Photos on Facebook

Click this link to see the photos we posted on Bridgton Academy's Facebook page from the Holy Cross game!

Photos From Holy Cross

Sorry for the delay! Here are some photos that we took at the game at Holy Cross over the weekend.












A special thanks goes to Larry Strycharz '72 and Howie Zussman '72 for coming to the game and supporting BA football!

The team is working hard to prepare for their home match up against Navy Prep this Saturday October 2nd at 1:00 P.M.

Player Profile: Connor Candito

HOMETOWN: Shrewbury Massachusetts

IN HIGH SCHOOL: I was outgoing, hardworking, and determined

HEARD ABOUT BA: John Depres ‘10

GOALS AT BA: I want to do better academically, enhance my skills athletically, and go to a great college

HOW IS BA IS DIFFERENT THAN HIGH SCHOOL: The rules are much stricter

BEST THING ABOUT BA: The faculty

WORST THING ABOUT BA: The food

ACTIVITIES AT BA: Strength program, maybe baseball in the spring

OUTSIDE OF BA: I enjoy skiing, reading, and anything athletic or based on competition

ROLE MODEL: My older brother Nicholas Candito

FAVORITE BOOK: The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

FAVORITE MOVIES: Four Brothers

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: The Celtics

FAVORITE ATHLETE: Brian Cushing

FAVORITE MUSIC: Third Eye Blind and Dave Matthews Band

FAVORITE MEAL: Chicken Parmesan

MY FRIENDS WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW: That I am a model for the Bridgton Academy bookstore

BA PROSECTIVE STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW: You need to have a good attitude

Football Falls to Holy Cross

Bridgton Academy football suffered its first loss of the season by the hands of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA with a score of 29-6. The experience of a higher level of competition which proved to be a test for the wolverines was an unsuccessful one. The Wolverines were plagued with turnovers and penalties hurting them in the end. Although the defense played very hard, the offense was unable to produce points to match the intensity set by the Holy Cross Crusaders. The only score for Bridgton Academy came late in the game where Jacob Grills (Niantic, CT) cranked a long pass to receiver Michael Allen (Chandler, AZ) down the sideline but it was not enough to catch up to the Crusaders.

Daryl Shuler (Peekskill, NY) led the offense with 11 carries for 73-yards. Allen had two receptions for a total of 101-yards which included a 95-yard touchdown. Hunter Beckman (Shrewsbury, MA) added to the productive running game.

On defense Troy Moore (Worcester, MA) lead the pack with 10 tackles including a sac. Jeremy Leggiero (Bohemia, NY) also had 10 tackles for the day. Tanner Baillargeon (Glen, NH) had a standout day with three tackles, two pass breakups, and an interception.

Coach Marcella saw a lot of opportunities for improvement in this week’s game. “Our team played well below their potential this week. It was only highlighted by the lack of discipline on both sides of the ball. Attention to detail is a crucial element of the game, and this week it was not there. Now we are looking to move forward from here,” said Marcella.

Photos From the Springfield Game

Here are some photos that a parent took at the football game at Springfield over the weekend. Thanks to Karen B for letting us post a few!







Photo Credit Karen B.

The team is looking forward to traveling to Holy Cross on Sunday to play at 1:00 P.M.

BA Wins on the Road

Bridgton Academy made their first road game a successful one beating Springfield College 34-14.

Michael Allen (Chandler, AZ) returned the opening kickoff to get an early score and provided the Wolverines with some excitement early in the game. The offense capitalized on four turnovers forced by a strong defensive game from Bridgton Academy. Linebacker Jeremy Leggeiro (Bohemia, NY) had the co-play of the game with a one-handed interception to give a great field position to the offense. Immediately following the turnover, Bridgton Academy struck quickly on the first play of that drive with an awesome pass from Kevin Bumpus (Bridgewater, MA) to Jesse Gould (North Hampton, NH). Bridgton Academy never lost the lead winning back to back games so far in the 2010 season. BA had strong performances from Bumpus offensively, and Leggeiro on defense.

Bumpus led the aerial assault going 9/10 passing with 154-yards and two touchdowns. On the ground attack, QB Jacob Grills (Niantic, CT) led all rushers with four attempts for 87-yards with a touchdown. Hunter Beckman (Shrewsbury, MA) also added five rushes for 33-yards. For receiving, Marcus Hackett (Montclair, NJ) had three catches for 63-yards and a touchdown and Gould had one reception for 58-yards.

Coach Marcella and his staff were thrilled with the days performance. “We are very pleased with the improved execution on both sides of the ball and the way the kids carried out the adjustments made on the sidelines. The measure of a good football team is their ability to adjust and play it out on the field,” said Marcella.

However, Marcella knows that the competition is about to get much tougher. “The easy part of the schedule is over. We are about to face a Division IAA team- the caliber of competition is about to be on a whole new level,” said Marcella.

The team is looking forward to traveling to Holy Cross this coming weekend on September 26th to play at 1:00 P.M.

