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Game #7 Preview - First Place On the Line Again as Bears Travel to Worcester |
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 Senior left guard Nick Hartmann and the offensive line have allowed just three sacks which is best in the nation.
Oct. 20, 2007, John Coughlin Memorial Field, 4:30
ON THE AIR: Audio broadcast available at www.sportsjuice.com. There is a video webcast available for $5.95 at www.mascac.tv.
THE SERIES: Coast Guard leads 2-0.
LAST YEAR: Christian George carried 20 times for 172 yards and both Coast Guard touchdowns leading the Bears to their sixth straight win, a 17-10 victory over Worcester State in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division game.
Coast Guard, which scored on its first three possessions, improved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 and alone atop the NEFC’s Bogan Division.
The Bears dominated the first 30 minutes rolling up 260 yards of total offense, 190 on the ground while holding Worcester State to 76 yards of total offense and just five rushing yards.
On its second possession of the second half, Worcester State went 78 yards in just nine plays with sophomore quarterback Pat Good (18 of 37, 201 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT) throwing an 11-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Matt DeRosa (7 catches, 95 yards) to cut the lead to 17-7 with 5:38 left in the the third quarter.
Following an exchange of punts, the Bears were forced to punt again for just the second time all game and the Lancers took over at their 45-yard line with 14:44 to go in the fourth quarter. The Lancers were driving and the momentum seemed to swing toward Worcester State, but on a 1st and 10 from the Coast Guard 17-yard line, senior Jonathan Godfroy (12 carries, 67 yards) got to the 10-yard line and fumbled as senior Cosimo Cambi forced the fumble and sophomore Brian Field recovered for Coast Guard, taking the momentum back.
George (9 of 19, 88 yards, 3 INT) had to leave the game with an injury and sophomore Niles Pierson (2 for 2, 11 yards) took over at quarterback for Coast Guard. The Worcester State defense stepped up and forced a Coast Guard punt, but on the Lancers second play following the punt, Coast Guard free safety Steve Arguelles intercepted his Division III leading, eighth pass of the season giving the ball back to Coast Guard.
The Bears were forced to punt again, but again the defense came up big as senior Russ Newkirk came up with Coast Guard’s third interception of the game with just 3:55 left.
Following another Coast Guard punt, Worcester State went 39 yards and Tom Gabriel kicked a 35-yard field goal with 18 seconds left.The onsides kick was recovered by Coast Guard’s Jack Gill to seal the win for the Bears.
Junior Lance Lynch carried 21 times for 81 yards for Coast Guard. Freshman Sam England (45 yards) and junior Erik Wyrick (32 yards) each had four receptions for Coast Guard.
LAST WEEK: Senior quarterback Christian George carried 26 times for a career-high 194 yards including the game winning touchdown, a three-yard run with 8:31 left as defending New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division champion Coast Guard beat Bridgewater State 24-21 in the battle of division unbeatens infront of a Parent’s Weekend crowd.
The Worcester State defense forced seven Fitchburg State turnovers and the Lancers scored the final 19 points of the game enroute to a 36-21 win. Worcester State’s ground attack was led by freshman running back Garrett Jones, who carried 38 times for 145 yards. Junior quarterback Pat Good threw for 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 19-of-35 passing with one interception.
BEARS MOVE UP TO 5TH IN NEW ENGLAND POLL: Coast Guard, jumped one spot to fifth in the New England Division III Poll after the 24-21 win over Bridgewater State. Curry remained the # 1 team as the Colonels received 13 of the 15 first place votes and 144 points overall. The other NEFC team in the poll is Plymouth State (3rd/120 points) which will play at Curry this week. Coast Guard received 88 total points up from 63 points last week.
