United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Game # 4 Preview - Bears Host Mass. Maritime on Homecoming Weekend

MASS. MARITIME (0-4, 0-1) at COAST GUARD (1-2, 1-0)
OCT. 4TH, NEW LONDON, CONN, 1:30 P.M.
HOMECOMING WEEKEND

ON THE AIR: There is an audio broadcast at www.sportsjuice.com.

THE SERIES: Coast Guard leads 9-1. The Bears have won six straight against the Buccaneers.

LAST YEAR: The Coast Guard defense had two key interceptions in the final 6:12 of the game and senior kicker David Lieberman kicked a 20-yard field goal with 4:21 left in the fourth quarter for the only points of the game as Coast Guard won its ninth consecutive New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division game beating Mass. Maritime 3-0.

Sophomore Keenan Prather had the key play in the game as he intercepted junior quarterback Joe DeFrank giving the Bears the ball at the Mass. Maritime 23 yard line with 6:12 left in the game.

Coast Guard drove to the Bucs three yard line, scored the only points of the game, the 20-yard field goal by Lieberman for a 3-0 lead with 4:21 left.

Mass. Maritime (2-3, 0-2) began its final drive at its own 31 yard line, but the drive ended as sophomore defensive back Kevin Novick intercepted DeFrank (14 of 27, 154 yards) and returned it 17 yards to midfield with 1:55 left to seal the win for Coast Guard (3-1, 2-0).

The first half was dominated by defense and Mass. Maritime held Coast Guard to just 40 yards on 28 plays while the Bucs totaled 135 yards on 42 plays.

Mass. Maritime had 272 total yards in the game, 154 passing while holding Coast Guard to just 166 total yards, 133 rushing.

Senior quarterback Christian George (7 of 19, 30 yards) led the Bears with 21 carries for 68 yards.

Mass. Maritime freshman Douglas Dyke carried 38 times for a career-high 101 yards.

Freshman Kyle Ennis led Coast Guard in nine tackles while sophomore Doug Piper had six tackles, three for loss. Prather also added eight tackles for the Bears.

It was the first shutout for Coast Guard since a 3-0 win at Maine Maritime last season.

LAST WEEK: Mass. Maritime dropped its fourth straight to open the season, losing 42-7 at Worcester State in the NEFC Bogan Division opener. The Bucs led 7-0 before the Lancers scored 42 unanswered points. Worcester State had 509 yards of total offense while holding Mass. Maritime to just 151 yards of total offense.

Coast Guard picked up its first win of the season and ran its NEFC Bogan Division winning streak to 15 with a 16-13 win over Westfield State as freshman Jacob Shackleford kicked a 32-yard field goal, his first collegiate attempt, with 16 seconds left for the win.

NO LUCK FOR THE BUCS IN THE BEARS DEN: Coast Guard has dominated Mass. Maritime in the last three games in New London, outscoring them 130-7. The Bears won 27-0 in 2002, 62-7 in 2004 and 41-0 in 2006.

BOGAN’S HEROS: Coast Guard, which has won back-to-back New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division championships since joining the conference in 2006, won its 15th straight division game on Saturday. The Bears were a perfect 7-0 in each of the last two seasons in division play. They will put their 15 game Bogan Division winning streak on the line this week.

BEARS CONTINUE TO WIN THE NAIL BITERS: During the 15 game Bogan Division winning streak the Bears have had more than their share of close calls. In fact, seven of the 15 games have been decided by four points or less and the Bears have won all seven of those contests. Coast Guard won three games in Bogan Division play by four points or less in both the 2006 and 2007 season and now add last week’s win to the list.

YUROVICH HONORED: Senior linebacker Brian Yurovich was named the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Co-Defensive Player of the Week in the 16-13 win over Westfield State. He had 10 tackles, seven solo, one for loss, a pass breakup and a key interception early in the fourth quarter on the Coast Guard 13-yard line preventing the Owls from taking the lead in a game that was tied 13-13 at the time.

THEY WERE THE BEST IN BACK-TO-BACK SEASONS: Coast Guard was 16-2 the last two seasons during the regular season for an .888 winning percentage which is the best in the 84 year history of football at the Academy. The prior best two-year regular season record was posted in 1996 and 1997 when the Bears were 17-3 for an .850 winning percentage.

POINTS WILL BE AT A PREMIUM: Mass. Maritime and Coast Guard are the bottom two teams in scoring offense and total offense in the NEFC. The Bucs are averaging 13 points and a league-low 219.5 yards per game while the Bears are scoring 10 points and have 247.7 yards per game.

SCOUTING COAST GUARD: The Bears look to run their Bogan Division winning streak to 16 straight in front of the Homecoming Crowd.

Senior running back Steve Arguelles leads the Bears ground attack with 44 carries and 208 yards while senior quarterback Niles Pierson is second on the team with 36 carries for 57 yards and three of the Bears’ four rushing touchdowns. The other rushing touchdown is from backup quarterback, freshman Jarrod Owens, who scored his first collegiate touchdown, a seven-yard run in the win on Saturday.

Pierson is 46 of 80 for 361 yards with four interceptions while Owens is 10 of 22 for 61 yards and one interception. Coast Guard has yet to score a passing touchdown this season.

Junior wide receiver Sam England leads the team with 22 receptions for 193 yards while juniors Cale Cooper and Dan Lagdon each have eight catches on the season.

Coast Guard is averaging 247.7 yards per game, 107 rushing and 140.7 passing.

The Bears defense is allowing 24.3 points, second best in the Bogan Division and 339.7 yards per game.

Sophomore linebacker Kyle Ennis leads the team with 33 tackles, 22 solo and four for loss while NEFC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, senior linebacker Brian Yurovich is second with 26 tackles, 18 solo.

SCOUTING MASS. MARITIME: The Buccaneers look to pickup their first win of the season and snap a slide of six straight losses to Coast Guard.

Freshman quarterback Nick Montalto leads the Bucs on the ground with 58 carries and 153 yards with two touchdowns while junior Brandon Payne is second with 32 carries, 126 yards and a team-high three touchdowns. Mass. Maritime is last in the NEFC with just 64.5 rushing yards per game. The Bucs are also last in total offense with 219.5 yards per game.

Montalto is 20 of 34 for 191 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions on the season. Senior James McFarland and Colin Teehan each have six receptions to lead the team.

The Buccaneers defense is allowing Bogan Division lows with 22.2 points and 319.8 yards per game. Junior free safety Nick Stralka leads the team with 42 tackles, 25 solo.

NEXT WEEK: Coast Guard travels to Fitchburg State on Saturday, Oct. 11th for an NEFC Bogan Division game with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m.