Wolverine Football Recap

Here is a great game write up from Sundays match up against Curry College written by Coach Rick Marcella. It was extremely well presented in chapel on Tuesday by BA football player Jonathan Day.

The Bridgton Academy Football team opened for the 2010 season with a 40-8 victory over the Curry College JVs at home on Sunday. The first quarter of the game was shaky to say the least in all aspects for the Wolverines. A litany of both mental and physical errors on both sides of the ball left us at the short end of an 8-0 score midway through the 2nd quarter.

Bridgton pulled even midway through the 2nd stanza on a 15-yard crossing route from Kevin Bumpus to Jonathan Winbush followed by Daryl Shuler's run for the two-point conversion. Led by LB Parrish Rogers-Reed and NT Troy Moore, the defense forced Curry to punt with just over three minutes left in the half. Mike Allen's scintillating 24-yard punt return left the home 11 with a short field. Facing a 3rd and 12 situation quarterback Kevin Bumpus lofted a perfect aerial to a wide open Owen Ianotti for a 31-yard touchdown and the lead. Joe Dowling's diving catch in the end zone gave BA an eight point lead and they never looked back.

In the 2nd half the defense continued to stifle the Curry run game while the secondary, led by Charlie Bates and Shawn Sweeney, thwarted anything that resembled a passing attack. Matt Tuleja, Connor Candito, and Jeremy Leggerio also turned in strong performances as did newly anointed DE's Mike Kennedy and Shane McGrail.

Quarterback Jacob Grills finished the day with six rushing attempts for 43-yards and two touchdowns and threw for 83-yards including a sweet 31-yard screen pass to Steve Sweeney that the "Jersey Jet" took to the house- courtesy of a downfield de-cleater throw by the "Big Man from Pakistan." The play of the day was what has to be a school record tying 99-yard touchdown catch and run as Bumpus and Ianotti hooked up on a play simply known as "Sucker"! All told, three of Bumpus' five completions went for Touchdowns. Julian Griffin lead a trio of RB's with 53-yards on the ground and the offensive line featuring OC Ian Smith and the Twin Towers- Dalton Gifford and Alex Demarco paved the way for the offense which registered 426-yards of total offense.

The Wolverines travel to Springfield College this Sunday September 19th to play against Coach Burgess' alma mater at 1:00 P.M.

Football Crushes Curry

The wolverine football team started the season off strong with a home victory over Curry this Sunday winning 40-8. The game started off slowly with the offense struggling to get things started. The defense continued to play a solid game offering plenty of opportunities for the offense. Once the team stepped on the field for the second half, the offense quickly found their groove and started adding points to the scoreboard.

Coach Marcella was happy with his defense calling them "solid throughout." However, there is always room for improvement. "The team overcame a shaky start. The offense overcame and performed especially rolling into the second half. Overall I am very pleased with what they have done so far," said Marcella.

On offense quarterback Jacob Grills (Niantic, CT) went six for fifteen passing with eighty three yards and a touchdown. Kevin Bumpus (Bridgwater, MA), also at quarterback, went five for eight with 155 yards, three touchdowns, seven rushes, and seventeen yards. Running back Julian Griffin (Hartsdale, NY) had ten rushes and fifty two yards. Jonathan Winbush (Worcester, MA) had two receptions, twenty three yards, and a touchdown. Owen Ianotti (North Bennington, VT) also had two receptions, 131 yards, and two touchdowns (one catch was for ninety nine yards). Stephen Sweeney (Mahwah, NJ) rounded out the offense with four receptions, fifty four yards, and a touchdown.

On defense Troy Moore (Worcester, MA) had twelve total tackles (eight solo and four assisted) as well as a fumble recovery. Parrish Rogers-Reed (Westfield, MA) had fifteen total tackles (ten solo and five assisted) as well as a forced fumble. Charlie Bates (Reading, MA) had four total tackles (three solo and one assisted) with two pass breakups.

Every player got good experience playing against a team from the next level and it was a successful one. Bridgton Academy will look to improve on yesterday's game when facing Springfield college this weekend on Sunday September 19th at 1:00 P.M.

Home Opener

The football team will play in their home opener this weekend. The team will take on Curry College on Sunday September 12th at 1:30 P.M. (changed from 1:00 P.M.). Curry is lead by Coach Skip Bandini who was 1977 graduate of BA and classmate of Football Coach Joe Daley.

The First Scrimmage of the Season

The Wolverine football team took the field for an intra-squad scrimmage on Sunday. The scrimmage gave the coaches and players alike an opportunity to move at game speed and for coaches to make final adjustments before their opening game. Coach Rick Marcella liked what he saw, “this scrimmage shows that there is a lot of work yet to be done. You can tell that the team hasn’t been playing together for long. However, I have a lot of confidence in my players and coaches that we will see marked improvement as we work hard to prepare for our first game against Curry College.”

The Wolverine football team will face Curry College in a home opener on September 12th at 1:00 P.M.