BREAKING DOWN THE BOGAN DIVISION: It is pretty simple for Coast Guard, win the next two games and win the Bogan Division, no matter what happens in the season finale at Framingham State. Coast Guard is 4-0 in division play with three teams, Bridgewater State, Worcester State and Maine Maritime all a game back at 3-1. With back-to-back wins the next two weeks, Coast Guard would give both Worcester State and Maine Maritime its second loss of the season. If Bridgewater State wins its next two, they would be 5-1 and Coast Guard would be 6-0 with a game to play, so if Coast Guard lost its last game of the season and Bridgewater State won, the two teams would both be 6-1, but Coast Guard would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Bogan Division champion will play at the Boyd Division champion on Nov. 10th in the NEFC Championship game with the winner getting an automatic bid to the Division III NCAA playoffs.
GEORGE EARNS WEEKLY HONOR AGAIN: Coast Guard Academy senior quarterback Christian George was named the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Co-Offensive Player of the Week after earning the honors all to himself the week before. George carried 26 times for a career-high 194 yards including the game winning touchdown, a three-yard run with 8:31 left as defending New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division champion Coast Guard beat Bridgewater State 24-21. George rushed for 43 yards and passed for 28 yards in Coast Guard’s 22-play, 98-yard drive in the third quarter which gave the Bears a 17-14 lead. He also threw a 23-yard touchdown pass with just 38 seconds left in the 2nd quarter and Coast Guard only trailed 14-10 at halftime. He finished with 245 yards of total offense. He converted a pair of 4th downs, with first down runs in both of Coast Guard’s second half touchdown drives. He also had a 37-yard run in the game winning drive which put the ball at the Bridgewater State 18-yard line. This is the second straight season that George earned Player of the Week honors vs. Bridgewater State as last season, he scored the game winning touchdown, a two-yard run with 50 seconds left for a 21-17 win. George earned NEFC Bogan Division Offensive Player of the Week honors three times last season.
GEORGE ECLIPES 1,000 YARDS RUSHING FOR CAREER: Christian George went over the 1,000 yard rushing mark for his career on Saturday as he totaled 194 yards giving him 1,189 yards in 12 games at quarterback. He started his career as a wide receiver. He was a defensive back as as freshman and was moved to wide receiver as a sophomore and he led the team with 40 receptions for 513 yards and five touchdowns.
VOTE FOR GEORGE: Christian George is making a statement for NEFC Bogan Division Offensive Player of the Years honors once again. He was named the Bogan Division’s Unanimous Offensive Player of the Year last season. This year, he leads the Bears with 565 yards rushing and six touchdowns while throwing for 695 yards and five scores. He is currently fourth in the conference in total offense with 210 yards per game, he leads all quarterbacks with 94.2 rushing yards per game to go with his 115.8 passing yards per game. He went over the 1,000 yard rushing mark for his career on Saturday. Bridgewater State head coach Chuck Denune, who has seen George score game winning touchdowns against him in each of the last two seasons, told The Day following Saturday’s win “He can’t graduate soon enough. He’s a tremendous player and from what everyone tells me he’s a great young man. He makes things happen.” Looks like George already has one vote.
BEARS CONTINUE TO WIN THE CLOSE ONES WITH GEORGE LEADING THE WAY: Coast Guard won its third game of the season by five points or less on Saturday. Coast Guard also won three games by four points or less last season. The Bears are now 6-0 in games decided by five points or less over the past two seasons. Christian George has scored the game winning touchdown in four of those games while the other two have been 3-0 victories with field goals by David Lieberman. This is a change from year’s past as prior to the 2005 season, the only three close games the Bears played in the 2004 and 2005 seasons were losses, a 34-33 loss to St. Lawrence and a 35-28 loss to WPI in 2004 and the memorable heartbreaking 7-0 loss to Union in 2005.
BEARS LOOK TO MAKE IT A DOZEN: Defending NEFC Bogan Division champion Coast Guard won its 11th 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 4-0 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.
BEARS LOOK TO TAKE THE OFFENSIVE SHOW ON THE ROAD : The Coast Guard offense has scored 40 points per game at home this season and 36 points per game in the last seven home games dating back to last season. However, the Bears have struggled to score points on the road as they have scored just 25 total points or 8.3 points per game in the last three road games dating back to last season.
