Box Score (Courtesy of Coast Guard Athletics)

NEW LONDON, Conn.--Sophomore Tyler Henning booted a 22-yard field goal with 54 seconds left to lift host Coast Guard to a 41-38 New England Football Conference win Saturday over Western New England before 2,800 fans at Cadet Memorial Field. The Bears improve to 2-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference with the win, concluding a three-game homestand, while the Golden Bears drop to 1-3 on the season (1-1 NEFC). It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Western New England junior running back Kevin Cook personally outgained the CGA offense (74 yards) on the ground with 153 yards and a school-record-tying four touchdowns (3, 1, 1, 6) on 35 carries.

Freshman signal caller Derek Victory completed a Coast Guard single-game record with 36 completions

Forced to punt with 1:28 to play the Bears seemed content to play for overtime, but the bounce of the ball had other plans. As freshman Isaiah Berrios was blocking Coast Guard sophomore Mark Behne downfield, the ball deflected of Berrios' leg and Behne alertly jumped on top of the ball, giving Coast Guard possession at the Western New England five yard line.

After pinning the Golden Bears at their own 28 with the ensuing kickoff following Henning's game-winning field goal, the Coast Guard defense made a final stand when it mattered most.

Western New England made it to the Coast Guard 13-yard line when senior quarterback John Krafick's pass to junior Andrew Walz was reeled in for a nine yard pickup with 16 seconds to play. Krafick would spike the ball to kill the clock with four seconds to play and give the Golden Bears a chance to tie the game with a field goal. Freshman place-kicker Kevin Patterson would attempt the 30-yarder from the right hash, but WNE would see their hopes dashed when Patterson's attempt was hooked wide left to preserve the victory.

The winning sequence wouldn't have been possible without the record-breaking performance by junior wide receiver Collis Brown, who caught a school-record 16 passes for 244 yards (another single-game school record), including a pair of touchdown catches. Brown absolutely went off in the first half, recording 10 catches for 196 yards.

Coast Guard started the scoring early when Victory hooked up with Brown for a 35-yard touchdown on the opening drive, just 2:43 into the game. Victory was perfect on the opening possession, completing all six of his pass attempts, accounting for 74 yards in what would be the start of a very special day for the young quarterback.

The Bears' offense was firing on all cylinders as they raced out to a 24-7 lead just 12 minutes into the game and it looked like Western New England wasn't going to be able to stop them. However, turnovers took their toll on the Bears, and by halftime the Golden Bears were back in the game trailing just 24-21.

With about two minutes to play in the third quarter, the score 31-28 in favor of Coast Guard, and Western New England lined up to try a 27-yard field goal attempt, senior Evan Rothfeld broke through the line to block Patterson's kick and give the Bears some momentum.

Victory finished the game with 388 yards on 36-for-63 passing, but it was a play he made with his legs that set everything up for the Bears.

Trailing 38-31 and faced with a third and goal at the Western New England one yard line, Victory kept the ball on a speed option play and broke into the end zone and Henning's fifth extra point of the afternoon tied the game up.

Western New England used a high-powered rushing offense to get back in the game and give the Coast Guard defense fits. Led by Cook (35 carries, 153 yards, and four touchdowns), the Golden Bears were able to run for 305 yards against the Bears' defense. Cook scored a touchdown in every quarter for the Golden Bears who compiled 600 yards on offense for the afternoon.

Coast Guard finished the game with 462 yards of offense, all but 74 through the air as five receivers caught three or more passes. Brown's 16 led the way, while senior Nick Frederickson (7 receptions, 75 yards), junior Blake Thompson (5-23), and senior Alex Oswald (3-37) all factored heavily into the offense.

Junior Tony Buzzini and sophomores Cory Sonnega and Kyle Wood each recorded interceptions as the Coast Guard defense forced Western New England into five turnovers. The Bears had five turnovers themselves, with Victory accounting for four interceptions, including two by sophomore Kenny Strecker.

Sophomore linebacker Nathan Fleming led Western New England with 14 tackles in the game, while senior Brandon Ormsby and sophomores Steve Melino and Strecker each tallied seven apiece.

Coast Guard was led by four players recording double-digit tackles including juniors Joel Wyman and Aaron Black with 13 each while Sonnega and sophomore Joe Rizzardi compiled 11 and 10, respectively.

The game saw 190 plays run (97 for Coast Guard, 93 for Western New England) and a total of 1,062 yards gained on offense.

Coast Guard has now won back-to-back games for the first time since October 13 and 20 last year when they recorded road victories over Westfield State (31-27) and Worcester State (31-28, ot).