United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - NEFC Championship Game Preview

NEFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
COAST GUARD (8-1) at CURRY (10-0)

Nov. 10th, Walter M. Katz Field, noon

ON THE AIR: audio broadcast at www.sportsjuice.com

THE SERIES: Curry leads 1-0 as the only meeting was the Colonels 34-28 win in the NEFC Championship game last season.

LAST YEAR: Senior Jarrad Jordan earned 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.

Jordan had 24 carries for 174 of the Colonels 328 rushing yards. Coast Guard could muster just 16 yards rushing on 25 carries against the Curry defense.

Curry took a 34-7 lead with 3:17 left in the third quarter before surviving a ferocious comeback by the Bears to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs for the fourth straight time.

Ryan Van De Giesen threw a 38 yard touchdown pass to sophomore Brian Taylor (3 catches, 92 yards) with 8:11 left and later hit Brian Taylor with a 49 yard touchdown with 3:11 left taking a 27-7 lead after the missed extra point.

Curry totaled 301 yards of total offense in the first half, 175 on the ground while Coast Guard had 124 total first half yards, 121 passing.

The Colonels added to their lead on a one-yard run by Pinto with 3:17 left increasing the lead to 34-7, but Coast Guard would not go down without a fight.

The Bears (8-2), drove 79 yards in seven plays and Pierson found junior Erik Wyrick for a nine-yard touchdown cutting the lead to 34-14 with 52 seconds left in the third quarter. Wyrick had a career-high 10 catches for a career-high 123 yards.

Coast Guard’s Jack Gill blocked a punt on Curry’s next possession and the Bears drove to the Curry 13 before Pierson was intercepted by Patrick Cronin at the seven-yard line with 13:37 left in the game.Gill partially blocked the next Curry punt and the Bears marched 60 yards in just three plays as Pierson threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to David Sauls (4 catches, 92 yards) with 9:50 left in the game pulling the Bears to within 34-21.

The Coast Guard defense stepped up again and forced a punt and Pierson drove the offense 80 yards in just 2:35 finding freshman Sam England (seven catches, 89 yards) for a two-yard touchdown with 2:20 left in the game.

Kyle Lieberman recovered the onsides kick to preserve the win. Curry had 480 total yards while Coast Guard had 362 yards of total offense.

Pierson, who won the Division II/III Gold Helmet a week earlier, was 25 of 40 for a career-high 346 yards and three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Curry did not turn the ball over while Coast Guard had three turnovers. Crowley led Curry with nine tackles, two for loss while Dufour had six tackles, three for loss, two forced fumbles and two sacks.

Freshman Steve Arguelles led the Coast Guard defense with 12 tackles, 11 solo while senior co-captain Tim Leber had 10 tackles, seven solo.

LAST WEEK: Coast Guard, which has won 16 of its last 17 regular season games, completed its second straight unbeaten season in the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division, as they jumped out a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised to a 34-7 win over Framingham State in a driving rain storm in the regular season finale for both teams.

Curry, the #1 team in New England, outscored UMass Dartmouth 21-0 in the second quarter to break open a 9-9 tie enroute to a 40-25 win completing its second straight unbeaten regular season.

NO. 1 MEETS NO. 2 FOR NEW ENGLAND TOP SPOT: Curry and Coast Guard maintained its spots atop the New England Division III poll making the NEFC Championship Game also a meeting of the top two teams in New England. Curry remained the # 1 team as the Colonels received 12 of the 14 first place votes and 138 points overall. Coast Guard received 116 total points, just two more than Middlebury which had 114 total points and two first place votes despite having a 6-1 record.

THE NEFC IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: The New England Football Conference is still searching for its first win as a conference in the NCAA Playoffs. The NEFC is 0-8 all time and is one of three conferences without a win in the NCAA Playoffs. The winner of this game will get a chance to break the trend.

BEARS CONTINUE TO OWN THE BOGAN: Coast Guard won its 14th straight NEFC Bogan Division game and won its second consecutive division championship. The Bears which joined the NEFC last season are a perfect 14-0 in division play.

THE BEARS ARE STREAKING: The Bears have won seven straight this season and 14 straight NEFC Bogan Division games.

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 710 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns while throwing for 799 yards and five scores. He is currently fourth in the conference in total offense with 188.6 yards per game, he leads all quarterbacks with 88.8 rushing yards per game to go with his 100 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 fourth game of the season by five points or less with the 38-34 win over Maine Maritime. Coast Guard also won three games by four points or less last season. The Bears are now 7-0 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 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.

2007 BEARS SHARE MARK WITH AN NFL HALL OF FAMER: Coast Guard won four games by five points or less this season for just the second time in school history. The only other team to win four games by less than five points in one season was the 1962 team led by head coach and NFL Hall of Famer Otto Graham. The 1962 team had a record of 5-2-1. They had a pair of two point wins and two one-point victories.

AND MORE FROM OTTO: Coast Guard has now won seven games by less than five points over the past two seasons something Otto Graham’s teams did in the 1962 and 1963 seasons. Graham’s team’s won those seven games over a two-year stretch by just 14 total points. In fact, the final four games of the 1962 season and the first three games of the 1963 season, were all decided by three points or less with Coast Guard posting a 6-0-1 mark in those games.

