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Game #8 Preview - Bears Look to Win NEFC Bogan Division |
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 Lance Lynch, who had 85 yards rushing in the big third quarter last week, is just 11 yards shy of 2,000 for his career.
Oct. 27th, Cadet Memorial Field, 1:00
ON THE AIR: Audio broadcast available at www.wxlm.fm. The game will also be live on WXLM 102.3 fm locally. Pregame show will begin at 12:50 p.m.
THE SERIES: Coast Guard leads 3-1.
LAST YEAR: David Lieberman kicked an 18-yard field goal and the Coast Guard defense did the rest in the rainy, windy conditions as the Bears won their seventh straight and captured the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division Championship with a 3-0 win over Maine Maritime.
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 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.
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. Harms later boomed a 56-yard punt which pinned the Mariners at the 11-yard line.
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 intercepted 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.
LAST WEEK: Coast Guard scored 40 unanswered points, including 23 in the third quarter, turning a 10-6 deficit into a 46-10 New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division win over host Worcester State, spoiling the Lancers Homecoming festivities. Junior quarterback Niles Pierson, making his first start of the season, had a huge day for Coast Guard, which won its fifth straight, as he accounted for three touchdowns gaining 98 yards on 10 caries including a touchdown and throwing for 196 yards and a pair of TD tosses. Senior running back Lance Lynch was also impressive on the ground as he rushed for 97 yards.
Maine Maritime won its fourth straight as sophomore quarterback Tyler Angell rushed for 136 yards and threw for 140 more yards including two touchdown passes and the Mariners rushed 64 times for 278 yards in the win.
BEARS MOVE UP TO 3RD IN NEW ENGLAND POLL: Coast Guard, jumped two spots to third in the New England Division III poll after the 46-10 win over Worcester State. Curry remained the # 1 team as the Colonels received 13 of the 15 first place votes and 148 points overall. Other NEFC teams in the poll are Plymouth State (7th/78 points) and this week’s opponent Maine Maritime (9th/18 points). Coast Guard received 112 total points, up from 88 points last week.
BREAKING DOWN THE BOGAN DIVISION: It is pretty simple for Coast Guard, beat Maine Maritime and win its second straight NEFC Bogan Division championship. Maine Maritime also controls its own destiny. The Mariners needs to beat Coast Guard and then either win at Fitchburg or have Coast Guard lose at Framingham to win the division championship. The Bogan Division winner will play at the Boyd Division winner on Nov. 10th with a berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs on the line. Four time defending NEFC champion Curry leads the Boyd Division with a perfect 5-0 record. The Colonels beat Coast Guard 34-28 in the NEFC Championship game last season.
BEARS CAME OUT ROARING IN THE THIRD QUARTER ON SATURDAY: Coast Guard took control of both the game and the Bogan Division as they outscored Worcester State 23-0 in the third quarter on Saturday turning a 10-9 deficit into a 32-10 lead. It was as dominating of a performance in a quarter that you will see. The Bears outgained the Lancers 193 yards to 28, doing most of the damage on the ground as they carried 21 times for 184 yards with senior Lance Lynch leading the way with 14 carries for 85 yards in the third quarter after he carried just six times for six total yards in the first half. Senior quarterback Christian George, who had four carries for one yard in the first half, led a 12-play, 70 yard drive to open the half capped by an 11-yard touchdown run by George. Junior quarterback Niles Pierson followed with a 55-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career before sophomore Steve Arguelles intercepted a pass and returned it 67 yards for a score with 6:17 left. Senior David Lieberman closed the scoring the quarter with a 39 yard field goal. The Bears had nine first downs to Worcester State’s one in the quarter.
BEARS OFFENSE SETS THREE GAME MARK : Coast Guard has now scored 128 points in its last three games, that is the most points in a three-game span in the history of Coast Guard football. The Bears had scored 122 points in a three-game span during the 1977 season and twice scored 120 points in a three-game span.
THE BEARS ARE STREAKING: Coast Guard carries several winning streaks into this weeks game. The Bears have won five straight this season, eight straight at home and 12 straight NEFC Bogan Division games. Coast Guard’s last loss at home was a 21-5 loss to Merchant Marine in the final game of the 2005 season. The Bears have never lost a Bogan Division game since joining the NEFC last season.
VOTE FOR GEORGE: Christian George is making a statement for NEFC Bogan Division Offensive Player of the Year 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 603 yards rushing and seven touchdowns while throwing for 721 yards and five scores. He is currently fifth in the conference in total offense with 189.1 yards per game, he leads all quarterbacks with 86.1 rushing yards per game to go with his 103 passing yards per game. The stats are even more impressive when you consider that the Bears use a two-quarterback system.
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 two weeks ago against Bridgewater State. 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.
HE IS FLUTIE LIKE: Christian George has four fourth quarter comebacks in his two-year career (two last year and two more this year) a quarterback whom George reminds many of is Boston College’s Doug Flutie, who had six 4th quarter comebacks during his career, four of them came on the last drive of a game. George has three on the last drive of the game.
