|
Football - Game #4 Preview: Bears Travel to Mass. Maritime |
|
|
 NEFC Defensive Player of the Week Brian Michka and the Bears take on Mass. Maritime this week.
Sept. 29th, Edward Ellis Field, Buzzards Bay, Mass., 1 p.m.
ON THE AIR: no broadcast.
THE SERIES: Coast Guard leads 7-1.
LAST MEETING: Christian George combined for over 300 yards of total offense for the second straight week and freshman free safety Steve Arguelles had a career-high three interceptions including a 37-yard return for a touchdown as Coast Guard scored 35 points or more for the third straight week for the first time in the 83-year history of the football program and won its third straight beating Massachusetts Maritime 41-0 on Parent’s Weekend.
George was 16 of 32 for a career-high 235 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 72 yards on 13 carries.
Josh Williams (7 carries, 47 yards, 2 TD) opened the scoring on a one-yard run with 3:53 left in the first quarter, capping an eight-play, 59 yard drive.
The Coast Guard defense forced Mass. Maritime (2-2, 1-1) to go three-and-out on the next series and the Bears offense went 77 yards in just five plays capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass from George to sophomore Erik Wyrick, his first career touchdown reception, for a 14-0 lead with 15 seconds left in the first quarter. Wyrick caught a career-high five passes for 77 yards to lead Coast Guard.
Mass. Maritime went three-and-out once again and the Bears marched 48 yards in seven plays with George throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to Sam England, his first career touchdown, giving Coast Guard a 21-0 lead with 11:54 left in the first half. England had career-highs with four catches and 71 yards.
Coast Guard had 348 yards of total offense in the first half while Mass. Maritime was held to just 63 yards.
The Bears (3-1, 2-0) would explode for 20 points in the fourth quarter as Williams scored on a 22-yard run with 12:34 left, the final series for the Coast Guard starters.
Junior Lance Lynch, who led the Bears with 91 yards on 13 carries, scored on a three-yard run with 9:16 left in the game before Arguelles capped his big day with a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown with 7:32 left in the game.
The Bears totaled 468 yards of total offense, 257 on the ground and 242 in the air. Mass. Maritime was held to 162 yards of total offense, 109 rushing, 53 passing.
Freshman quarterback David Hike was 10 of 24 for 53 yards with four interceptions. The Bears defense had five interceptions on the day as senior Russ Newkirk had his first career interception while Pat Bennett had the other Bears interception.
LAST WEEK: Pat Bennett returned the second half kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown and Keenan Prather returned an interception 28 yards for a score later in the third quarter as Coast Guard took a 35-0 lead and cruised to a 42-14 win over Westfield State in the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division opener for both teams.
Mass. Maritime had its two-game winning streak snapped with a 24-7 home loss to Worcester State in the Bogan Division opener for both teams.
BEARS 8TH IN NEW ENGLAND POLL: Coast Guard made its 2007 debut in the New England Division III Poll after a 42-14 win over Westfield State, the Bears are ranked 8th in New England. WPI is the #1 team for the second straight week as the Engineers received nine of the 15 first place votes and 144 points overall. Other NEFC teams in the poll are Curry (2nd/133 points) and Plymouth State (4th/86 points). Coast Guard received 41 total points.
EIGHT STRAIGHT: Defending NEFC Bogan Division champion Coast Guard won its eighth straight Bogan Division game on Saturday, the Bears were a perfect 7-0 vs. division opponents last season, their first season in the league, and are now 1-0 in 2007.
SUCCESS IN LEAGUE PLAY: Coast Guard won all seven league games last 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.
DOMINATING THE BUCS: Coast Guard has enjoyed great success against Mass. Maritime in the last five years. The Bears have dominated all five meetings and outscored the Buccaneers 204-21 with three shutouts.
MICHKA NAMED NEFC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior linebacker Brian Michka was named the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Bears 42-14 win over Westfield State on Saturday. Michka led Coast Guard with 13 tackles, eight solo, two for loss, one sack, a forced fumble and a pass breakup as Coast Guard remained perfect in NEFC Bogan Division play winning its eighth straight division game dating back to last season. Coast Guard’s defense held the NEFC’s top passing offense, Westfield State to just 195 yards, well below its 314 yards per game, while forcing three turnovers including a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore Keenan Prather.
