SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — 

The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) football regular season title wasn't up for grabs, but the air on Allen Street was still that of a championship game as the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Springfield College faced off on Saturday, with the victor claiming sole possession of the NEWMAC's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.

After a tight first half, Springfield eventually came out on top with a 30-10 victory to take the bid. Coast Guard's moves to 7-2 on the season and 5-1 in the NEWMAC, with the loss being their first since Week 1, while Springfield improves to 7-2 overall and 6-0 in-conference. The Pride will host SUNY Maritime College (5-4, 3-3) for their next game on Saturday, November 15th, to close out the season.

The Bears started with the ball and scored the first six points after Harrison Hensley (Riverview, Fla.) scored from one yard out on a Wildcat rush. The play was set up by 3rd & 19 conversion from the Springfield 30-yard line that saw Sean Burns (Absecon, N.J.) connect with Broock Desta (San Diego, Calif.) across the middle for a 29-yard gain. Springfield equalized once it was their turn, getting the ball with 9:36 left in the first quarter and drained the clock into the second before Stanford Davis picked up the 2-yard score.

The Pride regained the ball after a stop on Coast Guard's next possession and drove down the field until they set up a 1st & Goal on the Bears' 6-yard line. After a Ramon Cruz (Valparaiso, Fla.) tackle for a loss of 5-yards and another loss of three caused by Jael Cuellar (Miami, Fla.), Springfield settled for a field goal to up, 10-7. The score held up going into halftime after Springfield stopped the Bears' next possession and Coast Guard was able to stall the Pride until the clock ran out.

Springfield started the second half with the ball and made the most of their opportunity, covering 79 yards in 11 plays with Cam Pedro capping it on an 18-yard touchdown. The Pride stifled another Coast Guard drive at the Bears' 27-yard line, but the visitors regained possession after a Springfield muffed the punt at the 48. The Bears got to the Pride's 13 after Burns connected with Matt LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.) for a 35-yard gain, but Springfield was able to stay ahead by a score after forcing a field goal, which was drilled by Caleb McClure (Canton, Ga.) from 33 yards out.

Coast Guard forced the Pride into a 4th & 12, giving the visitors a chance for a crucial turnover on downs just before the fourth quarter, but Pedro extended the drive by covering those 12 yards on a pitch play. The Bears were able to pit their hosts against another 4th, with the Pride needing five this time to keep the possession going, but the triple-option specialist did the unthinkable and called a pass play. The Coast Guard defense was caught completely off guard, allowing quarterback TJ Welch to connect with James Green for the easy 19-yard dagger.

The game was officially out of reach on Coast Guard's next possession, which ended in an interception by Tyler Pohlman. Springfield later cashed in the turnover for points after Bode Dunn rushed it in from the 20 for the final touchdown of the game. Outside of the opening score by Hensley, it was wire-to-wire domination for the Pride, who tallied 416 yards of total offense while limiting the Bears to 130. Springfield used their triple option scheme to hold possession for just over 42 minutes of the game, and they limited Coast Guard to just three third down conversions on ten tries.

A rough day for the offense saw Burns total 98 passing yards on nine completions, Hensley go for 47 rushing yards on 15 attempts, and LaBouliere record 54 receiving yards on four catches. Lucas White (Juneau, Alas.) totaled 15 tackles to lead the defensive effort, while Ethan Cumming (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) matched his seven solo tackles. For the Pride, David and Welch had respective rushing totals of 139 and 100.

Bears football will look for a bounce back effort next weekend in their annual and highly-anticipated Secretaries' Cup match-up against the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, played this season at historic Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Coast Guard dominated last season's game for a 42-21 win, and will look to go back-to-back in the big game for the first time since 1996 and 1997.