Home  Football Football - Bears Win NEFC Bogan Division Crown
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Football - Bears Win NEFC Bogan Division Crown |
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 Junior David Lieberman's field goal were the only points of the game
Coast Guard improves to 7-1 overall and remains a perfect 6-0 in NEFC Bogan Division play. Maine Maritime had its four-game win streak snapped and they drop to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the division.
Coast Guard will host Boyd Division Champion Curry on Nov. 11th in the NEFC Championship Game at noon. The winner will get the automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs.
The kickoff temperature at 45 degrees, the sometimes heavy rain and winds in excess of 25 miles per hour made for difficult playing conditions for both teams throughout the game.
Leading the way defensively for the Coast Guard Bears were senior co-captain Tim Leber and sophomore linebacker Jack Gill, who each registered a season-high 15 tackles, Leber had two sacks while Gill added one sack.
The only scoring play of the game came at the 6:09 mark of the second quarter when David Lieberman ended a 15 play, 58-yard drive by kicking a field goal from 18 yards out.
The one-two punch of quarterback Brandon Hamilton and fullback Jim Bower tried to get the Mariners back into the game, rushing a combined 50 times for 200 yards on the ground. The closest MMA got to scoring was when they got to the Coast Guard 33-yard line on an 11 play drive that covered 62 yards but ended with the Mariners turning the ball over on downs with 9:57 left in the fourth quarter.
Leading the way for the Bears was senior co-captain Josh Williams who ran 11 times for 77 yards, including a game long 64 yard rush on the Bears first play from scrimmage. Junior Lance Lynch added another 69 yards on 11 carries.
Sophomore quarterback Niles Pierson, making his first career start in place of the injured Christian George, threw the ball 18 times, completing 6 passes for a total of 73 yards. He also carried nine times for 10 yards.
The Coast Guard defense was tremendous all afternoon long. Maine Maritime crossed the 50-yard line just once in the first half and that was on the final drive, which stalled at the Coast Guard 49-yard line. The Mariners punted all six times they had the ball in the first half.
Coast Guard had an impressive drive to start the second half, but Pierson fumbled on the Mariner 20-yard line.
Maine Maritime fumbled on its first two possessions of the second half as freshman Steve Arguelles and junior Chris Hunt recovered fumbles for the Bears.
Coast Guard junior All-America punter Jesse Harms, who had a solid game (43.1 yard average), boomed a 67-yard punt that rolled dead at the Mariners 6-yard line on the final play of the third quarter.
Maine Maritime put together its best drive of the game as the Mariners crossed midfield for just the second time all game, getting down to the Coast Guard 33-yard line where Leber stopped Hamilton on 4th and two with 9:57 left in the game.
Harms then boomed a 56-yard punt which pinned the Mariners at the 11-yard line.
The Mariners got out to the 38-yard line, but had to punt it back to Coast Guard with just 3:53 left in the game.
Maine Maritime would get the ball back at its own 33-yard line with 1:20 left. Leber sacked Hamilton on first down and senior Cosimo Cambi interepted Hamilton on 4th-and-19 to secure the win.
Coast Guard finished with 250 total yards, 177 rushing while Maine Maritime had 235 yards of total offense, 224 on the ground.
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