PB AND J: Pat Bennett and Jesse Harms were key special teams performers in the win over Westfield State. Bennett returned the second half kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, the first of his career while Harms had four punts for an eye-popping 46.2 yard average including a 66-yard bomb that was downed at the five-yard line. Harms now leads the NEFC with a 41.9 yard average on the season. Coast Guard leads the NEFC averaging 22.8 yards per kickoff return this season.
SAM’S IN THE HOUSE: Sophomore wide receiver Sam England had his team-high fourth touchdown reception on Saturday. He has made a habit of taking it to the house as he has scored in every game this season and he has scored a touchdown in six straight games dating back to last season, as he scored in the final three games of the 2006 season. The last game that England did not score a touchdown in, the entire team did not score a touchdown, a 3-0 win over Maine Maritime in rainy, windy weather on Oct. 28th of last season.
PAIR OF BEARS SCORE 100TH CAREER POINT: A pair of seniors recorded their 100th career point on Saturday. Senior quarterback Christian George scored a pair of touchdowns to give him 18 touchdowns for 108 career points while senior kicker David Lieberman was a perfect six for six on extra point attempts to give him 102 career points. Lieberman has converted 63 extra points while kicking 13 field goals in his career.
LIEBERMAN APPROACHING A RECORD: Senior kicker David Lieberman now has 63 career extra points. The Coast Guard Academy career record for PAT’s is 70 held by Ed Daniels, who did it from 1949-1952.
SCOUTING COAST GUARD: The Bears bounced back following a subpar performance at Plymouth State with solid games from both the offense and the defense in the win over Westfield State.
Coast Guard looks to remain unbeaten in NEFC Bogan Division play this weekend before returning home for Fitchburg State on Homecoming Weekend.
The Bears have the third highest scoring offense in the NEFC averaging 32.3 points per game while averaging a very balanced 375.7 yards per game, 188 passing and 187.7 rushing while allowing a league low three sacks.
Senior quarterback Christian George is averaging 195 yards of total offense per game. He is 28 of 56 for 395 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for 190 yards and a team-high four rushing touchdowns on 38 carries. Junior quarterback Niles Pierson, who also sees action under center, is 16 of 36 for 169 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Senior Lance Lynch leads the Bears on the ground with 46 carries and 248 yards with one touchdown. Lynch also has nine receptions for 139 yards.
Sophomore Sam England is the Bears top receiver with 14 receptions for 205 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore running back Matt Keith is second with 11 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears defense came up big after allowing 69 points in the first two games by pitching a shutout in the first half on Saturday and allowing just a pair of second half touchdowns.
Coast Guard is allowing 27.7 points and 386.3 yards per game, 166 on the ground and 220.3 in the air.
Sophomore cornerback Pat Bennett leads the team with 22 tackles, 19 solo while reigning NEFC Defensive Player of the Week junior linebacker Brian Michka and junior linebacker Brian Yurovich each have 21 tackles this season. Yurovich leads the team with 3.5 tackles for loss while Michka has three tackles behind the line of scrimmage. The Bears defense has 11 sacks on the the season with Cal Robards, William Bulow and Yurovich leading the way with two each.
The Bears have plenty of special teams weapons as they feature the NEFC’s top punter in senior Jesse Harms with a 41.9 yard average. Senior kicker David Lieberman is perfect on the season, he is nine for nine on PAT’s and two for two on field goal attempts. Sophomore Steve Arguelles is fourth in the conference with a 20.4 average on kickoff returns as the Bears are tops in the NEFC with 22.8 yards per kickoff return.
SCOUTING MASS. MARITIME: The Buccaneers feature one of the NEFC’s top defenses as they are allowing a league-low 12.5 points per game. Mass. Maritime also leads the Bogan Division in total yards allowed (285.5 per game) and rushing yards allowed (107.5).
Junior linebacker Kyle Audette leads the team with 35 tackles, 26 solo and a team-best 7.5 tackles for loss while senior linebacker A.J. Flemmi is second with 34 stops, 18 solo. Freshman linebacker Jim Erlwein leads the team with three sacks.
The Buccaneers offense is last in the Bogan Division with 16.2 points per game and 251 total yards per game, 139.2 rushing and 111.8 passing per game.
Sophomore Kevin Berthiaume leads the Bucs on the ground with 64 carries, 350 yards and three touchdowns.
NEXT WEEK: Coast Guard returns home for Homecoming Weekend as the Bears host Fitchburg State with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. |
|
