NEW LONDON, Conn. --

Coming off their bye week, Coast Guard trailed by two scores early but beared down to defeat the Engineers by a score of 24-14. 

Coast Guard forced a punt on the first Engineer drive of the day but gave the rock right back to them on a fumble. Following the turnover, MIT drove down the field to take a 7-0 lead before forcing a CGA punt and scoring on their next possession as well for an early 14-0 lead.

Trailing 14-0 into the second quarter, the Bears did not back down. After Sean Burns(Absecon, NJ) and Harrison Hensley(Riverview, FL) marched their offense down to the one yard line, Hensley took the snap from Major Hartman(Tallahassee, FL) from the wildcat and scored after leaping over Hartman and the left guard Ethan Tabit(Warrenton, VA).

The Bears defense would turn around and display their ability to bend, but not break on the following drive, forcing a field goal try that sailed wide right. When the second Bears fumble of the day gave MIT the ball back, the CGA defense made a stand yet again and forced punts on each of their next two possessions. Beating the buzzer at half, freshman kicker Caleb McClure(Canton, GA) inched the Bears closer with a field goal to bring the score to 14-10 at the midway point of the action. McClure was set up for a shot at the uprights by a long throw and catch from Burns to the shifty senior Amr Baadani(Fairfax, VA).

Receiving the ball in the third quarter, Coast Guard marched down the field on the back of Harrison Hensley, with the touchdown drive culminating in a Sean Burns two yard TD pass to James Wheeler IV(Oneida, NY). After the teams traded punts and Coast Guard gave the ball back to MIT on their third turnover of the day, the game would go to the fourth quarter with the Engineers driving down just three.

With MIT in field goal range to start the fourth, the Coast Guard defense yet again made a strong stand to hold them to just that field goal. Lucas White(Juneau, AK) and Harrison Holland(Ocala, FL) combined for a massive 3rd down tackle at the line of scrimmage to force MIT to kick, and for the second time in the game, the Engineers missed wide right.

Coast Guard would turn it over on downs on their next possession but get the ball right back on a defensive clinic by three Bears. On an MIT pass attempt, Bears captain defensive lineman Will Wolf(Front Royal, VA) got to the QB just as he was releasing the ball, corner Jael Cuellar(Miami, FL) swatted the pass away, and after the ball bounced off the Engineer intended receiver, Ethan Cumming(Massapequa Park, NY) was there to pick the ball off. Cumming, originally a runningback, has made a name for himself lately as a stud defender for the Bears, with four tackles to go along with his interception today.

With momentum on their side, and the Coast Guard faithful on their feet in the stands, the Bears came up with the dagger in the form of a 34 yard touchdown pass to Broock Desta(San Diego, CA). After Harrison Holland forced an MIT fumble, Will Adair(San Antonio, TX) was there to recover and the Bears were able to kneel their way to a fifth straight victory.

The loss drops MIT to 2-3(0-3 NEWMAC). They will host Salve Regina next Saturday October 25th at noon.

On defense, Coast Guard was spectacular. They not only held MIT to just 14, lowest of any opponent this season, but shut the Engineers out for the final three quarters. Lucas White led all with 14 tackles, with Noah Rohrer(Mount Joy Township, PA) and Ramon Cruz(Valparaiso, FL) just behind with nine and eight respectively. Jael Cuellar had seven tackles and three pass breakups at corner while Will Wolf wreaked havoc on the MIT offensive line, hustling the QB on five occasions.

Despite being held to their lowest point total of the season, the Bears offense was still firing. Sophomore QB Sean Burns had 294 yards and two touchdowns, adding 22 rushing yards. Harrison Hensley yet again paced the CGA rushers with 145 yards and a TD. Three different men had 90+ reception yards: Broock Desta with 90, Amr Baadani with 94, and Matt LaBouliere(Pipersville, PA) with 103.

The Bears, now winners of five straight, improve to 5-1 on the season, 3-0 in NEWMAC play. They will host another league foe Norwich next Saturday in the Battle for the Mug at noon.