CASTINE – It looked like smooth sailing for Maine Maritime Academy in the first half, but the Mariners had to navigate some rough seas in the third quarter before dropping anchor on a 41-31 victory over Bridgewater State College.

Junior tailback Jim Bower rushed for 225 yards – the second-highest total of his career – and scored three touchdowns to lead the Mariners past the Bears on a drizzly Saturday afternoon at Ritchie Field.

The Mariners took a 21-3 lead into halftime, but had to withstand a third-quarter rally by the Bears that made it 21-17 six minutes into the second half. The Mariners answered with a six-play drive ending with Bower’s 13-yard TD run off left tackle and the Bears never got closer than 10 points the rest of the game.

“They came out fired up and it was tough tackling No. 10 (all-purpose back Jessy Resende) the way he was running on sweeps and quarterback follow plays,” said MMA coach Chris McKenney. “But we settled down a little bit, got back into the game and our offense had a couple nice drives.”

Mariners quarterback Tyler Angell efficiently took advantage of Bridgewater’s obvious emphasis on stopping Bower late and completed one of two passes in the second half, the second of which was a 35-yard TD pass to Travis Shaw with 5:21 to play.

“We’re always looking for the opportunity to throw the pass off option plays and those are the two passes we hit on today,” McKenney said. “We never know who’s going to get the yardage, but the passes come off the run game.”

Angell, a Leeds native, wound up with 164 total yards, 82 on 2-for-6 passing and another 82 rushing on 22 carries.

“They were keying on Jim, so that helped other people get open more, especially in the second half,” Angell said. “That made it a lot easier for me because they were going to him every time and that made my reads easier.”

While Angell was fairly successful through the air on the rare occasion that the Mariners passed, the Bears couldn’t generate much with their passing game except frustration.

The Mariners sacked Bridgewater quarterback Tyler D’Ambra once, intercepted him twice, and harried him numerous times while he managed to complete just 5 of 21 passes for 50 yards.

“Our defense did a great job, especially against a good offense like that where they have three guys who can run, catch and throw who they use various ways,” McKenney said.

The Mariners use Bower just one way, as a battering ram. The 5-foot-9, 197-pound South Paris native scored his first TD on a 27-yard run with 5:13 left in the first quarter, his second on an 85-yard run on first down with 3:58 left in the first, and his last one on the 13-yarder.

“It was anything but easy, but the line was opening up some good holes and I got some big blocks in front of me,” Bower said. “On that 85-yard run, Bridgewater was overshifting a lot, so I saw them go outside when Angel made his fake and that helped me get around the outside backer and a downfield block by Travis Shaw freed me up.”

The 1-3 Bears were led by Resende, who had 129 yards on 11 carries, and Bruce Burley, who gained 123 yards on 24 carries. In all, BSC rushed for 320 yards to MMA’s 370.

Joel Chadbourne and Conor Callahan led MMA’s defense with 10 total tackles each. Callahan had seven solo and Chadbourne had three solo – one for a loss.

The first half ended with arguably the most exciting play of the game as Angell took the snap with four seconds left on the clock after Cory Bezanson of Winslow returned Bridgewater’s kickoff 37 yards to the B-47. Angell dropped back and fired a pass down the right side into the end zone, where 6-foot-3 wide receiver Alex Coulombe was stationed. Coulombe leaped over the defenders and snared the well-thrown ball for a touchdown – just the way the Mariners drew it up.

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MARINERS 41, BEARS 31

Bridgewater (1-3) 0 3 14 14 – 31

Maine Maritime (2-2) 0 21 13 7 – 41

MMA-Bower 27 run (Brennan kick)

MMA-Bower 85 run (Brennan kick)

BSC-Leombruno 29 field goal

MMA-Coulombe 47 pass from Angell (Brennan kick)

BSC-Resende 63 run (Leombruno kick)

BSC-Burley 1 run (Leombruno kick)

MMA-Bower 13 run (kick failed)

MMA-Angell1 run (Brennan kick)

BSC-Burley 1 run (Leombruno kick)

MMA-Shaw 35 pass from Angell (Brennan kick)

BSC-D’Ambra 1 run (Leombruno kick)

Bridgewater State MMA

First downs 17 19

Rushing att.-yards 49-320 53-370

Passing comp.-att. 5-21 2-6

Passing yards 50 82

Total yards 370 452

Punts-avg. 6-35.7 4-33.0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2

Intercepted by 0 2

Penalties-yards 9-87 1-5

Rushing

Bridgewater State: Resende 11-129, Burley 24-123, D’Ambra 8-32, Creeden 5-32, Ulak 1-4; Maine Maritime Academy: Bower 18-225, Angell 22-76, Farrin 4-31, Murphy 4-20, Bourassa 5-18

Passing

Bridgewater State: D’Ambra 5-21-2-50; Maine Maritime Academy: Angell 2-6-0-82

Receiving

Bridgewater State: Wall 3-42, Teixeira 1-8, Burley 1-0; Maine Maritime Academy: Coulombe 1-47, Shaw 1-35

A-500