The Bulldogs and the Falcons Battle in the Opener For the 6th Straight Season
- Richard Struzziery
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
For the 6th straight season, the Dean Bulldogs and the Fitchburg State Falcons met in the season opener once again.
The Bulldogs started their season in the best way imaginable, a Philly special on their opening drive of the season with senior wideout Da'Qwon Foster getting the ball pitched to him in the backfield and delivering a beautiful ball 53 yards down the field to his senior quarterback Chris Donohue for the first six of the season for Dean.
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However, Fitchburg State would respond swiftly, scoring on the following drive with their quarterback Dasha Domercant scoring on a 19-yard quarterback sneak.
A scoreless drive from both sides followed the early action, then an interception from Bulldogs quarterback Donohue would put the Falcons back on offense. Domercant would score once again for the Falcons on the ground for his 2nd rushing touchdown in the first quarter, making the score 13-6.
A long 16-play, 75-yard drive by the Bulldogs that started late in the first quarter would be capped off by division 2 transfer quarterback Donohue. Donohue would then bulldoze his way into the endzone following the touchdown to add two more to the Bulldogs score, putting them back on top with a 14-13 lead.
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The new quarterback for the Bulldogs, Donohue spent time with Assumption University in Worcester, MA and Missouri Southern before coming to Franklin for his final year of college ball.
Bulldogs second year head coach Luke Bakanowsky has spoken very highly of Donohue, stating "Donohue is the best player in the conference, we're going to live and die by him and his passing game."
Falcons running back Reshawn Stewart continued his strong start to the season busting through the Dean defense and scoring on a 75-yard strike.
Another double-digit play drive from Dean would end in six more points with Donohue delivering a dart over the middle to his receiver Tay Sholtz for his first touchdown of the season and giving the Bulldogs the lead again now up 20-19.
With 18 seconds left on the game clock in the second quarter, the Falcons would regain the lead courtesy of a 17-yard strike from Domercant to Edgar Melendez in the back of the endzone, putting his guys back in front 27-20 after converting on the 2-point try.
Coming back from intermission, both teams would have a few scoreless drives in the third quarter.
On the first Falcon drive of the fourth quarter, Domercant and Melendez would connect once again this time for a 30-yard touchdown over the middle, extending the Fitchburg State lead 35-20 with just over 12 minutes of play remaining in the game.
A swift response from the Bulldogs would cut into the Falcon lead, making it a 35-26 ballgame as wide receiver Darrion Kimball found the endzone on a 17-yard passing play.
In the end, the Falcons were able to hold on and walk away with the victory in the 2026 season opener, the final score being 35-26.
The Bulldogs next game is Saturday, September 12th at noon as they travel to Buzzards Bay to take on the Mass Maritime Buccaneers.
