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Game #8 Preview - Bears Look to Spoil Rams Party |
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 Eric Gerken leads the NEFC in receptions and yards per game this season.
THE SERIES: Coast Guard leads 3-2.
LAST YEAR: Senior quarterback Kurt Leone threw for 320 yards and tied the school-record with five touchdown passes leading Framingham State to a 34-13 win over Coast Guard.
Framingham State set a school-record with its seventh win of the season, improving to 7-2 overall.
Junior James McCarthy, the top receiver in the NEFC, had nine receptions for 187 yards and three touchdowns for the Rams, who finished with 461 yards while Coast Guard was held to 194 total yards.
Junior safety Mark Nunes intercepted Coast Guard quarterback Jon Resch (10 of 18, 56 yards) on the Bears first possession and returned the ball 21 yards setting the Rams at the Bears 11-yard line. Senior Phil Cosmos lined up to attempt a 23-yard field goal. Sophomore Drew Russo blocked the field goal attempt to keep the game scoreless.
The Rams defense forced the Bears to punt and it took just five plays for the Rams to find the end zone. Leone hit McCarthy with a 53-yard touchdown pass. After Coast Guard blocked the extra point, the Rams led 6-0 with 9:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Coast Guard took advantage of the first turnover of the game – a fumble by Leone on the Rams 36 yard line that was recovered by senior Chris Costello. Junior Ryan Webster scampered in the end zone from two yards out, his first touchdown of the season for a 7-6 lead with 4:07 remaining in the first quarter.
Framingham State regained the lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Leone to McCarthy with eight minutes remaining in the half. Cosmos converted the extra point giving the Rams a 13-7 lead which they took into the half.
Despite turning the ball over twice in the first half, the Rams accumulated 227 yards of total offense in the first half – 147 passing and 80 rushing – to just 99 yards for the Bears.
The Rams scored 21 straight points to take a 34-7 lead before Coast Guard tacked on a touchdown with 3:41 remaining in the game as senior Jesse Karr (9 of 24, 45 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT), who came on for the injured Resch, hit junior Stephen Spotts with a two yard touchdown pass, his first career touchdown reception to close the scoring.
LAST WEEK: For the second straight week, Coast Guard lost in heartbreaking fashion, this time a missed 43-yard field goal on the final play of the game was short, and Worcester State held to win a 31-30 shootout over Coast Guard in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division game, the final home game of the season for the Bears.
The Lancers had 580 yards of total offense in the win, 298 passing and 282 rushing as Price led the way with 27 carries for 173 yards before leaving with an injury and freshman Kemani Jones had 16 carries for 82 yards replacing Price.
Russell led the Lancers with nine receptions for 119 yards and a score while Scerra had seven receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
Coast Guard finished with 364 yards of total offense, 175 passing and 189 rushing. Owens was 15 of 27 for 175 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Hames led the way on the ground with eight carries for 98 yards. Hames also led the Bears with five receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown while senior Stephen Spotts had five catches for 58 yards. Junior Eric Gerken, the leading receiver in the NEFC, was held to just two receptions for ten yards.
Framingham State remained the only unbeaten team in the NEFC Bogan Division with a 27-24 win over Westfield State. Sophomore quarterback Dino Mancinelli completed 19 of 35 passes for 274 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while senior wide receiver James McCarthy had seven catches for 185 yards and two scores. Sophomore running back Melikke Van Alstyne rushed for over 100 yards for the seventh time this season as he collected 114 yards on the ground with a touchdown.
GERKEN LOOKS TO REWRITE THE RECORD BOOKS: Eric Gerken is closing in on the single-season school record of 61 receptions set by Kelly Hatfield in 1984. He has 58 receptions for 676 yards and six touchdowns this year.
HOLLYWOOD WOULD THROW OUT THE SCRIPT: If one were to bring a script to Hollywood about a team that loses last minute heartbreakers over and over again, the story of this season for Coast Guard would not be believed. The Bears have had four games decided in the final minute. The Bears lost the season opener against Merchant Marine 35-28 on a touchdown pass with eight seconds left.
Now, in October, three of the four games have been decided in the final minute. Fitchburg State beat the Bears 28-21 on a touchdown pass with 13 seconds left on Oct. 1st.
The last two weeks, have been very painful. The Bears led Westfield State 21-17 and had the ball with under two minutes left and the Owls out of timeouts. Coast Guard fumbled the ball taking a knee on its own 3-yardline only to lose on a touchdown with 49 seconds left. Last week, the Bears trailed 31-30 and missed a 43-yard field goal on the final play of the game after driving 54 yards in 1:30 to get into field goal range.