LYNCH APPROACHING MILESTONE: Senior running back Lance Lynch is closing in on 2,000 career rushing yards. He has 1,892 rushing yards, just 108 shy of 2,000 career yards. He is second on the team this season with 86 carries and 382 yards with two touchdowns.
LIEBERMAN BREAKS RECORD: Senior kicker David Lieberman was a perfect three for three on extra points on Saturday and he now has 73 career extra points breaking the Coast Guard Academy career record held by Ed Daniels, who had 70 from 1949-1952. Lieberman is a perfect 19 for 19 on extra points and he has made seven of nine field goal attempts. He is the only kicker in the conference not to miss a PAT this season.
SCOUTING COAST GUARD: Coast Guard, ranked 5th in New England, coming off its biggest win of the season, again faces its biggest game of the year as the Bears visit Worcester State with first place in the Bogan Division on the line once again as a Lancer victory could create as much as a four-way tie for first place in the division.
Coast Guard, which has won four straight this season and 11 straight NEFC Bogan Division games is averaging 30.3 points and 383.5 yards per game, 208.5 rushing and 175 passing.
Senior quarterback Christian George leads Coast Guard with 94 carries, 565 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns while completing 55 of 114 passes for 695 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Junior quarterback Niles Pierson, who will spell George for a series or two each game, is 28 of 58 for 355 yards with five touchdown passes and four interceptions.
Senior running back Lance Lynch is second on the team with 86 carries, 382 yards and two touchdowns. Lynch is third on the team with 14 receptions for 237 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Sam England leads the team with 25 receptions for 351 yards and five touchdowns while sophomore running back Matt Keith is second with 16 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bears offensive line has allowed just three sacks this season which is best in the nation.
The Coast Guard defense is allowing 23 points per game and 395.7 yards per game. The Bears are allowing 145.2 rushing yards per game and a league-high 250.5 passing yards per game.
Sophomore cornerback Pat Bennett leads the team with 44 tackles, 37 solo while junior linebacker Brian Yurovich is second with 42 tackles, 23 solo, 3.5 for loss and two sacks. Freshman linebacker Kyle Ennis is third with 40 stops, 31 solo, 2.5 for loss and two sacks. Sophomore Doug Piper (29 tackles) leads the team with 4.5 tackles for loss.
Coast Guard has several special teams weapons as the Bears have one of the top punters in the nation in senior Jesse Harms, who leads the NEFC with a 41.5 yard average. Senior kicker David Lieberman is seven for nine on field goals and a perfect 19-for-19 on extra points this season. Sophomore Steve Arguelles is second in the conference with a 25 yard kick return average.
SCOUTING WORCESTER STATE: The Lancers look to grab a share of first place in the Bogan Division with a victory in front of the Homecoming crowd.
Worcester State is averaging 22.9 points and 282 yards per game, 204.9 passing yards per game, but a Bogan Division low 77.1 rushing yards per game.
Junior quarterback Pat Good is 112 of 216 for 1,374 yards with 13 touchdowns and a league high 14 interceptions. His favorite target is sophomore wide receiver Craig Hill, who has 30 receptions for 406 yards with four touchdowns. Junior tight end Scott Pollard is second on the team with 24 receptions for 313 yards and a team-high six touchdowns.
Freshman running back Garrett Jones leads the Lancers with 135 carries, 422 yards and four touchdowns.
The Lancer defense which has forced a league-best 25 turnovers and has a league-high 20 sacks this season, is allowing 22.6 points and 334.9 yards per game, 148.4 rushing per game and 184.4 passing yards per game.
Senior linebacker Tim Bartucca leads the defense with 53 tackles, 32 solo while junior linebacker Nick Gallant is second with 52 stops, 34 solo. Junior defensive back Matt Leeds leads the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
NEXT WEEK: Coast Guard hosts Maine Maritime in the final regular season home game of the season on Saturday with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m. |
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