is no vehicle access to the Baker Athletics Complex.

Automobiles: Parking is not available anywhere on site during the 2011-2012 academic year....... Vehicles will be directed to area parking garages. All vehicles must follow directions of event parking staff, and are subject to removal (at owner’s cost) for illegal parking.

LOCAL GARAGES
-216-10 Parking Corporation
4055 10th Avenue, New York, NY (at 216th Street)
212-304-0315

-5060 Auto Service Inc
4036 10th Avenue, New York, NY (at 215th Street)
(212) 567- 9504

- Seaman’s Parking Corporation
433 W. 218th Street, New York, NY (at 10th Avenue)
(212) 569-6249

- Edison Park Fast NY Parking
3976 10th Avenue, New York, NY (at 212th Street)
212-567-5186

BA Suffers First Loss to Navy Prep

The football team was on the road this week as they traveled to Navy Prep. The defenses for both teams were the first to make their mark on the game. No points were scored for either team until Navy broke through and scored on a pass play to the running back streaking down the seam. BA went three and out on their next possession and were forced to punt. Navy found themselves on the score board again blocking the punt and returning it for another touchdown. Bridgton might have been down but they weren't out. After the blocked punt the Wolverine offense marched down the field and with a full layout touchdown catch from Mitch Graziano (Kingston, MA) to Austin Harrington (Chanhassen, MN). Navy managed to put another score in before the half to make the score 21-7. Bridgton then came back to score in the 3rd quarter on a quarterback scramble by Mike Luks (Amherst, NH) to make the score 28-14. Navy would go on to score two more times and Bridgton once more on a run by Sean Reed (West Windsor, NJ) making the final 42-21, in favor of Navy.

Up next the football team will travel to Columbia University to play this Friday at 3:00 P.M.

Stephen Cronan Named September Athlete of the Month

Steve Cronan has been announced as September's Athlete of the Month. Athletic Director Joe Sawicki takes nominations from all coaches and assesses the athletes based not only on performance, but on character and leadership as well. At quarterback, Cronon has lead the team on and off the field, and in the book. The football team was 3-2 for month of September with Cronoan leading the pack. In the five games, Cronan went 19-28 passing for 276 yards. He had six touchdown passes and only one interception. Cronan also ran the ball 13 times for 34 yards and two touchdowns.

Congratulations Stephen!

Photos Are Up!

Click this link to see the photos from the 14-6 win over Merrimack College J.V. this weekend!

WELCOME TO THE ELLIS-FISHER MUD BOWL!

Bridgton faced off against the Merrimack Warriors this Sunday in what would prove to be a defensive battle. Bridgton Came out firing early scoring two touchdowns in the first half, both rushes by Sean Reed (West Windsor, NJ).

The defense played very well keeping Merrimack out of the end zone, however failed to come out of the locker room in the second half and allowed the opening kickoff return go for a touchdown making the score 14-6 just ten seconds into the second half. Merrimack came back again the next drive with scoring range but killed the drive due to penalties. Bridgton’s defense, though playing in horrible conditions, managed to keep Merrimack out of the end zone in the second half maintaining the 14-6 victory.

Coach Marcella though happy to win another game, repeated previous weeks in saying “there is still a lot to work on.”

Up next the football team will travel to Navy Prep to play at 2:00 PM on Saturday October 8th.