HE IS FLUTIE LIKE: Christian George has five fourth quarter comebacks in his two-year career (two last year and three 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 MAKES HISTORY: Coast Guard head coach Bill George in his ninth season, has now 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.

THEY ARE THE BEST IN BACK-TO-BACK SEASONS: Coast Guard is 16-2 over the past two seasons during the regular season for an .888 winning percentage which is the best in teh 84 year history of football at the Academy. The prior best two-year regular season record was posted in 1996 and 1997 when the Bears were 17-3 for an .850 winning percentage. Coast Guard has won 16 of its last 17 regular season games. During a stretch which covered three seasons (1996, 1997 and 1998) the Bears won 17 of 18 regular season games.

BEARS OFFENSE ON A ROLL: The Coast Guard offense has averaged 40 points per game over the past five games and the Bears now lead the NEFC Bogan Division with 33.3 points per game. Coast Guard has scored 300 points this season, it is just second time in school history, a team has scored 300 points. The 1996 team scored a school record 345 points in 10 games.

LIEBERMAN KICKS HIS WAY TO A PAIR OF RECORDS: Senior kicker David Lieberman is having a sensational season as he has made 12 of 14 field goals and he is a perfect 32-for-32 on extra points this season. He leads the team in scoring with 68 points. Lieberman’s 12 field goals this season, tie the single-season school record held by Jaime Roth (1988). He now has 23 career field goals, tying the school mark held by Steve Ciccalone (1971-’73). Earlier this season, Lieberman became the Bears all-time leader in extra points, he now has 86 for his career.

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: Bogan Division champion Coast Guard, ranked 2nd in New England, will once again battle four-time NEFC champion Curry, the #1 team in New England, in the NEFC Championship game, this time however the Bears will have the services of the 2006 unanimous Bogan Division Offensive Player of the Year, senior quarterback Christian George, who missed the final four games of last season with a broken foot.

Coast Guard, which has won seven straight this season is averaging a division best 33.3 points along with 372 yards per game, 204.3 rushing and 167.7 passing.

NEFC Bogan Division Offensive Player of the Year candidate, senior quarterback Christian George leads Coast Guard with 124 carries, 710 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns, all of which are career highs. He has completed 69 of 143 passes for 799 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Junior quarterback Niles Pierson, who was the starting quarterback in the NEFC Championship Game last season, is 54 of 104 for 655 yards with a team-high seven touchdown passes and six interceptions. Both quarterbacks will see action in the Bears two quarterback system.

Senior running back Lance Lynch is second on the team with 131 carries, 601 yards and four touchdowns. Lynch is tied for third on the team with 20 receptions for 321 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore Sam England leads the team with 33 receptions for 438 yards and five touchdowns while senior Erik Wyrick is second on the team with 21 receptions, 262 yards and three scores. Sophomore running back Matt Keith is tied for third with 20 receptions for 235 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bears offensive line has allowed just six sacks this season which is best in the nation.

The Coast Guard defense is allowing 21 points per game and 363.4 yards per game. The Bears are allowing 158.8 rushing yards per game and 204.7 passing yards per game more than every team in the NEFC except for Curry.

Freshman linebacker Kyle Ennis leads the team with 66 tackles, 46 solo, four for loss and two sacks, junior linebacker Brian Yurovich is second with 58 tackles, 31 solo, five for loss and a team-high three sacks. Junior linebacker Brian Field is third on the team with 55 tackles, 29 solo.

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 39.9 yard average. Senior kicker David Lieberman, the top kicker in the Bogan Division, is 12 for 14 on field goals and a perfect 32-for-32 on extra points this season. Sophomore Steve Arguelles is second in 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 CURRY: The Colonels, who have gone 10-0 during the regular season in each of the last two seasons, looks to win their fifth straight NEFC Championship.

Curry leads the NEFC in scoring offense (41.5), scoring defense (16.0), rush defense (74.0), total defense (279.5) and the all important turnover margin (+ 15). The Colonels are last in the league in pass defense, allowing 205.5 yards per game.

Junior quarterback Ryan Van De Giesen leads the NEFC with an eye-popping 26 touchdown passes while throwing only seven interceptions. Van De Giesen is 182 of 280 for 2,064 yards. He also has 75 rushes for 355 yards and nine touchdowns. He has a pair of dangerous receivers in junior Brian Taylor and senior Felix Borukhov, who each have 53 receptions this season. Taylor, who has nine touchdown receptions, leads the team with 851 yards while Borukhov has 751 yards to go with his league-high 12 touchdowns.

Sophomore Jamaal Woods leads the Colonel rushing attack with 113 carries for 799 yards and nine touchdowns while junior Steve DiFabio has 119 carries for 610 yards and four touchdowns.

Curry is averaging a Boyd Division best 436.7 yards per game, 220.3 passing and 216.4 rushing.

The Colonels have the best defense in the NEFC. Senior nose guard Tom Pinto leads the team with 71 tackles, 50 solo, 20.5 for loss to go with 4.5 sacks. Sophomore linebacker Dan Dawson is second on the team with 47 stops, 29 solo with 12.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Senior defensive end Will Chiccarelli leads the team with six sacks.

Senior David Vincent, the top kicker in the Boyd Division, is 13 of 16 on field goals this season while making 52 of 53 extra points.

NEXT WEEK: The winner will play in the NCAA Playoffs while the loser would likely be playing in an ECAC Bowl Game.