COACH GEORGE LOOKS TO MAKE HISTORY: Coast Guard head coach Bill George in his ninth season, is looking to become the first head coach in the 84 year history to lead the Bears to back-to-back postseason appearances. Coast Guard went to the NCAA Playoffs in both 1996 and 1997, however it was Bill Schmitz who was the head coach in 1996 and Chuck Mills, who was the head coach in 1997.
CHANCE TO BE THE BEST IN BACK-TO-BACK SEASONS: In the 84 year history of Coast Guard football, the best two-year regular season record was posted in 1996 and 1997 when the Bears were 17-3 for an .850 winning percentage. If Coast Guard wins its final two games, the Bears would be 16-2 over the past two seasons for an .888 winning percentage. Coast Guard has won 13 of its last 14 regular season games. During a stretch which covered three seasons (1996, 1997 and 1998) the Bears won 17 of 18 regular season games.
BEARS LOOK TO MAKE IT A BAKERS DOZEN: Defending NEFC Bogan Division champion Coast Guard won its 12th 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 5-0 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 OFFENSE LIKES TO PLAY AT HOME: 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. The Bears are averaging 32.6 points per game overall this season.
LYNCH APPROACHING MILESTONE: Senior running back Lance Lynch is closing in on 2,000 career rushing yards. He has 1,989 rushing yards, just 11 shy of 2,000 career yards. He is second on the team this season with 107 carries and 479 yards with two touchdowns.
PUTTING THE STUDENT IN STUDENT ATHLETE: Three members of the Coast Guard Academy football team have been nominated for Academic All-America honors given by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Junior quarterback Niles Pierson, who carries a 3.76 GPA in Civil Engineering, junior linebacker Brian Yurovich, who has a 3.33 GPA in Operations Research and Computer Analysis along with senior offensive lineman Matt Krueger who sports a 3.23 GPA as a Government major, were all on the district ballots.
SCOUTING COAST GUARD: Coast Guard, ranked 3rd in New England, has had back-to-back games with first place on the line, this week is no different as the Bears host Maine Maritime, a game in which the winner will hold first place. The Bears can wrap up their second consecutive NEFC Bogan Division championship with a win.
Coast Guard, which has won five straight this season and 12 straight NEFC Bogan Division games is averaging 32.6 points and 398.3 yards per game, 216.6 rushing and 181.7 passing.
Senior quarterback Christian George leads Coast Guard with 102 carries, 603 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns while completing 61 of 124 passes for 721 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Junior quarterback Niles Pierson, who made his first start of the season last week, is 42 of 83 for 551 yards with a team-high seven touchdown passes and five interceptions.
Senior running back Lance Lynch is second on the team with 107 carries, 479 yards and two touchdowns. Lynch is tied for third on the team with 18 receptions for 288 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore Sam England leads the team with 31 receptions for 369 yards and five touchdowns while senior Erik Wyrick, who had his best game of the season last week (5 receptions, 99 yards, 2 TD) is second on the team with 19 receptions, 214 yards and three scores. Sophomore running back Matt Keith is tied for third with 18 receptions for 231 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bears offensive line has allowed just four sacks this season which is best in the nation.
The Coast Guard defense is allowing 21.1 points per game and 382.3 yards per game. The Bears are allowing 144.6 rushing yards per game and a league-high 237.7 passing yards per game.
Junior linebacker Brian Yurovich leads the team with 47 tackles, 27 solo, 4.5 for loss and a team-high three sacks. Freshman linebacker Kyle Ennis is tied for second with 46 hits, 36 solo, three for loss and two sacks while sophomore cornerback Pat Bennett also has 46 tackles and is one of four players that lead the team with two interceptions, as all four starters in the secondary have two interceptions each.
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 41.1 yard average. Senior kicker David Lieberman is nine for 11 on field goals and a perfect 23-for-23 on extra points this season. Sophomore Steve Arguelles leads the NEFC with a 23.8 yard average on kick returns and he is third in punt returns with and 8.9 yard average.
SCOUTING MAINE MARITIME: The Mariners, ranked 9th in New England, look to beat Coast Guard and move into first place with a chance to win the division next week. Maine Maritime’s triple-option attack is led by senior fullback Brandon Goodrich’s 95.3 yards per game. Goodrich has carried 110 times for 667 yards and six touchdowns. The Mariners are averaging 22.3 points and 315.1 yards per game, 243.6 on the ground and a league-low 71.6 passing yards per game.
The Mariners feature one of the top defenses in the NEFC allowing a league-low 279.3 yards per game, along with a league-best 77 rushing yards per game. Maine Maritime is allowing 19.6 points per game and 202.3 passing yards per game. Freshman linebacker Wade Mondoux leads the team with 56 tackles, 38 solo while sophomore linebacker Travis Fergola had 55 tackles, 28 solo. Junior cornerback Rob Leighton is tied for the league lead with four interceptions.
NEXT WEEK: Coast Guard travels to Framingham State for the regular season finale on Saturday with kickoff set for noon. |
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