By Jim Fenton
FITCHBURG, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University football team has put together a three-game winning streak heading down the stretch of the season.
The Bears continued moving in a positive direction on Saturday afternoon with a 38-18 victory over Fitchburg State University at Elliot Field.
BSU (4-4, 4-3 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference) opened a 31-0 lead before allowing the Falcons (3-5, 2-5) to score three touchdowns in the last 7:09.
The Bears had 351 yards of total offense against a team that allows the fewest yards per game in the MASCAC.
FItchburg State has given up 18.1 points per game, second in the conference, and the 38 scored by BSU was a season-high by a Falcons' opponent.
The Bears ran for 250 yards while limiting Fitchburg State to just six yards on 20 attempts.
Senior Isaiah Wright (Worcester, Mass.) ran for 81 yards and a TD on 16 carries while senior Andrew Cloutman (Hanson, Mass.) ran for two scores and had 63 yards on 12 attempts.
BSU had three interceptions with sophomore Elijah Neal (Newport, R.I.) getting a pair and senior Brandon Medeiros (Somerset, Mass.) adding one.
The Bears sacked the quarterback five times with junior Jorge Aquino (Bergenfield, N.J.) getting his ninth of the season, which leads the MASCAC. Also getting solo sacks were junior Dkari Rodrigues (Dorchester, Mass.) and senior Joseph Parisi (Danvers, Mass.).
Following a scoreless first quarter, the Bears held a 14-0 halftime lead, getting a pair of rushing touchdowns in the second quarter.
Cloutman opened the scoring with 14:04 to go in the half on a 1-yard run and senior Joey Naso (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) added the first of five extra points.
On their third possession of the day, the Bears went 65 yards in 11 plays after taking over on a punt.
Later in the quarter, BSU received a punt at the Fitchburg State 44 and needed six plays to score.
Wright went in from 9 yards out with 5:38 remaining in the half. A key play on the drive was a 22-yard catch by senior Mohale Mitchell (Lakewood, Col.) from freshman quarterback Joseph Dube-Garrett (Fort Myers, Fla.).
The lead went to 21-0 in the third quarter on a 3-yard TD run by Cloutman with 9:08 to go, ending a seven-play, 56-yard drive. That was the first possession of the second half for BSU.
Naso opened the fourth quarter by hitting a 32-yard field goal with 14:12 left for a 24-0 lead. The Bears went 65 yards in nine plays to get in position for Naso's MASCAC-leading eighth field goal of the season.
A 12-yard run by freshman Sean Brown (Port Richey, Fla.) with 10:23 to go opened the advantage to 31-0. It was Brown's first career rushing score and second TD overall.
Fitchburg State ended the shutout bid with 7:09 left as Peter Norton caught a 7-yard TD pass from junior Rocky Marchitelli (Gunnerson, Col.). The Falcons failed on the two-point conversion attempt.
BSU's final score came with 3:02 to go as junior Makhial Coulanges-Blaise (Peabody, Mass.) scored on a 16-yard run with 3:02 left.
Fitchburg State then scored a pair of TDs in the last 2:15.
Sophomore Emilio Cabey (Boston, Mass.) caught a 26-yard scoring pass from Marchitelli to finish a three-play, 58-yard drive.
Marchitelli added a 2-yard TD run on the game's final play after a punt return put the Falcons deep into BSU territory.
The Bears had a 29-18 edge in first downs and a 36:58-23:02 advantage in time of possession. Mitchell led BSU with 42 receiving yards on three catches.
The Bears' three-game winning streak comes after they had lost three games in a row.
BSU improved to 1-3 on the road with the win over Fitchburg State, who have dropped three in a row.
The Bears play their home finale on Saturday at 4 p.m., going against Anna Maria College. That will be followed by the annual Cranberry Bowl against the Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Nov. 15.
Fitchburg State is at Plymouth State at noon on Saturday for its final road game.