NEW LONDON, Conn. — Sophomore quarterback Derek Victory threw for 295 yards and a touchdown while senior Collis Brown had a season-high 11 receptions as Coast Guard shut out Curry 17-0 in a New England Football Conference (NEFC) game on Homecoming Weekend. Coast Guard beat Curry for the first time after dropping the first five games in the series vs. the Colonels. The Bears improve to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play while Curry drops to 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the NEFC.

Curry turned the ball over on downs in Coast Guard territory on the opening drive of the game and the Bears marched 59 yards in eight plays capped on a trick play as senior wide receiver Blake Thompson was running a reverse and then a threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Bryan Popp with 10:28 left in the first quarter and sophomore Chris Bell added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

The Bears would extend the lead to 14-0 on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Victory to junior Jordan Groff with 4:25 left in the first half. That score capped a 13-play, 83 yard drive. The key play in the drive was a 27-pass from Victory to Thompson on 3rd-and-14 from the Curry 37.

Coast Guard had 216 yards in the first half, 172 passing and 44 rushing while Curry finished the first half with 137 yards, 136 of those passing.

Both teams turned the ball over on downs on their opening drives of the second half before Coast Guard missed a 35-yard field goal with 4:38 left in the third quarter. The Coast Guard defense forced a punt on the next possession and the offense then drove deep into Curry territory and Bell kicked a 22-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead with 14:14 left in the game.

The Colonels drove down to the Coast Guard 13-yard line, but junior Joe Rizzardi had back-to-back pass breakups including one in the end zone on fourth down to keep the shutout intact. Curry then blocked a punt at the Coast Guard 33-yard line, but again turned it over on downs at the 13-yard line on an incomplete pass on 4th-and-two with 5:56 left.

Victory was 29 of 48 for 295 yards with a touchdown and an interception while Groff finished with seven receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. Junior Mike Clancy had 21 carries for 49 yards to lead the Bears on the ground.

Freshman quarterback Spencer Tyler was 24 of 44 for 210 yards for Curry while sophomore running back Dave DiGiorgi led the way with 10 receptions for 138 yards.  Senior Trae Weathers had nine carries for 33 yards to lead Curry on the ground.

Coast Guard finished with 369 yards, 321 passing while Curry had 250 total yards, just 18 of those rushing on 23 attempts.

Senior Victor Rizzardi led the Bears with 13 tackles, 10 solo while freshman linebacker Devin Williams led Curry with 13 tackles, nine solo. Junior linebacker Kyle Wood led the Bears with three sacks. (Recap courtesy of USCGA Sports Information)