COAST GUARD (3-3, 1-2) AT MAINE MARITIME (0-5, 0-3)
OCT. 14TH -- NOON -- CASTINE, MAINE

ON THE AIR: There will be a video stream available and that link can be found at www.cgasports.com on the football schedule page.

THE SERIES: Coast Guard leads 9-5.

LAST YEAR: Senior Derek Victory threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for another while sophomore Chip Crowley returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown as Coast Guard held off Maine Maritime 36-30 in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) game on Homecoming Weekend.

Victory, who was 28 of 49 for 290 yards, tied the school record with his 38th career touchdown pass tying Jon Resch (2009-12).

Coast Guard led 29-16 at halftime. The Mariners had 248 first half yards (138 passing) while Coast Guard had 164 yards in the first half (147 passing).

Maine Maritime finished with 454 total yards, 225 rushing and 229 passing while Coast Guard had 339 yards, 290 of  those in the air.

Jacob Doolan led the Mariners with 16 carries for 118 yards while Corey Creeger was 6 of 14 for 175 yards and three touchdowns with one interceptions in the loss.

Darius Adams led the Bear with eight receptions for 103 yards while Crowley had seven receptions for 54 yards and Bain added six catches for 92 yards in the win.

Ryan Robertson led the Coast Guard defense with 11 tackles, one for loss and a fumble recovery while sophomore Jake Behne finished with nine tackles, one for loss.

LAST WEEK: Senior Jordan Wilcox carried 21 times for 187 yards and a touchdown as Springfield, the No.1 team in New England, rushed for 441 yards en route to a 38-7 win over Coast Guard.

The Pride, who have the top rushing offense in Division III with 433.8 rushing yards per game, finished with 471 yards of total offense with 69 carries for 441 rushing yards while Coast Guard was held to 153 total yards, just seven of those on the ground.

Coast Guard sophomore Ryan Jones, making his second career start, was 16 of 35 for 146 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Senior Darius Adams led the Bears with four receptions for 74 yards and the only touchdown, an 18-yard reception in the third quarter.

Maine Maritime lost to visiting MIT 51-6 as the Engineers scored 37 unanswered points. MIT finished with 526 yards of total offense (391 rushing) while holding the Mariners to 156 total yards, just 22 yards passing.

NEWMAC FOOTBALL HAS BEGUN: The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) began sponsoring the sport of football starting this season. Conference members, the United States Coast Guard Academy, MIT, Springfield College and WPI will be joined by Maine Maritime Academy, the United States Merchant Marine Academy, and Norwich University, who enter the NEWMAC as associate members in 2017. Football becomes the 20th conference championship and the league's ninth men's offering.

Springfield, WPI, and Merchant Marine have been participating in the Liberty League, while MIT, Coast Guard, and Maine Maritime were members of the New England Football Conference, and Norwich was a part of the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference. In addition to the connection Maine Maritime, Merchant Marine and Norwich have to Coast Guard, MIT, Springfield and WPI in football; they also have long-standing relationships with NEWMAC members in other sports.

COACH GEORGE IS BEARS WINS LEADER: Coast Guard head coach Bill George, in his 19th season, has a record 63 career wins as head coach at the Academy as he passed John Merriman for the most in program history in the win over Maine Maritime on Oct. 19th, 2013.

Merriman was the coach from (1930-1945) and the Gymnasium is named is his honor. In 2012, George passed NFL Hall of Famer and former Director of Athletics and head football coach Otto Graham, who had 43 wins in his two stints as head coach (1959-'65 and 1974-'75). Coach George led the Bears to a pair of NEFC Bogan Division championships in 2006 and 2007.

ESPN IS COMING TO NEW LONDON: Coast Guard will host Merchant Marine in the final game of the season this year as the team's battle for the Secetaries' Cup and the game will be carried live by the ESPN family of networks on Veterans Day, Nov. 11th at time to be announced.

Here is what the 2017 Coast Guard football captains have to say about the opportunity to play on ESPN

CODY BAIN
"We are ecstatic about opportunity ESPN has given us; we look forward to representing our nations' finest service academy in a classic rivalry against Merchant Marine. If you're watching Coast Guard football you aren't going to find any flashing lights or glamour. It's never been that way.  It never will.  What you will find is selflessness and college football in its purest form. There are no aspirations of playing at a higher level, only aspirations to one day be worthy of a commission as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, in the service of our country and humanity. In today's society, we are especially conscious of the sacrifices veterans and their families make. We are honored to be part of this nationwide celebration of America's heroes."

