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Football - Curry (10-0) at Coast Guard (8-1) NEFC Championship Game (GAME NOTES) |
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ON THE AIR: live video and audio webcast CLICK HERE (pregame at 11:45)
THE SERIES: This is the first meeting between the two schools.
LAST WEEK: Sophomore quarterback Niles Pierson, making his second career start, tied a school record as he threw four touchdown passes and also ran for one, the first five touchdowns of his career, leading Coast Guard to its eighth straight win, a 42-21 win over Framingham State in a New England Football Conference Bogan Division game, the regular season finale for both team. Pierson was 24 for 33 with 288 yards with the four touchdown passes and the one touchdown run. He left the game with the Bears ahead 42-14 after three quarters.
Curry scored 23 consecutive points to turn a 21-6 UMass Dartmouth advantage into a 29-21 lead with 5:15 remaining and the Colonels remained unbeaten with a 43-34 shootout win. Curry rolled up 518 yards of total offense, 300 rushing while allowing 452 yards, 299 of those in the air. Senior Jarrad Jordan led the Colonels with 20 carries for 178 yards and a touchdown while sophomore Ryan Van De Giesen was 12 of 22 for 218 yards and four touchdowns, three of them went to junior Felix Borukhov, who caught four passes for 106 yards.
BEARS ARE STREAKING: Coast Guard, which had won just three games in the past two seasons combined, is riding an eight-game winning streak for the first time since the Bears won the all eight regular season games in 1963. Coast Guard has never won nine straight games in a single-season.
IT’S A HISTORIC WIN STREAK: In the 83 year history of Coast Guard Academy football only one time has a team won eight straight regular season games in a season. The only other team to win eight straight regular season games was the 1963 team which posted a perfect 8-0 mark in the regular season before losing to Western Kentucky 27-0 in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando under head coach Otto Graham. The 1988 team won eight straight as they won the final seven regular season games and won the ECAC North Championship beating Plymouth State 28-19 for their eighth straight win.
SENIORS MORE THAN DOUBLE UP: The Coast Guard Academy senior class entered this season with seven wins (7 wins, 20 losses) in the last three years. The Bears are 8-1 this season.
SUCCESS IN LEAGUE PLAY: Coast Guard won all seven league games this season for the first time since the 1997 season when the Bears went a perfect 6-0 in the Freedom Football Conference and won their second straight league title. In 1997, Coast Guard also advanced to the NCAA Playoffs for the second straight season. Coast Guard was a combined 0-14 in league play as a member of the Liberty League in 2004 and 2005.
MAKING THE MOST OF AN OPPORTUNITY: Sophomore Niles Pierson tied a school record by throwing four touchdown passes, the first four of his career, in the win over Framingham State on Saturday. Pierson, making just his second career start, also had the first rushing touchdown of his career. He completed 24 of 33 passes for 288 yards.
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Coast Guard features the nation’s top thief in freshman Steve Arguelles, who had three more interceptions on Saturday to tie the single-season school record with 11. His 11 interceptions (1.2 game) are the most in Division III. In fact, his 11 interceptions are the most in Divisions I, II and III. The Coast Guard single-season record of 11 interceptions was held by Bill Bryant in 1973 and Ron Davies in 1989.
A TEAM OF HIS OWN: Steve Arguelles has 11 interceptions which is more than or equal to nine of the 16 teams in the NEFC. Coast Guard leads the way with 22.
IT’S AN HONOR: Sophomore quarterback Niles Pierson and freshman free safety Steve Arguelles were named to the NEFC weekly honor roll for their performances in the 42-21 win over Framingham State.
BEARS REMAIN AT 5TH IN TOP 10 POLL: Coast Guard has won eight straight games and the Bears are ranked 5th for the second straight in the latest New England Division III Football Poll. Springfield edged out Williams for the top spot as the Pride got seven of the 15 first place votes and 140 total points, one more total point than Williams.
2006 NEW ENGLAND DIVISION III POLL
(first place votes in parenthesis)
Team Record Points
1-Springfield 8-1 140 (7)
2-Williams 7-0 139 (5)
3-Curry 10-0 124 (3)
4-Trinity 6-1 107
5-Coast Guard 8-1 90
6-Bridgewater State 7-2 63
7-Middlebury 5-2 60
8-Amherst 5-2 56
9-Maine Maritime 6-3 18
10-Western Conn. 5-4 17
SCOUTING COAST GUARD: The Bears, ranked 5th in New England, look to win their record ninth straight and return to the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since the 1997 season.
