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KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Nov. 15, 2019) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy football team (5-3, 4-2 NEWMAC) will take on arch-rival Coast Guard in the 39th Annual Secretaries' Cup Game tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 16. Kickoff is scheduled for 12-noon at the Bears' Cadet Memorial Field in New London, Conn.
ESPN Producing And Streaming The Rivalry Game For Third-Straight Year
"The Worldwide Leader in Sports," ESPN, will be producing and streaming Saturday's game around the Globe on ESPN3. Returning for his second year on the play-by-play will be Robert Lee, while color analyst and three-time Super Bowl Champion Matt Chatham is back for the third-straight year. The game can be found on www.espn.com/watch or on the WatchESPN App on a smart phone or tablet. The direct link to watch the game can be accessed by clicking here.
Secretaries' Cup & Series History Vs. Coast Guard
The 2019 Secretaries' Cup game will be the 39th-straight meeting between the rival DIII service academies since the Cup was first awarded in 1981. The Mariners lead the Secretaries' Cup series, 25-13, though Coast Guard won last year's meeting in Kings Point, 26-12. The two teams have met a total of 47 times in a series that dates back to 1949 and USMMA has a big 32-15 advantage overall. Since Merchant Marine Head Coach Mike Toop '77 took over at KP in 2005, the Mariners have gone 10-4 against Coast Guard.
Scouting Coast Guard
The Bears enter the Secretaries' Cup with a 5-4 overall record, including a 2-4 mark in NEWMAC action, under 21st-year head coach Bill George. Coach George recently announced he will retire after Saturday's game.
Coast Guard has lost three of its last four games, including the last two - home against MIT, 22-16, and at WPI, 54-7. The Bears' offense averages 19.1 points and 275.6 yards per game, while the defense allows 20.2 points and 339.7 yards per game.
Senior quarterback Ryan Jones has thrown for 1,619 yards on 151-for-275 passing with 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Junior Justin Moffatt is his top target with 61 catches for 723 yards and five scores, while sophomore Damaso Jaime has hauled in 24 passes for 375 yards and a team-best six TDs. On the ground, junior Jon Wagner has amassed 431 yards on 95 carries and found the end zone five times. Three other Coast Guard rushers have two touchdowns each.
On defense, junior Eugene Bizer leads the way with 94 tackles, including 8.5 for losses with one sack. He also has two interceptions, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Senior Patrick Crowley and junior Philip Orlando are both tied for second on the team with 59 tackles - Crowley has a team-best four interceptions and nine pass breakups, while Orlando leads the Bears with eight sacks and two forced fumbles.
Crowley also handles the kicking duties and has made 5-of-8 field goals, including a long of 44 yards, while also converting 19-of-22 PATs. Senior punter Liam Middleton averages 32.8 yards per punt with a long of 59 yards, 15 landing within the opponents' 20 and two touchbacks. Freshman Jared Colletti has returned 16 kickoffs an average of 21.8 yards with a long of 53 yards and also averages 8.3 yards per punt return on six returns.
Merchant Marine Leaders
Senior quarterback Krystian Abbott (Lansing, Kan.), has completed 61-of-98 passes for 1,214 yards and eight touchdowns in the air this season. He's also rushed for 228 yards and five scores on the ground. Senior James Early (Middletown, Md.) leads USMMA with 423 rushing yards and has found the end zone four times, while junior Matt Restifo (Hudson, Ohio) is second on the squad with 362 rushing yards and has three TDs on the ground to go along with two receiving scores. Sophomore Alec Kiernan (Centereach, N.Y.) has rushed for 358 yards and a team-best six rushing scores. Senior Joe Vitelli (Warrington, Pa.) has caught 37 passes for 770 yards and has six touchdowns.
Defensively, sophomore Eric Davidson (Savannah, Ga.) has a team-best 46 tackles, with three tackles for losses of four yards, a team-best three interceptions, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two pass break-ups. Senior Reno Dubreuil (Moorpark, Calif.) is second on the team with 41 tackles, with three for losses and two half-sacks, and classmate Tanner Carter (Columbiana, Ala.) is third with 35 tackles, two for losses, two picks and five pass break-ups on the year. Freshman Colton Ray (Bellevue, Ohio) leads the Mariners with five sacks, while sophomore Tyler Sloman (Poulsbo, Wash.) has three sacks and has scored USMMA's lone defensive TD of the season with a fumble recovery in the end zone. Junior Noah Newburgh (Gilbert, Ariz.) is the team-leader with nine pass break-ups, while freshman Xavier Coleman (San Ramon, Calif.) has broken up six passes.
On Special Teams, Vitelli has returned an average of 22.0 yards on 28 kick returns with a long of 44 yards, to go along with an average of 8.3 yards on 21 punt returns with a long of 37 yards. Senior kicker Gavin Gartner (Cedar Park, Texas) has made 31-of-35 PATs as well as 11 field goals, including a long of 40 yards, and sophomore punter Jack Ruark (Urbanna, Va.) averages 31.7 yards on 29 punts with 10 landing inside the opponents' 20 and a long of 43 yards.
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