SCORE BOX:
Plymouth 7 Bridgewater 10
Plymouth, N.H.- With under a minute remaining in regulation, and trailing by three, Plymouth State’s offense drove down the field, looking to take the lead. PSU’s comeback attempt was halted, though, when Bridgewater’s defensive tackle Kevin Laudano intercepted a pass on the eight-yard line on 3rd down, securing the win for the Bears.
The Panthers received their first loss of the season last Saturday afternoon, September 17th against Bridgewater State University, 10-7, at Currier Field. The home team was held to only 134 yards all game on the cool, crisp day.
After forcing a Plymouth State punt on their first possession, the Bears struck first with 4:16 remaining in the first quarter with a 30-yard field goal boot by Brian Smith. PSU sophomore quarterback Josh Morgan (Foster, R.I.) threw an interception on the Panther’s next offensive series, snatched by BSU’s Eddie Jewel. The Bears went on the attack as the final minutes of the first quarter ticked away, scoring on an eight-yard touchdown pass quarterback Mike McCarthy tossed up to #81 Matt Monahan after a couple of facemask penalties against the home team brought BSU up to the 14 yard line.
“Penalties were a huge factor. The biggest factor with our performance was the consistency,” said PSU’s defen– sive back, senior Bobby Lombardo (Stow, Mass.). “Our defense came out flat and did not have much intensity which led to the 10 (Bridgewater) points in the first half. But we came out in the second half and did not let up a single point, which ties back into the consistency.” Lombardo led the Panther defense with 12 tackles in Saturday’s game.
The second half began with a revitalized Panther offense adding to the scoreboard after a 14 play series that resulted in their first and only points of the game when Morgan completed a 19 yard touchdown pass to PSU senior Josh Duford (Claremont, N.H.). Along with a successful extra point kick from senior Christian Mulcahy (Norwich, Conn.), the score stood at 10-7, with BSU leading. The score, along with a strong defensive stop by the Panthers on a goal line pass as the half ended, gave the home crowd a lot to cheer about leading into the 2nd half.
Defenses shined and punters got their work out in the third quarter, as both teams punted a combined seven times. In the fourth quarter, Bridgewater was able to control the pace of the game using plenty of running plays, and tiring out the Plymouth defense. The half ended with no points added to the final score of 10-7 and a BSU victory. Bridgewater’s unbeaten record stays intact with the win, 2-0, while Plymouth’s record drops to 2-1.