United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Football

ECAC NORTH ATLANTIC BOWL

BRIDGEWATER STATE (7-2) at COAST GUARD (8-2), noon

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THE SERIES: Coast Guard won the only meeting 21-17 on October 14th.

LAST MEETING: Junior quarterback Christian George scored on a two-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift visiting Coast Guard Academy to a 21-17 come-from-behind victory over host Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater in the battle of NEFC Bogan Division unbeatens.
George completed 17 of 24 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 65 yards and two scores as Coast Guard not only spoiled BSC’s Homecoming festivities but also took hold of sole possession of first place in the NEFC Bogan Division. Coast Guard improved to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in divisional play, while Bridgewater fell to 4-2 and 3-1 in the Bogan Division.

LAST WEEK: Senior Jarrad Jordan earned New England Football Conference (NEFC) championship game MVP honors for the second straight year leading Boyd Division champion Curry to its fourth straight NEFC championship, a 34-28 win over Bogan Division champion Coast Guard.
Coast Guard trailed 34-7 with 3:17 left in the third quarter and battled back with three straight touchdowns before running out of time. Sophomore Niles Pierson, who won the Division II/III Gold Helmet a week ago, was 25 of 40 for a career-high 346 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions in the loss.

WIN STREAK SNAPPED: Coast Guard had its school record tying eight-game winning streak snapped in the NEFC Championship Game. The Bears also won eight straight regular season games in 1963, a 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.

NICE TO BE BACK: Coast Guard earned a trip to the postseason for the first time since the 1997 season when the Bears earned a trip to the NCAA playoffs. Coast Guard went to the NCAA playoffs in both 1996 and 1997, its only two trips in school history.

BEARS ARE BOWLING: For the first time since the 1988 season and only the second time in school history, Coast Guard will play in an ECAC Bowl game. 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 8-2 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.

A SEASONED SOPHOMORE: Sophomore Niles Pierson continued to impress in just his third career start on Saturday as he threw for a career-high 346 yards on 25 of 40 passing with three touchdowns. Pierson now has 634 passing yards and seven touchdown passes in the past two weeks.

THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Coast Guard features the nation’s top thief in freshman Steve Arguelles is who tied for the single-season season school record with 11. His 11 interceptions (1.1 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.

BEARS FINISH 5TH IN TOP 10 POLL: Coast Guard finished at 5th in the final New England Division III Football Poll. Springfield is the # 1 team with seven of 14 first place votes and 131 points.

2006 NEW ENGLAND FINAL DIVISION III POLL
(first place votes in parenthesis)
Team Record Points
1-Springfield 9-1 131 (7)
2-Williams 8-0 128 (4)
3-Curry 11-0 115 (3)
4-Trinity 7-1 101
5-Coast Guard 8-2 80
6-Middlebury 6-2 70
7-Bridgewater State 7-2 58
8-Amherst 5-3 38
9-Maine Maritime 6-3 31
10-Endicott 6-4 7

SCOUTING COAST GUARD: The Bears, ranked 5th in New England, return to postseason play for the first time since 1997 and play in an ECAC Bowl game for just the second time in school history.
Sophomore quarterback Niles Pierson is expected to start for the fourth straight week for the injured Christian George. Pierson is 60 of 96 for 750 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
Junior Erik Wyrick, who had career-highs with 10 catches and 123 yards in the loss to Curry, leads the team with 35 receptions for 462 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman Sam England is second on the team with 28 receptions for 335 yards and three touchdowns while sophomore David Sauls, who leads the team with four touchdown receptions, has 21 catches for 352 yards.
Junior Lance Lynch leads the Bears rushing attack with 674 yards on 136 carries with three touchdowns while senior co-captain Josh Williams has carried 84 times for 471 yards with nine touchdowns.
Coast Guard is averaging 26 points and 359.7 yards per game, 190.1 of those yards on the ground.
Sophomore inside linebacker Jack Gill was second in the NEFC with 102 tackles, a league-best 73 solo, and a team-high 6.5 for loss to go with three sacks, an interception and a pair of blocked punts, both last week. His 7.3 solo tackles per game rank him near the top of Division III.
Senior co-captain outside linebacker Tim Leber is second on the team with 76 tackles, 47 solo with a team-high five sacks. Freshman cornerback Keenan Prather is third on the team with 59 tackles, 48 solo, five for loss with five pass breakups and one interception. 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 six punts for 99 yards and is averaging 26.4 yards on seven kickoff returns.
The Coast Guard defense is allowing 330 yards per game, 177.9 on the ground and 152.1 in the air. Coast Guard is allowing 16.1 points per game.
Preseason All-America junior punter Jesse Harms led the NEFC with a 41.9 yard average this season on 45 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 35 of 36 on the season.

SCOUTING BRIDGEWATER: The Bears, 7th in New England, get a chance to avenge their only Bogan Division loss of the season against Coast Guard.
Bridgewater State led the NEFC in total offense with 391.8 yards per game while scoring a Bogan Division best 27.1 points per game. The Bears also feature the league’s top rushing offense with 241.7 yards per game led by sophomore Bruce Burley’s 742 yards and six touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Greg Borsari is 64 of 140 for 1,029 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He is also second on the team with 454 rushing yards on 90 carries with six touchdowns.His favorite target is junior Chris Joyce, who has 25 receptions for 377 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Jesse Teixeira (19 receptions) leads the team with 455 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
The Bridgewater State defense is allowing 16.3 points and 280.3 yards per game, 115.6 of those on the ground.
The Bears led the NEFC in turnover margin (+1.67) with 32 takeaways and 17 turnovers.
Senior defensive back Zane Fyfe leads the team with 67 tackles, 51 solo to go with five interceptions. Senior defensive tackle Mike Sirignano is second with 62 tackles, and team-highs with 14.5 for loss and eight sacks.