United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Football - Bears Dominate All-Division Team; Win Three Major Awards

NEW LONDON, CONN.--(11/8/07)--Senior quarterback Christian George was named the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season as Coast Guard won three major awards and placed 12 players on the All-division team as voted on by the eight head coaches in the Bogan Division.

Coast Guard, in its second season in the NEFC, won its second straight Bogan Division championship with a perfect 7-0 record. The Bears are now 14-0 over the past two seasons in the division.

Senior left guard Nick Hartmann was named the Offensive Lineman of the Year as the Bears lead the nation with just six sacks allowed while head coach Bill George, in his ninth season, was named the Bogan Division Coach of the Year for the first time.

Coast Guard placed 10 players at 11 positions on the first team and two more on the second team.

George leads the team with 710 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns while completing 69 of 143 passes for 799 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has engineered three fourth quarter, game-winning drives this season, scoring the winning touchdown on two of those.

George, and three offensive linemen; Hartmann, senior center Matt Krueger, sophomore right tackle Justin Brooks along with senior running back Lance Lynch, were all named to the first team from the offensive side of the ball.

Hartmann and Brooks, who were both second team All-division selections last season, earn first team honors for the first time while Krueger earns All-conference honors for the first time.

Lynch, who was a second team selection last season, is second on the team with 601 yards rushing and four touchdowns and is tied for third on the team with 20 receptions for 321 yards and a touchdown.

Senior defensive end John McDonald, sophomore free safety Steve Arguelles and freshman linebacker Kyle Ennis were named to the first team on defense.

McDonald (30 tackles, five for loss, three sacks) and Arguelles (26 tackles, two interceptions) earn first team honors for the second straight season. Ennis is having a tremendous freshman season, leading the Bears with 66 tackles, 46 solo with four for loss and two sacks.

Arguelles was also named the first team return specialist as he is second in both kick return (23.8) and punt return (8.9) average.

Senior punter Jesse Harms, who leads the NEFC with a 39.9 yard average earned first team honors for the fourth straight season, two in the Liberty League and now two in the NEFC while senior kicker David Lieberman, who made 12 of 14 field goals and is a perfect 32 for 32 on extra points was named All-conference for the first time as he was selected to the first team.

Junior linebackers Brian Field and Brian Yurovich were both named to the second team. Yurovich is second on the team with 58 tackles, 31 solo, five for loss and 3.5 sacks while Field is third with 55 stops, 29 solo.

Coast Guard plays at four-time defending NEFC champion Curry on Saturday at noon in the NEFC Championship game with an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs going to the winner.