Football Falls in Season Finale 20-13 to Coast Guard
Framingham, Mass. - Junior defensive back Chris Costello (Weymouth, Mass.) intercepted three passes to help lead the Coast Guard Academy Bears to a 20-13 New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division win over the Framingham State Rams today at Maple Street Field in the season finale for both teams. With the win the Bears improve to 4-5 overall and 4-3 in the division, while the loss drops the Rams to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the Bogan.
The Rams match their record from last season when they also went 5-5 and it is the first time the Rams finished .500 or better in back to back seasons since the 1978 and 1979 seasons when they finished 5-4 and 6-3.
The Rams picked up 423 yards of total offense in the game compared to just 266 for the Bears. Framingham State held the advantage in both passing yards, 251 to 212, and rushing yardage, 172 to 54, but was hurt in the end by five turnovers and 15 penalties that cost them 95 yards.
Coast Guard took their opening possession of the game and drove 47 yards in nine plays to take the early 3-0 lead on a 34 yard field goal from sophomore Jacob Shackleford (Richardson, Texas).
The Rams came back to take the lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter on a 38 yard touchdown pass from Patrick Franey (Waltham, Mass.) to sophomore wide out James McCarthy (Newton, Mass.). The Rams started the drive on the 50 yard line and junior running back Dave Leach began the drive rushing for 17 yard on three carries, before a false start moved the Rams back to the Coast Guard 30 yard line to start the second quarter. The Rams were called for a second false start and faced a second and 18 from the CGA 43 yard line. Leach took the snap from center and rushed for five yards to the 38 yard line setting up the Franey to McCarthy touchdown. After Phil Cosmos (Natick, Mass.) missed the extra point, the Rams led 6-3 with 14:13 remaining in the second quarter.
The Rams lead proved to be short lived as Coast Guard drove 70 yards on 17 plays in just under eight minutes on their next possession for the go ahead score. Senior Steve Arguelles (Yuma, Az.) rushed for 21 yards on the drive and freshman quarterback Jonathan Resch, the recipient of the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston Division II/III Gold Helmet last week, completed six of eight passes for 46 yards on the drive including a 15 yard completion to senior Cale Cooper (Wildomar, Ca.) setting the Bears up with a first and goal on the Framingham two yard line. Arguelles would power in from two yards out with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter.
The Rams moved the ball on their next possession and had a first and ten on the Bears 38 yard line with 1:26 remaining in the half. Franey threw a pass over the middle and Costello made his first interception of the day giving the Bears the ball on their own 25 yard line.
The Rams defense forced a three and out forcing the Bears to punt with thirty seconds remaining in the half. The Rams had the ball on their own 46 yard line to start the drive and after a Leach seven yard run they were set up with a first down on the Coast Guard 47 with 19 seconds remaining. The Rams took a shot at the end zone and Franey's pass was intercepted by Chris Izurieta (Peachtree City, Ga.) on the two yard line allowing the Bears to take a knee and end the half.
The Rams defense forced a three and out on the Bears first possession of the second half giving the offense a chance to take the lead. The Rams started the drive on their own 25 yard line and after back-to-back illegal procedure penalties faced a first and 20 from their own 15 yard line. Freshman Josh Harris (Winchester, Mass.) rushed for a yard and Leach completed a 26 yard pass to McCarthy giving the Rams a first down on their own 42 yard line. Leach rushed for seven yards and after a loss of three on second down Franey reentered the game and completed a 54 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Holbrook (Carver, Mass.). After a Cosmos extra point, the Rams led 13-10 with 11:00 remaining in the third.
The Bears took the lead back on their ensuing possession as Resch led them on a seven play 60 yard drive as he rushed for 15 yards and completed a 47 yard strike to James Vinall (Boerne, Texas) giving the Bears a first down on the Rams 24 yard line. Resch capped the drive with an eight yard touchdown pass to Casey Paris (Point, Texas) that put the Bears ahead 17-13 with 8:36 left in the third.
On the Rams next possession, McCarthy attempted a pass on an end around and was intercepted by Costello. Costello returned the interception 24 yards to the Rams 25. Three plays later Framingham State defensive back Brent Loveless (Billerica, Mass.) intercepted Resch in the end zone for a touchback.
The Bears defense forced a three and out and the Rams lined up to punt on fourth and two on their own 28 yard line. The Rams ran a fake punt but Leach was stopped short of a first down and the Bears took over on downs. Four plays later Shakelford nailed a 41 yard field goal with 2:57 remaining in the third to give the Bears a 20-13 lead.
The Rams had their chances in the fourth quarter to tie the game but a series of penalties, a fumble by Leach that was recovered by the Bears and another interception by Costello ended the Rams scoring chances.
Resch finished the day 12 of 23 with one interception and one touchdown for the Bears, while junior Jesse Karr (Milan, Mich.) completed 3 of 4 for 44 yards. Vinal made three catches for 88 yards to lead the Bears receivers.
Leach once again rushed for over 100 yards as he racked up 147 yards on 32 carries (4.6 per carry). Franey completed 17 of 27 for 225 yards with two touchdowns and three picks, while McCarthy made eight catches for 131 yards and a score.
Juniors Brent Loveless (Billerica, Mass.) and Anthony Pappagallo (Malden, Mass.) led the Rams defense with a game-high nine tackles apiece. Lovelesss has an interception and a pass break up, while Joe Treacy (Wakefield, Mass.) added four tackles including a sack.