|
Game # 8 Preview - Bears Battle First Place Maine Maritime |
|
|
 Steve Arguelles had four touchdowns in the loss to Maine Maritime last season. (photo by Paul Duddy)
OCT. 31, CADET MEMORIAL FIELD, 1 P.M.
ON THE AIR: There is an audio broadcast at www.sportsjuice.com.
THE SERIES: Coast Guard leads 4-2.
LAST YEAR: Junior running back Steve Arguelles tied a school-record with three touchdown catches, the first three of his career, all in the third quarter, and he scored four times on the afternoon, but Coast Guard lost 42-34 at Maine Maritime in a NEFC Bogan Division game.
Maine Maritime junior running back Jim Bower ran for a game high 131 yards on 30 carries and scored a touchdown.
The Bears led 24-14 lead in the third quarter before the Mariners answered the call scoring the next two touchdowns and regaining the lead at 26-24. Coast Guard scored a minute and a half later when Pierson (28 rushes for 116 yards) connected with Arguelles from 14 yards out giving the Bears the 31-26 lead going into the fourth quarter.
MMA opened up the fourth with a Jon Farrin run from nine yards out and capped the drive off with a Matthew Rende two-point conversion giving MMA the 34-31 lead.
Coast Guard tied the score at 34-34 on a career long 45-yard field goal from Shackleford with just five minutes left in the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, Nick Bourassa returned the ball 45 yards to the Coast Guard 40 yard line. After six straight Bower rushes, freshman quarterback Matthew Rende completed the drive and the MMA comeback with a 1-yard dive over the right tackle to give MMA the 40-34 lead. Bourassaran the ball in for the two-point conversion and the 42-34 lead.
Maine Maritime compiled all but 34 of their 402 offensive yards on the ground while the Bears compiled 438 yards of their own.
Pierson was outstanding in the loss for Coast Guard, passing for season-high’s with 283 yards and three touchdowns while completing 24 of 34 passes.
Arguelles had 136 all-purpose yards on the day as he rushed 16 times for 54 yards and also caught a career-high five passes for 92 yards and the three scores.
Junior Sam England had 9 catches for 96 yards for the Bears.
The Coast Guard defense had impressive outings by linebackers Brian Michka, Brian Yurovich and Brian Field, all collecting 11 tackles on the afternoon. Doug Piper had eight tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery in the loss.
LAST WEEK: Senior fullback Jim Bower ran for 154 yards on 21 carries helping Maine Maritime to a 49-21 victory over visiting Framingham State. The Mariners rushed for 461 yards and scored five touchdowns on the ground while Tyler Angell threw the ball four times with three completions for 64 yards. MMA averaged 6.7 yards per rush on the day.
Junior quarterback Jesse Karr threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Eric Gerken on the first play of the fourth quarter leading Coast Guard to a come-from-behind 17-14 win over Worcester State in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division game, the 300th win in the 86-year history of Coast Guard Academy football. Arguelles paced Coast Guard on the ground as he rushed 14 times for 111 yards while Karr and Webster combined for 18 carries and 92 rushing yards. Karr also went 14-for-20 with 138 yards in the air with one score and no interceptions. Freshman Jon Resch came in for the injured Karr and threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Cale Cooper for his first collegiate completion and only completion of the game. Cooper caught five passes as he led all receivers with 105 yards.
KARR MAKES HISTORY IN LOSS: Jesse Karr, who had not taken a collegiate snap before this season, threw for 335 yards in the loss to Fitchburg on Oct. 10th to become the first Coast Guard quarterback to ever throw for over 300 yards twice in his career. Karr threw for 338 yards in his first collegiate appearance, the season opener this year. Only eight quarterbacks have thrown for over 300 yards in the 86-year history of the Coast Guard football program.
ENGLAND IS SECOND TO ONE: Senior wide receiver Sam England is in second place on the Bears’ all-time list for receptions and receiving yards. England has 147 receptions for 1,870 yards. Christian Lee (1993-’96) is the Bears all-time leader with 149 receptions and 2,356 yards.
IT’S NOT HOW YOU START THE FOURTH, IT’S HOW YOU FINISH: Coast Guard has kept fans on the edge of their seats this season as six of their seven games have been decided in the fourth quarter and overtime. In fact the nine of their last ten games, including the final three of 2008, have featured lead changes in the fourth quarter. The details are below.
10/25/08 vs. Worcester State
Worcester State led 14-10 entering the 4th, Coast Guard scored a TD with 5:30 left to win 17-14.
11/1/08 @ Maine Maritime
CGA led 31-26 entering the 4th quarter, Maine scored at TD with 1:32 left to win 42-34.
