DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a record-setting effort from senior wide receiver
Angel Sanchez, the UMass Dartmouth football team defeated Bridgewater State University, 51-7 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday evening. The Corsairs move to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play, while the Bears are now 2-5 and 2-4 overall in the MASCAC.
Sanchez, who came into tonight's game with 2,639 career receiving yards, became the program's all-time leader with a 133 yards performance on Saturday. His efforts, which have come in less than three full years with the Corsairs, eclipsed the previous mark of 2,732 set by Abbi Bamgbose '20. Sanchez – a captain - now has 2,772 receiving yards to his credit as the all-time record holder.
UMass Dartmouth opened the scoring less than a minute into the contest as graduate student quarterback
Dante Aviles-Santos found junior wide receiver
Jael Cabrera for a 51 yard touchdown and the 7-0 lead following a successful PAT from
Alex Moses. With 10:06 to play in the frame, the Corsairs added to their lead as rookie kicker
Connor McManus nailed a field goal from 30-yards out and a 10-0 advantage.
That margin held until the 10:14 mark of the second quarter as Aviles-Santos once again found the endzone, this time on a 13-yard strike to junior wide receiver
Naseim Harrison. Leading by a 16-0 score, the Corsairs pushed it to a 23-0 differential as Aviles-Santos connected with Sanchez for an 18-yard touchdown with 4:39 remaining.
UMass Dartmouth earned a final score before halftime as fifth year wide receiver
Isaiah Cole threw the ball deep to senior
Jalyn Aponte for a 14-yard score. Moses' PAT was good to send the home team into halftime with the 30-0 lead.
Third quarter action saw another thriller as Aviles-Santos launched a bomb down the field into the hands of Harrison, who completed the 73-yard play for the touchdown as Moses's extra-point went between the uprights for the 37-7 lead.
Graduate student defensive back Shane Meerbot gave the Corsairs defense its first touchdown on the game, intercepting a pass by SP Pragano as he carried into the endzone for a 44-0 advantage. The home team carried that score into the fourth quarter until Bridgewater State's Jeremiah Julmiste rushed one in from seven yards out to put the Bears on the board.
UMass Dartmouth countered with 3:46 to play in the frame as sophomore quarterback
JC Petrongolo found junior wide receiver
Hunter Remington for a one yard touchdown and the 51-7 final margin.
In addition to Sanchez, who had 11 receptions with his 133 yards and a touchdown, the Corsairs saw Aviles-Santos go 22-for-40 on the afternoon. He threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns. Petrongolo was 3-for-4 in relief with a touchdown. Harrison added 86 yards on two receptions with two touchdowns, while Cabrera had 52 yards on three catches for a score.
On the ground, sophomore rusher Mehki Wilson carried the ball five times for 57 yards. Junior
Kevin Brown had seven carries for 40 yards. Defensively, senior linebacker
Mike Henricksen paced the Corsairs with 10 tackles, including three solo. He had 1.5 tackles for a loss of three yards. Meerbott notched an impressive six solo tackles for eight tackles, adding the interception for 17 yards. Overall, the Corsairs had three interceptions.
Bridgewater State's Jaden Moseley was 4-for-12 on the day with 85 yards, while Pragano was 2-for-7 with 12 yards. Shamus Whiting came on and was 2-for-5 with 58 yards. Julmiste had eight carries for 39 yards and a touchdown, while Josh Registre has three catches for 78 yards.
Defensively, the Bears were led by Zachary Souza, who recorded a game-high nine solo tackles for 15 total. Greg Demetri notched two solo tackles for five total, while Dkari Rodrigues had two solo tackles and three total, including one for a loss of three yards and two pass breakups.
As a team, the Corsairs posted 518 total yards of offense, including 363 passing yards and 155 yards on the ground. UMass Dartmouth limited the Bears to just 270 yards of offense, including 115 on the ground and 155 in the air.
UMass Dartmouth will play its final regular season home game next Saturday in a MASCAC showdown of the undefeated teams. The Corsairs welcome Western Connecticut State to Cressy Field for a 3pm tilt against the Wolves with both squads sitting at 6-0 in the conference standings.
