Minutes away from hometown, Raynham's Bryce Shaw leads UNH football to win over Stonehill
EASTON – There wasn't much reaction when the PA announcer at W.B. Mason Stadium was rattling off the starters for the visitor's defensive unit before the season-opening football game between Stonehill College and the University of New Hampshire.
Then linebacker Bryce Shaw's name was called.
The UNH faithful that made its way to Easton knew the name. Locals did, too.
Shaw, a 2018 Bridgewater-Raynham graduate, is a former standout high school player for the Trojans. On Saturday, he was set to play the first game of his final collegiate season as one of the Wildcats' captains. He grew up less than 20 minutes away from the Stonehill College campus.
“It's both happy and sad. There’s a clash of emotions,” Shaw said. “One of my good buddies from home, he was like, ‘Hey man, to put it bluntly, it’s the beginning of the end.’ I’m sitting out on the field, taping up and I see that text. I’m like ‘I’ve got to soak this moment in.’ Moving through the season, it’s going to be about soaking up those moments and being very present in the moment.”
Shaw's defensive prowess at middle linebacker, in part, led the Wildcats to a resounding 51-17 victory over the Skyhawks. He made four tackles, 0.5 for loss, and played well in coverage as the UNH defense blocked a field goal, blocked a punt, forced a fumble and made an interception in the win.
“It’s a testament to him and how he led out there," New Hampshire head coach Rick Santos said of Shaw. "There’s a reason: the players vote for the captains. He was a unanimous pick. It shows what he’s done, his maturation process in our program as a leader and as someone the guys really value as a friend, a hard worker and a great teammate. I’m happy he was able to come home and have that performance.”
Shaw's family was in attendance, as was current B-R head coach Lou Pacheco (Shaw's godfather) and former coach of the Trojans, Dan Buron, who coached Shaw in the high school ranks.
As an Enterprise All-Scholastic his senior year in 2018, Shaw carried the ball 93 times for 827 yards (8.9 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns and caught 18 passes for 210 yards, while totaling 132 tackles and one pick-six defensively. He was also named to the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association's All-State team and USA Today's All-State team. Before transferring to the University of New Hampshire, Shaw played at the U.S. Naval Academy for two years.
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“I know Bryce was chomping at the bit to come back home. He’s a local hero," Santos said. "Talking to him last night was basically about controlling his emotions. He easily could’ve gotten overwhelmed by the atmosphere, and he didn’t. He hunkered in. He got (that defense) going. They played spirited.”
“Coming home and starting out the farewell tour, if you will, in Mass. is great," Shaw said. "I love looking up in the stands and seeing all my high school buddies, and people close to me that live 15 minutes down the road.”
Shaw said he circled Saturday's game against Stonehill on his calendar when the 2023 schedule was first released.
“It’s funny. It was like, ‘Oh – this is a home game for us, basically.’ Coming back to see everyone, I definitely had it circled (on my calendar)," Shaw said. "Coach always (emphasizes) the next one. I have every (game) circled. I loved coming back home and playing in front of the home crowd, but I already have a vision for the future.”
Stonehill falls in season-opener
The Stonehill College football team lost its season-opener to UNH, 51-17, on Saturday.
After UNH got out to a 27-0 lead in the first quarter, Stonehill senior running back Jermaine Corbett scored a 2-yard rushing TD at the 5:21 mark of the second quarter. He later scored a 23-yard TD at the 12:54 mark of the fourth quarter stamp the final score, 51-17. Corbett collected 66 rushing yards on 24 carries in the loss.
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Also for Stonehill, receiver Chris Domercant made four catches for 71 yards and quarterback Ashur Caraha completed 15 of his 29 passes for 178 yards. Caraha's longest completion went for 38 yards down the far sideline to sophomore wideout Brigham Dunphy early in the fourth quarter.
Off to an 0-1 start to the new season, Stonehill's next three games are on the road (at Central Connecticut State, at Georgetown, at Fordham).
“It’s not the outcome we were hoping for today. Obviously, that’s a really good football team that we played. They got off to a really fast start," Stonehill coach Eli Gardner said. "I think it’ll be interesting looking back to see some of the opportunities we did have where we didn’t capitalize. But I know we’re capable of better. I think we showed that at times, but we have to show that consistently. We didn’t do that today.”
This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Back home, Raynham's Shaw leads UNH football to win over Stonehill
