The Bridgton Academy football team
returned to the field Sunday in a contest with the Pioneers from Sacred Heart
University in Fairfield, CT. The game
was a tough fought battle that was highlighted by defensive stands on both
sides. Each offense offered explosive
plays, but in the end each mustered only one score.
The opening drive saw Sacred Heart take the ball deep into
the red zone, only to be stopped short by the stiffened resolve of the BA
defense. A missed field goal attempt
left the game scoreless. The teams then
exchanged a number of punts. Throughout
the first half, Sacred Heart won the battle of field position, but was unable
to tally any points against the Wolverine defense. Bridgton's efforts were buoyed by the punting
of Ryan McGann (Hopewell, NJ), whose kicks helped give the defense room to
work.
The second quarter
saw the offense find its stride as Chris Mullins (Cenrerville, VA) connected on
multiple passes to Troy Pelletier (Manchester, NH) to put the Wolverines across
midfield. Though the drive stalled out,
McGann once again helped out by pinning Sacred Heart deep in its own end. Malik Lee (Mashpee, MA) had his best day yet
as a Wolverine, providing a number key first down runs and led the team in
rushing. The offensive line held its own
with great efforts by Nate Chrzanowski (Mashpee, MA), Rob Eldridge (Carver, MA),
Charlie Montablano (Phillipston, MA), Dan Feeley (Winthrop, MA), Ben Cormier
(Bridgewater, MA), and Pat Barrett (Hingham, MA).
The second half saw more of the same. Both team’s defense made just enough plays to
keep the opposing offenses off the board.
The BA defense got good work up front from Joe Eitner (Milford, PA),
John Strezo (Burlington, MA), Deon Doctor (Bedford Hills, NY), Shamis Henry
(Flemington, NJ), Joshuah Brown (Etobicoke, Ontario Canada), and Dilon Owen
(Somers, NY). While in the secondary,
Victor Olagibaye (Toronto, Ontario Canada) broke up a pass and was part of a
solid effort with Jhalen Bien Amie (Boston, MA). In the third quarter Mike English (Arlington,
MA) helped move the chains with three critical catches, the second of which set
up the offense with a chance deep in Sacred Heart territory. But unfortunately,
BA missed on its own field goal attempt and the score remained 0-0.
Sacred Heart finally broke through late in the third quarter
with a 30 yard touchdown pass that saw the receiver cut all the way back across
the field. On his way to pay dirt there
were many missed tackles, and the defense let one slip by. However, the game was far from over, as the
defense quickly atoned for their miss step when Matt Garcia (Arlington, MA)
forced a fumble giving the team the ball back at Sacred Hearts 45 yard
line. Malik Lee took it the rest of the
way needing only 2 carries to get in the endzone. Unfortunately, the PAT went wide right and
Sacred Heart remained in the lead 7-6.
BA would get one more chance and they drove the ball deep
into Sacred Heart territory. A third down pass from Mullins connected with
Pelletier for what was the apparent go ahead score. But, Pelletier was ruled
out of bounds. On 4th down, Mullins
found and open Prince Uneagbu (Boston, MA) at the goal line, but contact
between the Sacred Heart defender and Prince drew no interference, BA turned
the ball back over to Sacred Heart and the game ended, with a score of 7-6 in
favor of Sacred Heart.
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