BRIDGEWATER, Mass — On Saturday afternoon, the Buccaneers and Bears met in Bridgewater for the 43rd playing of the Cranberry Bowl game, presented by A&A Metro Transportation. In one of the closest games in the rivalry’s history, the Bears were victorious, 10-0.
The Basics
Final: Bears 10, Buccaneers 0
Records: Bridgewater 6-4 (6-2)
Maritime 3-7 (3-5)
Inside The Numbers
For The Bucs
- Quarterback Marc Murphy threw for 110 yards on 11 completions.
- Running Back James Cassidy ran for 71 yards on 13 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
- Ja’iel Johnson rushed for 67 yards on seven carries, averaging 9.6 yards per attempt.
- Receiver Evan Vieira led the Bucs with 60 yards receiving on five catches.
- Defensively, Hugh Wells was nearly unstoppable leading all players with 11 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss.
- Linebacker Jack Mulligan had a day for the Bucs as well with one tackle, a sack, a tackle for loss and an interception.
- Liam Hines and Keven Paul each had an interception of their own with five tackles and three tackles respectively.
- On special teams, Mulligan continued his outstanding performance with five punts, averaging 46.4 yards per punt, a long of 66 yards and one punt inside the Bears 20 yard line.
For The Bears
- Quarterback James Cahoon threw for 225 yards on 19 completions with a touchdown and three interceptions.
- William Pointer led the rushing attack with 72 yards on 13 carries. Isaiah Wright added 58 yards on 14 carries.
- Michael Nocera led the receivers with five catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
- On defense, Steven Silvia led the Bears with nine tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss.
- Dan Catalkdo had seven tackles, one sack and three tackles ofr loss.
- Bridn Campagna had seven tackles of his own with a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
- Zachary Souza had two interceptions in the game to go along with four tackles.
- On special teams, kicker Shane Drake made a 30-yard field goal and Joey Naso converted his lone PAT.
- Drake also punted twice for 84 yards, averaging 42 yards per punt.
How It Happened
The low scoring affair between the teams was indicative of what the Cranberry Bowl rivalry has been since its inception. The Bucs went three-and-out on their first possession and the Bears went four-and-out on theirs. On the first scoring attempt by either team Naso had his 32-yard field goal attempt blocked by Mulligan to keep the game scoreless. Murphy was intercepted on the Bucs ensuing drive. Maritime’s defense countered that with an interception of Cahoon on a fourth down play deep in Bucs territory. The game remained scoreless after 15 minutes of play.
In the second, Murphy was intercepted again by Souza to open the quarter. Mulligan helped out the Bucs offense by intercepting Cahoon on second down with 8:07 left in the half. On the Bucs next drivethey eclipsed 68 yards on 11 plays and were stalled at the Bears 12 yard line. Mike Epifano came on to attempt a 20-yard field goal into the wind which he missed wide right. The Bears took over at their own 20 yard line and matched the Bucs previous drive going 68 yards on 11 plays. Stalled at the Buccaneers 12 on fourth down, Drake converted a 30-yard field goal to give Bridgewater a 3-0 lead with 4:25 left in the half. The next two drives ended in punts by each team and the Bucs took over on offense with 36 seconds left in the second. Unable to move the ball, Maritime was stopped at the Bridgewater 34. They attempted and missed a 50-yard field goal. Brudgewater kneeled on the ball to send the game to the half with the Bears leading 3-0.
To open the second half, Cahoon was intercepted again, this time by Hines. The Bucs ensuing drive ended in a 46-yard punt by Mulligan. Bridgewater proceeded to take the ball 47 yards on 10 plays and went for it on fourth down. On the fourth down play, Wells sacked Cahoon to give the ball back to the Buccaneers. In the final two Buccaneer drives and one by the Bears, both teams punted. Bridgewater got the ball back with 2:13 left in the third and began their biggest drive of the game. The game remained 3-0 Bears at the end of three.
In the fourth, still on the same drive for Bridgewater, Cahoon and his offense completed an 87-yard, five play drive on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Cahoon to Nocera to put the Bears up 9-0. Naso made the PAT and the bears led 10-0. Attempting to get on the board the Bucs went 57 yards on 11 plays and had a muffed snap on a field goal attempt to keep the game at 10-0. Unable to get on the board, the Buccaneers and Bears played to that 10-0 final with the Bears lifting the scoop for the fourth year in a row.
