NEW LONDON, Conn. - Head coach C.C. Grant and the Bears Football Team will open the 2023 season on the road and then will play back-to-back home games.
The Bears will return this season with eight returning starters on offense and eight on defense. Coach Grant is looking forward to this host of returning players on both sides of the ball.
Junior quarterback
Joey Armentrout will return to lead the Coast Guard Offense for the second year in a row. He completed 187 passes for 2257 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. Armentrout will have a lot of returning players to throw to this year including league Rookie of the Year
Broock Desta. Desta averaged 12.33 yards per reception and had eight receiving touchdowns for a total of 752 yards on the year. Other targets Armentrout will have will be Jimmy Patz, ,
Amr Baadani,
Matt Ross,
Chase Denton Matt Thomas,
Ezra Tetreault and
Chase Politte. "Running backs Jacob Hardy and
Glenn Patrick will compete for the starting spot in the backfield, "said Coach Grant.
The team will return four out of five starting linemen from last year. They will be anchored by anchored by
Chase Lusk,
Jacob Vecchio,
Jason Ruggeri,
Jay Martin, and
Ethan Tabit.
Derrick Griffin,
Jeff Hartung,
Spencer Mackenzie and
Nick Folkes help to add depth. Defensively, the team will have a veteran defensive backfield.
Ryan Vigo and
Logan Morris will lead the team as seniors and three-year starters. Morris had three interceptions last season while Vigo had two. Two defensive fronts will also return:
Tyler Jones and
Alejandro Christopher. The captains this year will be
Matt Ross,
Jacob Vecchio, and
Logan Morris. "All three will have a hand in how we do this season, "said Coach Grant.
The incoming freshman class is quite impressive, and some might find their way onto the field in their first season according to Coach Grant. Some names offensively to watch for are
Harrison Hensley,
Gage Gehrke,
Dylan Lolley,
Toby Wroe and James Wheeler. On the other side of the ball, one might see
Jael Cuellar,
Blake Delevan,
Corvin Johnson,
Jais Kirkman and
Xavier Spaulding on the field.
