Wild Game Leaves JV on Wrong End of 39-30 Score

HANOVER, N.H. — Freshman John Higgins ran for 103 yards with a touchdown, and rookie tight end Dean Bakes had 143 receiving yards and a score of his own for the Dartmouth junior varsity on Sunday afternoon, but Bridgton Academy was able to fend off the Big Green at Memorial Field, 39-30. Bridgton is 6-3 this fall against a schedule filled with predominantly junior varsity squads, while the Big Green jayvees finish their schedule at 2-2.

Bakes caught four passes for an average of nearly 36 yards per catch, including a 24-yard touchdown reception thrown by freshman Cole Marcoux, who finished the game 10-of-25 for 187 yards and the one touchdown along with a pair of picks. Higgins, meanwhile, average 5.7 yards on his 18 carries for his 103 yards on the ground, while sophomore John Lawrence pitched in 65 more yards on 19 carries with a touchdown as well. Overall, the Big Green offense racked up 427 yards.

The difference in the game proved to be turnovers as Dartmouth coughed the ball up five times with three fumbles to go along with the two interceptions. Twice the Big Green gave the ball up when on the verge of scoring, only to have Bridgton come away with the ball in the end zone.

Bridgton proved to be quite a formidable opponent, especially on the ground where it piled up 253 rushing yards on 54 carries. Hunter Beckmann had 102 yards on 13 carries, while quarterback Jacob Grills posted 95 yards on 14 rushes to lead the squad. Grills completed just 6-of-16 passes, but one was a 74-yard completion to Marcus Hackett on the second play from scrimmage in the game as Bridgton took an early 7-0 lead.

It wasn't long before Bridgton had a 19-0 advantage, scoring on a Beckmann three-yard run three plays after recovering a fumbled kickoff return. Soon after, Grills galloped for a 34-yard touchdown run as well, and just 4:35 had elapsed in the game. The silver lining for the Big Green was that after both touchdowns, Bridgton failed to convert a two-point conversion.

A personal foul during the ensuing kickoff gave Dartmouth the ball in enemy territory, and following a six-yard run by Higgins on a 4th-and-1, Marcoux found Bakes open down the middle of the field for the 24-yard score. Matthew Kelly provided the point after to make it a 19-7 game with 8:25 still remaining in the first quarter.

The Dartmouth defense got a quick stop on the next Bridgton possession, and when Bridgton went to punt away, the snap sailed over the punter's head and through the end zone for a safety.

Neither side managed another first down until the very end of the first quarter when, following a Bridgton punt for minus-four yards, Marcoux began another Big Green touchdown drive with a 14-yard strike to freshman Joseph Dowdell to the Bridgton 29. After a roughing-the-passer penalty on a 4th-and-10 play, Lawrence bolted for a 14-yard run into the end zone, cutting the deficit to three at 19-16.

Bridgton took an 11-point lead after running for 55 yards in just six plays, with a little help from a face-mask penalty. Dartmouth nearly thwarted the drive when Grills fumbled the ball inside the 15, but was able to recover the bounding ball at the two. Daryl Shuler took it in from there, and also provided the two-point conversion with a similar run.

The Big Green answered right back with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive as Marcoux threw for 82 yards during the possession, including a 40-yard bomb to Bakes. Higgins scored on a one-yard run, but the point after was pulled wide left, leaving the score at 27-22 entering halftime.

Starting the third quarter, Dartmouth was on the verge of taking the lead, but freshman quarterback Andy Gay fumbled the ball while trying to sneak into the end zone from the one-yard line, with Bridgton recovering in the end zone for a touchback.

Bridgton took a 33-22 lead late in the third on a two-yard run by Grills, but the extra-point attempt was blocked and nearly returned for a two-point defensive conversion. Again Dartmouth answered with Marcoux finishing off a 63-yard drive with a two-yard sneak for the score, then tossing a two-point conversion to freshman Dana Barbaro to make it 33-30 early in the fourth quarter.

Another face-mask penalty on the kickoff gave Bridgton the ball at its own 42, and then it methodically advanced the 58 yards in 10 plays with Julian Griffin scoring on a seven-yard run. The two-point conversion attempt failed, keeping Dartmouth within nine points at 39-30 and 8:26 on the clock.

The Big Green marched down to the Bridgton three before failing to convert a 4th-and-goal pass with 3:21 left as Sir-Tay Jackson broke up the pass. But still Dartmouth had a chance thanks to an interception by sophomore Corey Vann at the Bridgton 32-yard line. A pass interference call gave the Green 1st-and-goal from the five, only to have Marcoux picked off in the end zone by Charlie Bates, sealing the win for Bridgton.

Junior Aaron Limonthas led the Dartmouth defense with 13 tackles while freshman defensive end Steve Stafford had 10 stops, 3.5 of which went for a loss. Parrish Rogers-Reed had a game-high 14 tackles for Bridgton while Jeremy Leggiero and Connor Candito chipped in 12 and 10 stops, respectively.

Schedules