The Plymouth State football team went into their playoff run only one win shy of competing for the New England Football Conference Championship, and possibly, a NCAA tournament berth.
At 8-1, the only thing that stood in the way of the resurgent program was perennial powerhouse, Curry College, winner of the Boyd Division in the NEFC. Curry finished its season only one win better than the Panthers, and took the spot in the title game, where they disposed of the Bogan Division champion, Coast Guard Academy.
With their sensational regular season in the books, the Panthers turned their attention to Bridgewater State University in the 2007 ECAC North Atlantic Bowl Game on Nov. 17 at Currier field in Plymouth, winning 24-21.
Plymouth senior, Jeff Mack, earned the Most Outstanding Player award for the game and it was no surprise that the tailback had a big day as Mack anchored PSU’s number one-ranked rushing offense against a Bridgewater team that was ranked ninth in the division at stopping the run.
“We worked hard all season and now have something to show for it,” Mack said after the game. The Bridgewater State Bears went into this game knowing that if they hadn’t controlled the conference-best, Panther’s rushing offense; they may spoil their chances at the bowl win, “The only way we will stop their running game today is to be extremely physical upfront,” BSC head coach Chuck Denune said before the loss. BSC was all but physical upfront as PSU’s runners combined for 51 carries gaining 266 total yards including Jeff Mack’s 96-yards in the first half alone.
This overwhelming emphasis on the running game came in stark contrast to their miniscule nine-pass attempts by the Panther’s passing offense of John DeMarco and J.J. Brooks. PSU actually carried the ball as many times as yards that the passing game gained, 51. This was not quite the balance that Coach Castonia had aimed for throughout the season. Castonia had spoke highly of his team all season and continued to praise his team’s performance in a Nov. 18, Citizen.com article by Scott Miller, “To start where they started four years ago and end the way they did today is really amazing,” Castonia said.
Every instance of this game indicated that a running cornucopia was what would define it. The blustery cold conditions limited passing by nature. Both teams had less than stellar passing attacks to begin with. PSU and BSC were two and four, respectively, in pass defense in the conference and they are also one and two, respectively, in the conference at running the ball.
PSU took the initial kick-off and marched downfield 53-yards on eight running plays that ultimately lead to a Jeff Mack five-yard touchdown run, that set the theme for the day. On the Bears side, first-year stud running back, Teigan Pina, carried the load with a workhorse 25 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown.
Despite the rushing success of Plymouth, DeMarco came into the game as the conference’s most efficient passer and hoped for a chance to show why, “Hopefully I get to throw the ball, we’ll see what coach says,” DeMarco said before the game. DeMarco took eight of the nine passing attempts, completed only one; but it was a big one-a 34-yard touchdown strike to senior receiver Drew Richardson that put the Panthers on top at that point.
BSC did not do much to stray from the running theme until a couple of drives into the game when they realized just how stout the conference’s third-best run defense really was. They started the game by featuring Pina on a 13-play, 59-yard opening scoring drive that included 10 runs to only three passes and concluded on a three-yard touchdown run by Pina.
PSU’s run defense stiffened up and they realized that if they were going to be beat, it would not be by Pina and the Bridgewater runners; it would be by Steven Clark and Ty D’Ambra since BSC’s quarterbacks were having a great game. Clark and D’Ambra almost did just that, as the lanes to throw through seemed to open up for them by the end of the first half. Senior receiver, Chris Joyce, became a huge factor in the game as BSC opened up its passing attack, utilizing more and more shotgun formations as the game moved along. Joyce led all receivers with 12 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns, setting a school record for single season receptions record in the process. It wasn’t enough to overcome the clock-killing Jeff Mack and PSU’s rushers and pullout a victory as Plymouth enjoyed a bowl win and a playoff berth for the first time since 1999, ending one of the most successful seasons in the program’s illustrious history.