Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Senior Mike Clancy carried 14 times for 106 yards and two third quarter touchdowns, the first Coast Guard player to rush for over 100 yards since 2012, leading the Bears to a season-opening 34-6 win over Anna Maria in a non-conference game.
It was the first season-opening win for Coast Guard since a 10-8 over Merchant Marine to begin the 2010 season. The season opener also marked the first ever Thursday opener and the first home night game for the Bears in 20 years.
Sophomore Camden Cecchini (eight carries, ten yards) scored a pair of first half touchdowns, the first two touchdowns of his career in the win.
The Bears got on the board on a 30-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Derek Victory (13 of 20, 148 yards, 1 TD) to classmate Kyle Jackson (2 catches, 33 yards) with 51 seconds left in the first quarter. The extra point was no good and the Bears led 6-0. It was the first career touchdown for Jackson.
Coast Guard forced Anna Maria to punt and then went 62 yards in eight plays as Cecchini scored from two yards out for a 13-0 lead with 7:01 left in the first half. Victory hit senior Carter Provost for a 33-yard gain, the big play during that drive.
Anna Maria answered with a 33-yard field goal by freshman Francis Cole with 2:13 left in the half to make the score 13-3.
The Bears got a 53-yard kickoff return by Will Daniels putting the ball at the AMCAT 31-yard line and Cecchini finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds left as the Bears led 20-3 at halftime.
Clancy, who had nine carries for 96 in the second half, scored on a 37-yard run and then a 33-yard run in the third quarter as the Bears pushed the lead to 34-3 with 4:32 left in the third quarter.
Cole had the only points of the fourth quarter on a 39-yard field goal with 13:32 remaining in the game.
Provost led the Bears with three receptions for 81 yards.
Senior Chris Bettano led Anna Maria with 22 carries for 76 yards while junior quarterback Daniel Faison was 5 of 13 for 130 yards with an interception. Sophomore Trai Weaver had three receptions for a game-high 103 yards for the AMCATS.
Anna Maria finished with more total yards than Coast Guard 306 to 303, but the AMCATS turned the ball over three times while Coast Guard did not turn the ball over in the win. Anna Maria had 176 rushing yards and 130 passing yards while the Bears had 154 rushing yards and 148 passing yards.
Senior James Rizzo had the only interception of the game, a first quarter pick that he returned 28 yards before leaving the game with an injury.
Coast Guard which had just five rushing touchdowns last season, had four rushing touchdowns in the win.
Sophomore linebacker Jacob Brown, making his first career start, led the Bears with eight tackles.
The Bears are back in action on Sept. 12th when the travel to Merchant Marine for the annual battle for the Secretaries' Cup with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m.