Bears Keep The Cup In Providence
Sunday, October 06, 2013
Brown racked-up 471 yards of total offense and hoisted the Governor’s Cup for the third straight year with a 31-14 win over URI in the 98th meeting between the two Ocean State schools at Brown Stadium Saturday evening. The Bears extended their record to 2-1 with the win, while Rhode Island falls to 2-4 overall.
“I love the Governor’s Cup,” said Bears’ head coach Phil Estes. “I love winning it and retaining it, and the fact that we put the Harvard game to bed. I thought we did a great job of controlling the tempo with our offense, while our defense did a great job.”
Senior quarterback Patrick Donnelly (Longmeadow, MA) was the offensive star for the Bears, completing 25 of 39 passes, throwing for 220 yards and running for another 62 yards, including a two-yard touchdown run.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTOn the receiving end of Donnelly’s throws was senior Tellef Lundevall (Highland Park, IL), who made 10 catches for 85 yards. Senior Jordan Evans (Brentwood, TN) and junior Brian Strachan (Wellesley, MA) made six receptions each. Junior Andrew Coke (Andover, MA) rushed for a career best 63 yards, while senior Jordan Reisner (Highland Park, IL) added 47 yards.
The Bears accounted for 251 yards on the ground and were led by senior John Spooney (Northfield, OH), who rushed for two touchdowns and 86 yards on eight carries.
Senior defensive back Emory Polley (University Heights, OH) made the difference for the Brown defense with two key interceptions. Polley also made seven tackles, including six solo hits. Junior Dan Giovacchini (Acton, MA) led the Bears with 10 total tackles, including one for a loss.
Spooney electrified the Brown Stadium crowd when he ran untouched 73 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, giving the Bears a 7-0 advantage just 16 seconds into the game.
The Rams tied the game, 7-7, late in the opening quarter on a 17 yard pass play from Bob Bentsen to Robbie Jackson.
Brown grabbed the lead for good, 10-7, with 5:31 left in the half when senior Alex Norocea (Hermosa Beach, CA) connected on a 27-yard field goal.
The Bears extended their lead to 10 points on what Donnelly termed, “the defining moment of the game.” Donnelly engineered an 83-yard scoring drive that pulled the Bears ahead by a 17-7 margin on a 2-yard scoring run by Spooney with just 10 seconds left in the opening half.
The big play in the 83-yard drive was a 28-yard run by Donnelly, turning the play up-field after electing to pick up eight more yards instead of running out of bounds. “I’m not going to leave any yards on the field,” said Donnelly.
Donnelly gave the Bears a 24-7 lead when he scored on a two yard run, capping a 56 yard scoring drive to open the second half.
Senior tailback Jordan Reisner capped another long Brown drive, this time 85-yards, scoring on a 23-yard run to give the Bears a 31-7 advantage with just over four minutes to play.
The Rams scored with 20 seconds remaining to account for the final 31-14 score.
Brown will travel 14 miles north to Smithfield, Rhode Island for the first ever meeting with Bryant University on Saturday, October 12. Game time is 1:00 p.m.
