Davis leads CGA turnaround as Bears top Nichols
New London — Coast Guard had a lot to make up for after a demoralizing loss last week and had to do so with its backup quarterback. Not your ideal storyline.
Then came Adam Davis with 301 yards passing in his first career start. And Joe Rizzardi with an athletic 52-yard interception return for a touchdown and a partially blocked punt. And Tyler Henning with a 69-yard punt. And Jordan Groff with 125 receiving yards.
And suddenly last week's gloom for the Coast Guard Academy football team turned into a 24-6 victory Saturday over Nichols, catapulting the Bears back into the New England Football Conference championship race with a game next week against first-place Western New England at home.
"Last week we played poorly. It was the worst defensive game I've been a part of. For the first time in 17 years, we didn't have a defensive captain this week; that's how bad it was," Rizzardi said. "That kind of lit a fire under our butts, I want to say."
"Kids quit in football," Coast Guard coach Bill George said. "Credit this to the U.S. Coast Guard. If you don't get down on them, they'll run through the wall for you. They might have bad days, but they'll bounce back if you do it the right way."
Davis, a left-handed sophomore who took over for record-setting quarterback Derek Victory, out for the season with a broken thumb, said he got all his nerves out in last week's 42-14 loss to Curry following Victory's injury.
A Griswold High School graduate, Davis threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cody Bain on the opening drive Saturday for the Bears (5-3, 4-1) and finished 25-for-46 for 301 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was 17-for-33 for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as Coast Guard jumped out to a 24-0 lead.
Coast Guard's opening drive cov-
ered 80 yards in seven plays, with Davis going 4-for-6 for 76 yards.
In the second quarter, Rizzardi made an acrobatic interception of Nichols quarterback Michael McCourt and followed his blockers all the way to the end zone, his second interception return for a touchdown this season and third interception overall.
Henning rolled a 69-yard punt to the Nichols 2-yard-line on the Bears' next possession and Nichols was penalized on the return, pushing the Bison back to their own 1.
Coast Guard's next series started in Nichols territory and the Bears quickly capitalized, scoring in three plays capped by a 35-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Carter Provost.
Henning added a 32-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the half for the 24-0 lead.
"It just kind of felt like it had all week," said Davis, who credits the week of preparation, including a great deal of assistance from Victory, for his success.
"We did the stuff we were good at. The guys were going out there and making huge plays."
"(Davis) is from here. He had a statement to make and he did it," Rizzardi said.
Coast Guard turned the ball over three times in the second half, but held defensively. Kyle Wood led the way with 11 tackles, including half a sack, and the Bears had nine tackles for a loss in all.
Groff made nine catches for his 125 yards, Provost had five for 79 and Bain two for 58.
"It was a big turnaround," Davis said. "I credit it to the team's mentality after the Curry game. We stayed the course. Nobody lost focus. Nobody was down on themselves. We jelled together as a team this week. I felt prepared." v.fulkerson@theday.com Twitter: @vickieattheday