The big question of the week is who will be the starting quarterback? Will it be junior Christian George has missed the last two games with an injury or backup Niles Pierson? Pierson threw four touchdowns and ran for another, the first five touchdowns of his career, while connecting on 24 for 33 for 288 yards in the win over Framingham State?
George, who leads the NEFC with 219.6 yards of total offense per game, is 71 of 133 for 922 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions. The speedy George has also carried 98 times for 615 yards and nine touchdowns.
Pierson is 35 of 56 for 404 yards with four touchdowns and one interceptions while also rushing 21 times for 29 yards and a score.
Coast Guard has a duo of talented running backs in junior Lance Lynch and senior co-captain Josh Williams. Lynch, who has a team-high 129 carries, leads the team with 647 yards with two touchdowns and he also has 13 catches for 104 yards out of the backfield. Williams has carried 76 times for 456 yards and nine touchdowns.
Junior Erik Wyrick leads the team with 25 catches for 339 yards and two touchdowns while freshman Sam England is second on the team with 21 catches for 246 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore David Sauls (17 catches, 260 yards) leads the team with three touchdown receptions after catching two last week.
Coast Guard is averaging 359.4 yards per game, second in the NEFC and 25.8 points per game, third best in the conference. The Bears are averaging 209.4 rushing yards per game and 150 passing yards per game.
Sophomore inside linebacker Jack Gill is third in the NEFC with 95 tackles, a league-best 66 solo, and a team-high 6.5 for loss to go with three sacks and one interception. His 7.3 solo tackles per game rank him second nationally and tops in the NEFC. Senior co-captain outside linebacker Tim Leber is second on the team with 66 tackles, 40 solo with a team-high five sacks. Freshman cornerback Keenan Prather is third on the team with 52 tackles, 41 solo, four for loss with five pass breakups and two interceptions. Coast Guard has 17 sacks as a team and a league-high 22 interceptions.
Free safety Steve Arguelles leads the nation and has 11 of the Bears 22 interceptions this season. The talented freshman is also a dangerous kick returner as he has returned four punts for 78 yards and is averaging 27.2 yards on five kickoff returns.
The Coast Guard defense is eighth nationally in turnover margin (+1.4). The Bears are allowing 313.3 yards per game, 161.2 on the ground and 152.1 in the air. Coast Guard is allowing 14.1 points per game which is the least in the Bogan Division.
Preseason All-America junior punter Jesse Harms leads the NEFC and is third nationally with a 41.9 yard average this season on 40 punts. Harms was sixth in the nation with a 42.1 yard average last season.
Junior kicker David Lieberman has missed just one PAT all season, making 31 of 32 on the season.
SCOUTING CURRY: The Colonels, ranked third in New England, are a perfect 10-0 this season. The Colonels look to win the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Championship for the fourth straight season. Curry beat Fitchburg State in the last two championship games, 17-14 in double overtime last year and 17-7 in 2004. The Colonels beat Westfield State 36-0 in the 2003 NEFC Championship Game.
Curry leads the NEFC in scoring offense (31.6), scoring defense (11.7), rushing defense (61.5 ypg.) and total defense (195.8 ypg). The Colonels are third in rushing offense (216.8 ypg) and total offense (346 ypg.). Curry is sixth nationally in total defense.
Sophomore quarterback Ryan Van De Giesen lead the potent Curry offensive attack. Van De Giesen is 78 of 175 for 1,203 yards with a league-best 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Van De Giesen has also carried 76 time for 221 yards and five touchdowns.
His favorite target is sophomore wide receiver Brian Taylor (26 catches, 513 yards, 5 TD) while junior wide receiver Felix Borukhov (24 catches, 348 yards) leads the team with nine touchdown receptions.
Senior Jarrad Jordan (111 carries, 760 yards, nine TD) and sophomore Steve DiFabio (150 carries, 710 yards, six touchdowns) give the Colonels a one-two punch out of the backfield.
Curry’s defense is led by senior linebacker Sean Crowley and his 63 tackles, 50 solo. He leads the NEFC with 20 tackles for loss and 11 sacks to go with five forced fumbles.
Senior Patrick Cronin has eight of the team’s 12 interceptions on the season.
Junior David Vincent has connected on six of eight field goal attempts with a long of 32 yards. He has also hit 34 of 40 PAT’s this season.
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