NEW LONDON, Conn.--

On homecoming weekend at the Coast Guard Academy, the Bears gave their proud alumni fireworks and much to cheer for with a 92-60 victory over Nichols College.

With 1:36 remaining in the game, Coast Guard and Nichols had tied for Division III history with 138 combined points. It was then that shifty return man Amr Baadani(Fairfax, VA) made sure the tie would be no longer with an 88 yard, history shattering kick return TD to set a new mark for most points scored in regulation in any D3 football game in history. 

As must be the case in a 92 point effort, the Coast Guard offense was firing from the jump. After 1992 grad and recent hall of fame inductee Ron Davies led the Bears out as their honorary captain today, the offense took charge. They had five possessions in the first quarter and found the endzone in all five to open up a 35-17 lead. The CGA offense showed they could score in a plethora of ways in the first. Harrison Hensley(Riverview, VA) rushed for two TDs, QB Sean Burns(Absecon, NJ) broke off a 54 yard TD rush, Burns found Matt LaBouliere(Pipersville, PA) in the air for a score, and LaBouliere proved himself a swiss army knife on offense when he threw for a TD to Chase Denton(Hondo, TX). The 35 points tied the previous record of CGA points in a quarter that was previously set in 2023. 

In the second, the Bears hit the ground running right where they left off with Hensley and LaBouliere each finding the endzone on the team's first possessions. Burns would connect with Toby Wroe(Oldsmar, FL) and Broock Desta(San Diego, CA) on their final two possessions, meaning six different Bears offensive players scored in the first half. After tying the Academy record for points scored in a first quarter, this time the Bears broke a school record with 64 points in the first half, more than doubling the 28 from Nichols.

The halftime can sometimes slow an offense down but Coast Guard got right back to their scoring ways on a 52 yard Broock Desta score to start the 3rd quarter. The CGA offense was finally stopped on their second possession of the third to cap off a streak of 10 straight possessions that resulted in the end zone. After a long Nichols possession and lengthy possession of their own, the Bears went to quarter four scoring just once in the 3rd but still leading 71-41. 

On the second play of quarter four, Harrison Hensley found the endzone for the third time to open up a 77-41 lead in favor of CGA before Nichols quickly scored to bring the score to a basketball-esque score of 77-48. When Coast Guard got the ball back, Sean Burns found LaBouliere for a third time(4th TD overall) to reach the rarely seen mark of 80 points scored and putting the Division III scoring record not just in reach but within a short grasp with just over seven minutes remaining. 

Nichols went on to march down the field with a nearly six minute drive to score and etch the Bears and Bison into the history books. The 85-53 score, and 138 combined points tied the D3 record for most combined points in a regulation game but after the Bison failed on the two point conversion, the teams appeared destined to be stuck with just that tie. That was until senior Amr Baadani took the ball at his own 12 yard line and behind his blockers, streaked down the sideline for a history breaking score. Nichols would tack on one more score and after Elias Duncan(El Paso, TX) took a knee for the Bears, the marathon, offensive explosion, historic game was finally over with a 92-60 final for 152 combined points. The 92 points for Coast Guard falls just one shy of the school record that was set with 93 vs Anna Maria in 2023. 

The 92-60 final etches this game into another niche history book as well. In the 157 years of college football across all three divisions, this is the first time in NCAA history that a college football game has ended by the final of 92-60, officially making it "scorigami". 

The loss for Nichols drops them to 0-3 on the season. They will host their homecoming next weekend at 1:00 PM vs New England College. 

Beyond the total points record, Nichols and Coast Guard also broke the D3 record for most combined touchdown passes with 14. Leading the charge for Coast Guard in that department was sophomore quarterback Sean Burns who threw for six. Those six TD passes ties an Academy record for the most in a game, most recently done by recent Hall of Fame inductee Derek Victory, who accomplished the feat in 2016. Burns completed 20 of 24 passes for 384 yards, did not turn the ball over, and added 72 yards on the ground. Leading the charge on the ground for the Bears was Harrison Hensley, who rushed for 153 yards and four TDs. James Wheeler IV(Oneida, NY) returned strong from injury, rushing for 74.

In the air, it was Matt LaBouliere who etched his name into the Bears' recordbook, tying the Academy record for most TD receptions in a game with three. That feat was last accomplished by Matt's teammate Broock Desta just last year. Desta had two of his own today and led the squad in reception yards with 158.

On special teams it was Amr Baadani leading the pack with 176 return yards on seven attempts, capped off by the record-breaking score. Maybe the busiest men on the Bears all day were kick-off specialist Connor Bates(Powhatan, VA) and place kicker Caleb McClure(Canton, GA). Bates kicked nearly 1,000 yards in the air with 735 kickoff yards on 14 attempts. McClure meanwhile, did not attempt a field goal but went 12/12 on extra points, finishing just one shy of the NCAA record of 13. 

The Bears, now above .500 at 2-1, will look to stay hot when they go on the road next Saturday at 12 PM to face WPI.