MILTON, Mass. – Curry College dominated visiting Coast Guard, 42-14, in New England Football Conference (NEFC) action Saturday afternoon in Milton. The Bears had entered the contest undefeated in league play and tied for first place with Western New England. Coast Guard now stands at 4-3 overall and 3-1 in NEFC action. The Colonels win their second-straight to improve to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Colonels put up 28 points on four-straight successful drives in the second quarter alone. On the first scoring drive, Curry was already in the red zone and freshman Riley Cote (Bedford, N.H.) connected with junior Anthony Nastasi (River Edge, N.J.) from nine yards out to cap off a six-play, 60-yard drive just six seconds into the quarter.
After the Bears went three-and-out on the next drive, Curry drove 67 yards on nine plays with Cote running it in from 11 yards out for his first rushing touchdown of the game.
Coast Guard would only travel 20 yards on the following drive before punting the ball back to the Colonels with 7:49 left to play in the half. After a 64-yard pitch and catch from Cote to junior Jake Cawlina (Danvers, Mass.), Curry was on the visitors' 18-yard line. After another completion to Nastasi and a rush by senior Jordan Shairs (Gloucester, Mass.), Cote took the ball in himself, this time from seven yards out to make the score 21-0 in favor of the Colonels.
With two and a half minutes left in the half, Cote found Cawlina again, this time for a 56-yard gain to the end zone for Cawlina's team-leading fifth receiving touchdown on the year. Curry would get one more defensive stop in the half, keeping the score at 28-0 after two full quarters.
To begin the third quarter, the Colonels received the kickoff and found the end zone on their fifth- straight possession. Cote led a 78-yard drive on seven plays, finishing with a 32-yard touchdown pass to junior Nate Chartrand (Pelham, N.H.), increasing the Curry advantage to 35-0.
Coast Guard would respond with a nine-play, 82-yard drive with sophomore Adam Davis (Griswold, Conn.) finding senior Jordan Groff (Lancaster, Pa.) from 10 yards out to put the Bears on the board.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Colonels started a drive from their own 41-yard line. Cote connected with freshman Dylan Vieira-Owens (Everett, Mass.) to get Curry to the Coast Guard nine-yard line. The Bears committed a personal foul on fourth down and goal to give the Colonels another chance from Bears' four-yard line. Shairs ran the ball to the one-yard line and Cote connected with Nastasi again, capping a five and a half minute drive that went for 59 yards on 11 plays.
Coast Guard scored on its last drive of the game, capped off with a six-yards TD rush courtesy of freshman running back Colin Cashin (Bedford, N.H.) that accounted for the 42-14 final.
Curry was led by Cote who finished with 24 completions on 35 attempts for 351 yards, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. Shairs led the running game as he recorded 136 yards on 23 attempts. Nastasi caught 10 total passes for 76 yards and two scores while Cawlina racked up 156 yards on six catches and a touchdown. Chartrand also collected 63 yards and a receiving touchdown.
Senior Dylan Spence (Newton, N.H) and junior Joe Zariello (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) led the Colonels with seven tackles apiece, while Zariello also recorded two sacks and three tackles for losses totaling 10 yards. Senior Curtis Davila (Yorba Linda, Calif.) recorded six total tackles, with two for losses of 17 yards. Sophomore Devin Williams (Gardener, Mass.) also chipped in with four tackles, including one for a loss of six yards.
The Bears were led offensively by Davis who threw for 117 yards on 13 completions and a touchdown. Senior Mike Clancy (Havertown, Pa.) led the ground attack, amassing 33 yards on 10 attempts. Groff and sophomore Cody Bain (Beaver Falls, Pa.) both caught four passes for 27 and 23 yards, respectively.
Sophomore Will Daniels led the Bears defensively with seven total tackles and was followed closely by senior Joe Rizzardi (Ashburn, Va.) with six total tackles. Senior Kyle Wood (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) racked up four tackles, with one for a loss of four yards.
Curry travels to Maine Maritime next Saturday for another conference game kicking off at noon. Coast Guard returns to conference action next Saturday as well, as they host Nichols College at 1 p.m.