Coast Guard 17, Worcester State 14
Worcester, MA --- Trailing in the fourth quarter, wide-out Eric
Gerkin (Tampa, FL) hauled in a 52-yard touchdown reception to give
the Coast Guard the 17-14 lead for the final score as the Bears
defeated Worcester State this afternoon in NEFC Bogan Division
action.
With the triumph CGA wins their 300th program victory as they
improve to 3-4 on the season (3-2 NEFC Bogan) while the Lancers
slip to 1-7 and 1-4 in conference play. The Bears are 5-0 against
WSC since the series started in 1995.
After the teams traded their opening possessions, Coast Guard
started on their own 15 and manufactured a sophomore Jacob
Shackleford (Richardson, TX) 35-yard field goal with 2:33 left in
the first quarter. The drive that took over six minutes off the
clock was highlighted by three-headed rushing attack of junior
quarterback Jesse Karr (Milan, MI) along with sophomore running
backs Ryan Webster (Melrose, MA) and senior Steve Arguelles (Yuma,
AZ) who ran for 58 yards on the ground.
Three plays into their next drive, WSC sophomore quarterback
Tony Tokarz (Holden, MA) was picked off by
freshman Andrew Russo (Boca Raton, FL), but the Lancers held firm
as they stopped Coast Guard on fourth down as they started again on
their own 28. Worcester State was able to register a pair of
first-downs, but their next drive only went as far as the Bear
37.
After senior Pat Skelton (Dedham, MA) pinned the
visitors on the 14, Karr converted a third and five for a fresh set
of downs, but had to leave the game for an injury after an
incomplete pass on the next play. That set the stage for freshman
Jonathan Resch (Lititz, PA) to toss a 75-yard touchdown reception
to senior Cale Cooper (Widomar, CA) for his first career completion
for the 10-0 lead with 6:32 left in the first half.
The ball went back and forth once before the Lancers found
themselves on their own 29 with 3:47 left in the second quarter.
Tokarz started things off with a pair of six-yard completions
before he scrambled ahead for 31 yards to Coast Guards 38. From
there, Tokarz hooked up with senior Jake Macleay
(Greenfield, MA) for 26 yards and then after a timeout with 11
seconds remaining, the quarterback found junior Anthony
Monahan (Wrentham, MA) alone in the middle of the end-zone
as he flicked a nine-yard touchdown pass to put the Lancers down
10-7 at the half.
Coming out of the locker room, neither squad advanced into the red
zone on each of their next drives to start the second half as
Worcester State started their second possession of the stanza on
their 40-yard line. Facing third and long, Tokarz connected with
MacLeay for a 40-yard scoring strike as the Lancers went up 14-10
at the 5:47 mark in the third quarter.
After Coast Guard was forced to punt on their next drive, WSC
brought the ball down to the opposing 19 and looked to increase
their advantage with a 35 yard field goal, but Skelton’s
attempt went wide to the left.
The Bears pounced on the opportunity and went up 17-14 after seven
plays into their next drive on Gerkin’s touchdown reception.
Worcester State tried to respond and got inside Coast
Guard’s 16, but Tokarz coughed up the ball on a third and one
rushing play. Four plays later, Webster fumbled the ball and with a
new set of downs to work with the Lancers were in good field
position on the Bears 43.
WSC got as far as the visitors 36, but the Bears defense did a good
job to allow the Lancers to go no further, which included a stop on
fourth and 14 as their Tokarz’s pass attempt to freshman
Jamaal Atkins (Webster, MA) was too high to be
caught.
With 4:48 left in the game, Coast Guard grinded down the clock and
after Cooper caught an 11-yard reception on third down with 2:41
left and an Arguelles 26-yard scamper two plays later, CGA coasted
ahead for the victory.
The Bears held a slight advantage in passing yards (213-195), total
yards (408-389) and time of possession (31:26-28:34), but the
Lancers edged the visitors out in rushing, 241-195.
Arguelles paced Coast Guard on the ground as he rushed 13 times for
112 yards while Karr and Webster combined for 18 carries and 92
rushing yards. Karr also went 14-for-20 with 138 yards in the air
with one score and no interceptions.
Cooper caught five passes as he led all receivers with 105 yards.
Senior Sam England (Grand Prairie, TX) grabbed four receptions as
his career total stands two away from tying the all-time mark held
of 149 by Christian Lee (1993-96).
Tokarz combined for 214 yards as he ran for 66 yards on the ground
and passed for 148 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore
running back Marcus Price (Worcester, MA/Doherty)
added 91 yards rushing while freshman David Bougan
(Webster, MA) rushed 11 times for 50 yards. Macleay registered five
receptions for a season-best 96 yards.
Defensively, Coast Guard was propelled by senior lineman Doug
Piper’s (Baltimore, MD) team-high 12 tackles as he added a
sack while classmate Troy Robinson (Yuba City, CA) notched 11 stops
for the visitors.
Junior linebacker Tyler Russell (Princeton, MA)
was outstanding for the Lancers as he put up his fifth double-digit
tackle number in eight games with a contest-high 13 (eight solo)
with 2.5 for a loss. Freshman corner Graham Asum
(Marlboro, MA) and senior Tom Szalno (Hyde Park, MA) each recorded
nine tackles apiece as junior Andrew Tokarz
(Holden, MA) added seven tackles – three on special teams
– to go along with a forced fumble.
The Lancers also had four team breakups to go along with eight
tackles for a loss.
Both teams continue Bogan Division play when they each will play at
1 PM next Saturday on Halloween. Worcester State looks to spoil
Bridgewater State’s homecoming while Coast Guard hosts Maine
Maritime.