11/8/08 vs. Framingham State
CGA led 23-13 entering the 4th, Framingham scored with 10 seconds left to win 25-23.
9/12/09 @ Merchant Marine
Merchant Marine led 17-16 entering the fourth, the Bears lost 33-27 in overtime.
9/19/09 @ Plymouth State
CGA led 17-14 with 9:47 left, but lost 28-17.
9/26/09 vs. Westfield State
Westfield State led 5-0 until Coast Guard scored with 32.9 seconds left to win 8-5.
10/3/09 @ Mass. Maritime
Mass. Maritime led 22-21 before Coast Guard scored with 6:14 left to win 29-22.
10/10/09 vs. Fitchburg State
CGA led 24-16 until Fitchburg scored with 28 seconds left. The Falcons won 37-34 in double overtime.
10/24/09 @ Worcester State
Worcester State led 14-10 heading into the fourth, but the Bears won 17-14.
BEARS WIN #300: Coast Guard won the 300th game in program history on Saturday. The Bears are 300-401-19 all-time.
MARINERS IN THE DRIVERS SEAT: Maine Maritime now controls its own destiny as they try to capture its second straight NEFC Bogan Division Championship. Bridgewater State was knocked off by Westfield on Saturday, putting the Mariners in charge. The Mariners are 4-1 in division play while three other teams, including Coast Guard are 3-2.
BEARS CHEERING FOR THE BEARS: The Bridgewater State Bears now must hope that the Coast Guard Bears can knock off Maine Maritime today to put them back in first in the Bogan Division. Coast Guard can also win the Bogan Division with a pair of wins and one Bridgewater State loss in the final two games.
MARINERS ARE NATION’S BEST: Maine Maritime’s success has alot of do with its potent ground attack. The Mariners have the best rushing attack in all of Division III with 402.7 yards per game. Marine Maritime is scoring 38.4 points per game which is 15th nationally and first in the New England Football Conference.
SCOUTING COAST GUARD: The Bears will be tested this week as they need to slow the Mariners top-rated rushing offense. Coast Guard is allowing a league-high 233 rushing yards per game.
Coast Guard does feature the top passing offense in the Bogan Division led by junior quarterback Jesse Karr, who leads the division with 226.1 passing yards per game.
Karr is second in total offense per game (262.4). He is 136 of 256 for 1,583 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Senior running back Steve Arguelles, who had his second 100 yard rushing day of the season on Saturday when he gained 111 yards on 14 carries, leads the Bears with 569 rushing yards on 122 carries and he has a team-high 31 receptions for 216 yards. Senior wide receiver Sam England is second on the team with 28 receptions while leading the team with 417 receiving yards to go with two touchdowns. Senior Cale Cooper, who has 19 receptions for 341 yards, leads the team with four touchdown receptions.
Coast Guard is averaging 19.7 points and 376.1 yards per game (236.9 passing).
Junior linebacker Ben Barrett leads the defense with 49 tackles, 38 solo and four for loss while senior defensive end Doug Piper is second with 44 tackles, 25 solo and team-high 4.5 for loss and two sacks. Sophomore Chris Izurieta, junior Chris Costello and freshman Andrew Russo lead the team with two interceptions each.
The Bears are allowing 23.7 points and 368.3 yards per game, 233 on the ground.
SCOUTING MAINE MARITIME: The Mariners, who lead the NEFC with 38.4 points per game and 456.9 yards per game, are ranked sixth in New England and are two wins away from playing for the NEFC Championship for the second straight season.
Maine Maritime’s powerful ground attack is led by senior fullback Jim Bower, who leads the team and is second in the NEFC with 1,148 yards (180 carries) and is tied for the league lead with 14 rushing touchdowns. Sophomore running back Nick Bourassa is second on the team with 50 carries for 541 yards with four touchdowns. The Mariners have 34 rushing touchdowns this season and have thrown the ball just 37 times in seven games.
Senior quarterback Tyler Angell is eight of 23 on the season for 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He has carried 62 times for 283 yards and four scores. Sophomore wide receiver Nate Duford leads the team with five receptions for 205 yards and two scores.
The Mariners defense is allowing 26.9 points and 363.3 yards per game, 160.4 in the air.
Senior linebacker Travis Fergola leads the team with 61 tackles, 39 solo with 3.5 tackles for loss. Senior cornerback Mike Riley, who is second on the team with 51 tackles leads the Mariners with five interceptions. Junior linebacker Wade Mondoux (50 tackles) leads the team with eight tackles for loss.
NEXT WEEK: The Bears close out the regular season at Framingham State with kickoff set for noon. |
|
