BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Junior Matthew Pisarcik connected twice with Jayme Perry for a pair of scores and accounted for four touchdowns as the Bridgewater Eagles football team rolled past the visiting Greensboro Pride by a 43-14 score on Saturday night at the Jopson Athletic Complex.
The win was one for the record books as it marked the first-ever on campus night football game in program history.
Bridgewater's defense forced a quick three-and-out from the Pride before scoring on a long clock-chewing drive on its first offensive possession. The 11-play, 87-yard scoring drive was capped off by a five-yard Pisarcik touchdown run as the Eagles took a 7-0 lead with 7:45 to go in the first. The drive took more than five minutes off of the clock.
Following the score, the Bridgewater defense forced another quick three-and-out and the Eagles turned good field position into another tally. Pisarcik first hit Tyler Moneymaker on a 22-yard strike to move the Eagles deep into Greensboro territory before Pisarcik hooked up with Keith Jennings on a 29-yard pattern to extend the lead to 14-0 which is where it would stand after the first 15 minutes of play.
Greensboro got on the board on the first play of the second quarter when quarterback Ryan Throndset struck Justin Dukes from 15 yards out to cut the Bridgewater lead in half, 14-7.
After an exchange, the Eagles moved deep into Greensboro territory before settling for a 22-yard Chandler DeHaven field goal which pushed the lead to 17-7 with 6:34 to go in the first half.
The Bridgewater defense again held the Pride off of the scoreboard prior to the Eagles taking a 17-point lead to the locker room. Quarterback Ross Rushing connected with Cliff Woodard from 10 yards to cap off an 11-play, 55-yard scoring drive, handing the Eagles a 24-7 halftime lead.
Out of the intermission, Greensboro moved deep into Bridgewater territory with a 16-play drive. The Pride moved inside the Bridgewater 10 before Throndset's fourth down pass fell incomplete, turning the ball over to the Eagles on downs.
After a quick Bridgewater three-and-out, the Pride struck with a two-yard Warren Scott touchdown burst to cut the gap to 24-14.
Greensboro then booted a short kick and gave the Eagles excellent field position, which Bridgewater quickly capitalized on. The Eagles moved into the red zone but the drive stalled out at the Greensboro nine. DeHaven proceeded to split the uprights again, this time from 26 yards to push the Eagles out in front, 27-14. DeHaven is 4-for-4 on field goals to start the 2014 season.
Bridgewater's special teams unit pinned the Pride back after a penalty on the kickoff and Scott couldn't handle the pitch from Throndset at the goal line before he fell on the ball for a safety with 1:50 to go in the third, extending the Bridgewater lead to 29-14.
On the ensuing kick, Bridgewater wasted little time in finding the endzone. Pisarcik hit Perry for the first time of the night with a 32-yard connection with 36 ticks to play in the third to open the margin up at a 36-14 score.
Midway through the fourth, Pisarcik hit Perry again, this time it was a 19-yard strike to finalize the scoring at a 43-14 tally.
Senior Jacob Wright carried the ball 12 times for 56 yards while Kevon White added in 39 yards on 10 rushes.
Through the air, Pisarcik was stellar. The junior completed 18-of-24 passes for 227 yards and three scores on the evening. Pisarcik also added a touchdown run on the first drive of the game for the Eagles. Rushing finished the night 7-of-12 for 73 yards and a score.
On the receiving end, Jeffrey Moore hauled in a team-high six passes for 30 yards. Jennings led the Eagles with 75 yards on the evening, while Perry hauled in three passes for 71 yards and two scores.
Defensively, Darrick Gore was disruptive all evening. The senior amassed 11 tackles, including two for a loss to lead the way. Bridgewater tallied nine tackles for a loss in the contest.
Scott led all ball carriers on the night with 16 runs for 65 yards and a score.
Throndset finished the evening 27-of-39 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown. Mac Graham also completed a pass for 21 yards as the Pride perfectly executed a fake punt.
Raymond Bridges led all receivers with nine receptions for 89 yards.
Chase Sam led the Greensboro defense with a game-high 14 tackles.
Both teams ran 70 plays on the evening but it was Bridgewater outgaining the Pride by a 427-to-308 tally.
Bridgewater finished the evening an efficient 7-of-15 on third down, while the Eagles defense limited the Pride to a 2-of-10 effort on third down.
The Eagles also converted on five of six trips to the red zone.
Bridgewater returns to action in two weeks when it travels to Apprentice for the non-conference finale. Start time from Newport News, Virginia is set for 1 p.m.