RYAN ROBERTSON
"I think this game will be a great opportunity for the team as well as for the Academy as a whole. It is a good way to get exposure on a popular network and educate people about the other two service Academies that can sometimes be forgotten.  I admire ESPN's commitment to honoring the members of the Armed Forces and I think the program is blessed to be able to play a long standing rivalry game on Veteran's Day weekend. I am personally excited for one of my last games of football here at the Academy to be as important and beneficial to the football program as this opportunity presents. Nonetheless, it will be a unique experience that I won't forget."

A LOOK BACK AT THE 1997 NCAA PLAYOFF TEAM: It has been 20 years since the 1997 football team made the program's second straight NCAA Playoff appearance. That team coached by Chuck Mills won the Freedom Football Conference (FFC) with a perfect 6-0 record and finished the regular season 9-1, the third best regular season football record recorded at the Academy. The Bears lost to Rowan 43-0 in the NCAA playoffs to finish 9-2. The nine wins is tied with the 1988 team for the most wins in a season.

Each week this season, we will take a look back at how that team did.

In week seven, Coast Guard stunned Union 31-6 snapping the Dutchmen's 14-game regular season unbeaten streak. Union was #2 in the East entering the game.

Andy Guedry, the Bears punter, was named the FFC Defensive Player of the Week as he pinned Union inside the 20 six times including three inside the 10. He had three punts of over 50 yards (56, 58, 61) and helped the Bears win the field position battle.

James Jones carried 35 times for 114 yards and three touchdowns including touchdown runs of 15 and 29 yards in the second quarter as Coast Guard led 14-0 at halftime.

Dan Warren threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Christian Lee before Jones scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to ice the game.

SCOUTING COAST GUARD: The Bears make their only road trip in the month of October to Castine Maine.

Sophomore Ryan Jones makes his third career start. He is 30 of 68 for 298 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions.

Senior wide receiver Cody Bain leads the team with 23 receptions and 237 yards while senior running back Cam Cecchini is second with 20 receptions (157 yards). Freshman Justin Moffatt has 19 receptions for 209 yards, all three have two touchdown receptions.

Cecchini leads the Bears with 80 carries for 252 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Coast Guard is averaging 15.7 points and 279 yards of total offense per game, 209 in the air and 70 on the ground.

The Bears are allowing 17 points per game, which is 43rd nationally in Division III. Coast Guard is allowing 303 yards per game, 139 passing and 164 rushing.

Sophomore cornerback Patrick Crowley leads the team with 45 tackles, 33 solo and two interceptions.
Junior linebacker Jake Behne is second 44 tackles. Junior defensive tackle Jack Brandt (32 tackles) leads the way with six tackles for loss while he and junior linebacker Titus Creamer (29 tackles) have a team-high three sacks each.

Junior punter Chip Crowley is averaging 39.2 per punt this season, second best in the NEWMAC, with 11 punts inside the 20 and seven of those over 50 yards with a long of 68 yards.

Junior placekicker Cole Austin has been outstanding making six-of-seven field goal attempts and 10-of-11 PAT's this season.

SCOUTING MAINE MARITIME: The Mariners, who have been outscored 96-6 in the last two games, are looking for the first win of the season.

The Bears will see the triple-option offense for the second straight week. Senior quarterback Corey Creeger leads the ground attack with 106 carries for 352 yards and seven touchdowns. He has completed 24 of 58 passes for 503 yards with two touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Maine Maritime is averaging 15 points and 291.2 yards per game, 172.4 rushing, 118.8 passing.

The Mariners are allowing 49 points and 495.6 yards per game, both are the most in the NEWMAC. They are allowing 354.4 rushing yards and 142.2 passing yards per game.

John Bennett leads the team with 40 tackles, 22 solo and two interceptions while Derek Breunig is second with 38 tackles, 22 solo and has the only sack of the season for the defense.

The Mariners have not attempted a field goal all season while Creeger also handles the punting duties and is averaging 33.4 yards per punt.

UP NEXT: Coast Guard hosts MIT on Oct. 21st as part of Homecoming Weekend with kickoff set for 1:30.