THE PAIN HAS BEEN FELT BEFORE: This is not the only time the Bears have dropped four games in a season by seven points or less. The last time it happened was in 1992, that team lost five games by seven points or less. The Bears lost 14-12 to RPI, 24-19 to Stony Brook, 14-13 to Norwich, 8-6 to Western Connecticut and 20-13 to Plymouth State and finished the season 1-8.
A LOOK BACK ON THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST NCAA PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: In 1996, the Coast Guard Bears won the Freedom Football Conference (FFC) and made the program’s first appearance in the NCAA playoffs. The team started 1-2, but won seven straight games to end the regular season and win the FFC and earn the NCAA berth where the Bears lost 17-16 to heavily favored East Region power, College of New Jersey. Each week, we will look back at a game or games in that magical season.
In week nine of that championship season, Coast Guard jumped out to a 28-0 first quarter lead and rolled to a 52-17 win over WPI. James Jones rushed for 165 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears ran their win streak to six and kept the FFC Championship and NCAA Playoff hopes alive with a 52-27 win.
The Bears broke the single-season record for points with 322 as Dan Warren threw for 190 yards and two scores.
SCOUTING COAST GUARD: The Bears, who have dropped four straight, still play a major role in the NEFC Bogan Division championship as the spoiler. Framingham State can win its first ever Bogan Division championship with a win this week, but if Coast Guard wins, the Rams would then need to win at Worcester State next week to wrapup the division and a berth in the NEFC Championship Game on Nov. 12th.
Coast Guard features the top passing attack in the NEFC Bogan Division averaging 210.7 passing yards per game while scoring 28.3 points per game, fifth best in the conference. The Bears have allowed just four sacks on the season, the lowest in the NEFC and the Bear are second in converting third downs in the Bogan Division converting 43.9 percent of the time (43 of 98).
The offense is averaging 344.4 yards per game, 210.7 passing, 133.7 rushing.
Senior quarterback Jarrod Owens is 107 of 179 for 1,139 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions He is also second on the team with 82 carries for 224 yards with six rushing touchdowns.
Sophomore Tyler Hames leads the Bears on the ground with 96 carries for 510 yards and six touchdowns. He also has 16 receptions for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Coast Guard has the top receiver in the NEFC in junior Eric Gerken. He leads the NEFC with 8.29 receptions and 98 yards per game. He has 58 receptions and 686 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He was held to a season-low two catches for ten yards last week.
On the defensive side of the ball, Coast Guard is allowing the most total yards (449.9) and the most passing yards (232.3) per game in the NEFC. The Bears are allowing a Bogan Division-high 217.6 rushing yards per game along with 32.3 points per game this season.
Junior linebacker Curt Barrett leads the team with 54 tackles, 31 solo, to go with his team leading 10.5 tackles for loss and team-high three sacks. Senior defensive end Paul Hahn-Rauch is second with 46 tackles, 22 solo.
The Bears are the second least penalized team in the NEFC and best in the Bogan Division with just 31 penalties for 219 yards in six games.
SCOUTING FRAMINGHAM STATE: The Rams, the only undefeated team in the Bogan Division, look to win the program’s first Division title in their final home game of the season.
Framingham State has won five straight after starting the season 1-2. The Rams feature the top running back in the NEFC in sophomore Melikke Van Alstyne, who leads the league with 1,219 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has carried the ball 205 times this season.
Sophomore quarterback Dino Mancinelli is 70 of 117 for 861 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. His favorite target is senior wide receiver James McCarthy, who had 45 receptions for 548 yards and eight touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Alexander Avery has 25 catches for 340 yards and four scores.
The Rams are averaging 384.5 yards, 201.1 passing yards and 30.5 points per game, all of which are second best in the Bogan Division. Framingham is also averaging 182.9 yards rushing per game.
The Framingham defense is allowing just 17.4 points and 248 yards per game, 109.6 rushing yards and 138.4 passing , all of which are second best in the Bogan Division.
The Rams are holding opponents to a NEFC-low 23.5 percent conversion rate on third down (28 of 119).
Sophomore linebacker Patrick McGrath leads the team with 64 tackles, 37 solo with 3.5 for loss. Junior defensive lineman James Muirhead is second on the team with 54 stops, 32 solo while leading the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
NEXT WEEK: Coast Guard closes out the season taking the 347 mile trip to Castine, Maine to take on Maine Maritime on Saturday, Nov. 5th at noon.
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