BA 24 - Holy Cross 14

Coach Bishop wrote a nice recap from this weekends game...

This week the Wolverines traveled down to Worcester, Massachusetts to face their first FCS opponent of the year, The College of the Holy Cross. Holy Cross has had the upper hand in this match-up for the most part, with the last Bridgton Academy win coming in 2007. It wasn't looking good for either spread offense with heavy rain making passing the ball an adventure. Bridgton came out early and succeeded in establishing the run game with their two workhorses, Sean Reed (Plainsboro, NJ) and leading BA rusher for the game, Josh Morales (Mount Sinai, NY). The two combined for 90 out of the 130 total rushing yards for the day.

In spite of the weather, Bridgton's quarterbacks and receivers found a way to get the job done with 179 total passing yards and two touchdowns through the air and one Rushing touchdown, a tribute to the offensive line who only gave up one sack all day.

The first quarter, started with the special teams of both teams getting their work in the punt game. Bridgton was the first to break through on the score board with a pass from Mike Luks (Amherst, NH) to Derek Beck (Martinsville, NJ) for a touchdown. The Wolverines then converted their first field goal of the season by Mitch Graziano (Kingston, MA) to make the score 10-0.

However, Holy Cross wasn't about to roll over. Before the half, the Crusaders put a score on the board to make it 10-7 going into the locker room.

Coming out in the second half, the Wolverines continued to be consistent scoring two more touchdowns. One on a connection from Steven Cronan (Hampton, NH) to Austin Harrington (Chanhassen, MN) and the second a rush from the Cronan. The Bridgton defense in the second half was ready for Holy Cross allowing no offensive points. The only points scored by Holy Cross in the second half was an interception return for a touchdown. It was an all around defensive effort, headed up by the defensive line, Jeff Amell (Bar Mills, ME), Will Wowkanyn (Brick, NJ), and Landon Moore (Saratoga, NY) who consistently put pressure on the Holy Cross backfield.

"I'm pleased with the progress the team made in all three areas of the game this week," said Head Coach Rick Marcella. "That said, one look at the video will tell us that there is a long way yet to go. Weekly improvement will always remain our goal."

Next Week, Bridgton will be hosting Parent's Weekend. The football team will be facing off against Merrimack College in their last home game of the year. We look forward to seeing all of the parents next weekend!