Coast Guard Outlasts Bridgewater State 24-21

Box Score 

New London, Conn --- Senior quarterback Christian George (Rumson, NJ) 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 win was the 11th consecutive NEFC Bogan Division win for Coast Guard which won the division with a perfect 7-0 record last season, its first in the NEFC. Coast Guard won its fourth straight this season to improve to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the division. George scored the game winner vs. Bridgewater State last year, a two-yard run with 50 seconds left as Coast Guard won 21-17. That was the only loss for Bridgewater State as they finished 6-1 in Bogan Division, runner-up to Coast Guard last season.

Bridgewater State, which drops to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in division play, opened the scoring on a 52-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Steven Clark (Falmouth, MA) (17 carries, 78 yards/10 of 17 for 176 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) to freshman Patrick McGrail (Braintree, MA) (4 receptions, 80 yards, 2 TD) with 9:33 left in the first quarter. Bridgewater State dominated
play in the first quarter out-gaining Coast Guard 141 to 10 in total yards. Coast Guard turned the ball over twice in its first five plays from scrimmage.

Coast Guard got on the board on a 21-yard field goal by senior David Lieberman (Virgina Beach, VA) with 8:02 left in the first quarter. The score was setup as sophomore Steve Arguelles (Yuma, AZ) intercepted Clark and returned it 14 yards to the Bridgewater 11-yard line.

Bridgewater State opened a 14-3 lead as Clark threw as 32-yard touchdown to senior Chris Joyce (Bridgewater, MA) (7 receptions, 109 yards, TD) capping a 12-play, 71-yard drive with just 2:33 left in the half.

Coast Guard went 63 yards in just seven plays capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass from George to sophomore Matt Keith (Virgina Beach, VA) with 38 seconds left to cut the deficit to 14-10 at halftime. Lieberman’s extra point was the 71st of this career, breaking the school record of 70 held by Ed Daniels from 1949-52.

Bridgewater State out-gained Coast Guard 221-103 in the first half.

Coast Guard had a game-changing drive in the third quarter in which it went 98 yards on 22 plays in a drive which lasted 8:39 and was capped by a one-yard run on 4th-and-goal by junior quarterback Niles Pierson (Cheshire, CT), who came into the game after George was injured after a three-yard run on 4th-and-two from the Bridgewater 19-yard line. George (5 of 16, 51 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) rushed for 43 yards and passed for 28 yards on the drive. Following the Lieberman extra point, Coast Guard led 17-14 with 1:19 left in the third quarter.

Bridgewater drove to the Coast Guard 35-yard line, but turned it over on downs. On Coast Guard’s second play, junior Josh Duquette (Plymouth, MA) intercepted George and returned it 13 yards to the Coast Guard 30-yard line. Three plays later, Clark threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to McGrail for a 21-17 lead with 12:07 left in the game.

Coast Guard responded by marching 58 yards in nine plays capped by the George game winning three-yard scamper. On the drive, George converted yet another 4th down with a five-yard run on 4th and three from the 11-yard line.

Following an exchange of punts, Bridgewater took over at its own 20-yard line with 4:21 left and backup quarterback Greg Bosari (Kingston, MA) drove the Bears to the Coast Guard 17-yard line, but back-to-back incomplete passes put the game on ice for Coast Guard as they took over with 1:21 left and just took a knee for the victory.

Bridgewater State finished with 398 total yards, 195 rushing while Coast Guard finished with 324 yards, 271 on the ground.