BUZZARDS BAY, Mass -- The Buccaneers and Bears met Saturday for the 46th playing of the Cranberry Bowl, presented by South Coast Improvement Company. The Buccaneers, having not won the Cranberry Scoop since 2017, dominated Saturday's contest, securing a 20-7 victory and the Prestigious Cranberry Scoop Trophy!

The Basics

Final: Buccaneers 20, Bears 7

Records: Maritime 5-5 (5-4)

               Bridgewater 5-5 (5-4)

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Quarterback Evan Pierce completed five of nine passes for 90 yards. He also ran the ball 11 times for 18 yards and a touchdown.
• Fullback Chase Dombroski ran the ball 12 times for 47 yards to lead the Bucs and scored a touchdown.
• Wideout Santiago Martinez caught three passes for 66 yards. 
• Defensively, Jackson Mahoney made a game-high 10 tackles, nine solo, and had two sacks, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hurry. After the game, Mahoney was named the Lee Harrington MVP of the Cranberry Bowl.
• Jorden Woods made five solo tackles in the game and had a pass breakup.
• Colin Bower made three tackles in the game, recorded 2.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, and had two quarterback hurries. 
• On special teams, kicker Grayson Smith went two for two on field goal attempts with makes from 25 and 26 yards. He also converted both of his PATs.
• Martinez punted four times for 149 yards, an average of 37.3 yards per punt, and one inside the 20-yard line.

Bridgewater

• Quarterback Joseph Dube-Garrett completed 11 of 28 passes in the game for 202 yards and a touchdown.
• Andrew Cloutman led the Bears in rushing with 35 yards on eight attempts.
• Wide receiver Ramar Robinson caught one pass for a 77-yard touchdown. 
• Defensively, Jonah Familia led the Bears with nine tackles and a tackle for loss. 
• Mark DiGirolamo made six tackles, had one sack, and two tackles for loss.
• On Special teams, kicker/punter Joey Naso made his lone extra point attempt and punted eight times for 203 yards, an average of 25.4 yards per punt, and pinned the Bucs inside their own 20-yard line twice.

How It Happened

Maritime controlled the Cranberry Bowl from the go on Saturday. On the first possession by the Bears, the Buccaneers forced a punt. On their first offensive drive of the game, they went 48 yards on five plays, which included a 41-yard pass and catch from Pierce to Martinez. Stopping at the Bridgewater nine-yard line, the Buccaneers sent out Smith for the field goal attempt. He was good from 26 to give the Bucs a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter. Following back-to-back punts by the two teams, the Bears got off four offensive plays before Mahoney forced a fumble, and the Buccaneers recovered with great field position at the Bridgewater 40-yard line. The Buccaneers drove those 40 yards on five plays and capped it off with a Dombroski touchdown run from two yards out to take a commanding 10-0 lead late in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Bridgewater took the ball into Maritime territory for the first time in the game. Due to a couple of penalties by BSU, the Bears were stuck on fourth and 28 and had to punt. The Buccaneers took over on their own 14-yard line and put together a 14-play, 78-yard drive that took six minutes off the clock. They stalled at the Bears' four-yard line and brought out Smith again for his second field goal attempt. He was good from 25, and the Bucs extended their lead to 13-0 at halftime.

The Buccaneers took the ball to start the second half and went three and out. Bridgewater punted on their first drive of the half, and the Bucs faced the same fate on their next drive. Following the Maritime punt, the Bears finally got on the scoreboard thanks to a 77-yard pass from Dube-Garrett to Robinson on a broken coverage play by the Buccaneers. Maritime still led, 13-7, midway through the third quarter.

The Buccaneers' next drive, which started with 5:27 left in the third, carried into the fourth quarter. On the first play of the fourth, from the Bridgewater two-yard line, Pierce drove through the middle of the line and into the endzone to give the Buccaneers a 20-7 advantage. Over the final 14:57 of the game, the Buccaneers held the Bears at bay and took their 13-point lead to the final whistle, winning the 46th Annual Cranberry Bowl, 20-7!