Coast Guard at MIT football preview capsule

Vickie Fulkerson, The Day, New London, Conn.
·4 min read

Oct. 28—WHEN — Saturday, 1 p.m.

Where: Steinbrenner Stadium, Cambridge, Mass.

Records: Coast Guard 2-5 overall, 0-3 New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference; MIT 2-4 overall, 0-3 NEWMAC.

Players to watch: Coast Guard, QB Joey Armentrout (125-for-241, 1,612 yards, 8 TDs, 6 INTs), RB Spencer McMillion (139 carries, 751 yards, 12 TDs), WR Tafari Wall (34 catches, 458 yards, 1 TD), WR Broock Desta (38 catches, 546 yards, 7 TDs; 16 kick returns, 373 yards), LB Connor Healy (63 tackles, 2 INT), LB Ethan Lasher (50 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 3 INTs), DB Garrett Bragg (41 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss), DB Logan Morris (41 tackles, 2 INT), DB Ryan Vigo (42 tackles, 1 interception, 6 pass breakups), K-P Finnegan Hall (33 punts, 43.0 yards per kick; 18-for-22 PATs, 7-for-10 FGs).

MIT, QB Marco Cesaratto (11-for-19, 111 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT; 21 carries, 97 yards, 0 TDs), RB Jay Theriault (111 carries, 564 yards, 5 TDs), WR Dennis Gastel (19 catches, 158 yards, 0 TDs), WR Colin Vollmer (9 catches, 119 yards, 2 TDs), DL Sam Gozelski (24 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 4 blocked kicks), LB Paul Calvetti (71 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss), DB Adam Zimmermann (35 tackles, 1 INT).

Analysis: Coast Guard comes off a bye week with three games remaining to face NEWMAC opponents MIT (2-4, 0-3), WPI (2-5, 0-3) and rival Merchant Marine (5-2, 3-1). Without looking past MIT, which will challenge the Bears with its run-based offense (170.2 yards per game), Coast Guard coach C.C. Grant told his players earlier this week that they're now looking at a three-game season. "And let's just approach a three-game season one at a time," Grant said. "Let's just go get our first win (of the three). If we look up in two weeks and we're 4-5 then that would be a pretty good deal if you get to go into Merchant Marine and play them to be .500. I think that would be pretty cool. We'll take them one at a time." ... Coast Guard last fell to NEWMAC unbeaten Catholic (4-0) 24-17 on Homecoming, Oct. 15. Coast Guard rallied for two touchdowns in a 55-second span of the second quarter to tie the game 14-14 at halftime, getting a 1-yard TD run by Spencer McMillion and a 27-yard scoring pass from Joey Armentrout to Broock Desta. But the Bears managed just a Finnegan Hall field goal in the second half. "We're right there," Grant said. "We've been so close in so many games. Recruits have been asking me, 'How are you guys doing?' We're 2-5 but we could have very easily been 5-2 or 6-1 at this point. It really has been nip and tuck, nip and tuck. I'm optimistic about Saturday and going forward." ... MIT graduate student defensive tackle Sam Gozelski (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) was named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week earlier in the season for his play in the team's 35-6 win over Dean College on Sept. 24. In that game Gozelski, whom Coast Guard's Grant calls perhaps the best defensive lineman in the league, had a career-high three sacks for minus-26 yards, five tackles, a quarterback hurry and a blocked kick. ... MIT rushed for 291 yards in the win over Dean. ... MIT, in the midst of a three-game losing streak, is coming off a 21-11 loss at Norwich on Saturday. The Engineers also lost to Catholic 42-7 and Merchant Marine 17-0 during that string. ... Coast Guard's McMillion leads the NEWMAC with 107.3 rushing yards per game and with 12 touchdowns. McMillion missed a week and a half due to an ankle injury before returning against Catholic. Desta is tied for the lead with seven touchdown receptions. ... MIT won last year's game 21-7, with Armentrout making his first collegiate start as the Bears' then-freshman quarterback. Gozelski blocked a pair of field goals for MIT.

— Vickie Fulkerson