NEW LONDON, Conn. – Endicott senior quarterback led two, fourth quarter touchdown drives to help the Gulls pull off a 14-13 victory over NEFC opponent Coast Guard and in the process became the program's all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdowns. Frenette's seven-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Dimitri Skinsacos (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) was the senior's 70th career touchdown, surpassing former Gulls quarterback Phil Konopka '12, and also proved to be the game-winning score.
Endicott (5-2, 4-0 NEFC) won their fifth straight game coming out of the bye week. The Gulls return home on Saturday, November 1st for their final home game of the regular season when they take on MIT. Saturday's game will also serve as Senior Day for 18 members of the Endicott football team. Kickoff will be at 5:00 pm at Endicott Stadium.
Coast Guard (3-5, 2-3 NEFC) had a chance to win the game with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter with Bears kicker Tyler Henning (Cypress, Texas) on the field for a 37-yard field goal attempt, but Henning's bid to hand Endicott their first conference loss came up short. Henning had previously hit from 39 yards and 18 yards to push Coast Guard's lead up to 13-0 by the 14:15 mark of the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff following Henning's 18 yard field goal to make it 13-0 Bears, Gulls junior return man Anthony Carter (Manchester, Conn.) ran the ball back 32 yards to put in prime field position on the CGA 37-yard line. Frenette capitalized on the first offensive play of the drive, connecting with sophomore Conor Crotty (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) for a 37-yard touchdown to make it a 13-7 game with 14:03 on the clock.
Coast Guard's next possession was an eight-play drive that took 3:41 off the clock but the Endicott defense came up big by forcing their sixth punt of the game. The defensive stand gave the ball back to the Gulls on their own 20-yard line after a touchback.
Frenette would come up with key passes on his next drive, including an eight-yard pass to senior receiver Nate Lewis (Acushnet, Mass.) which put Frenette past Konopka's 7,085 yardage record. On the Coast Guard 42-yard line and facing third down, Frenette would connect with Skinsacos for 13 yards to get a first down and on the next play completed a 22-yard dump off pass to junior tailback Spencer Walsh (Malden, Mass.) to get the Gulls down to the Bears seven. The next play proved to be the game-winner as Skinsacos hauled in his third touchdown of the season to put Endicott on top 14-13.
Coast Guard had two drives following the Skinsacos touchdown, one that ended in a punt after a crucial sack by sophomores Craig Anderson (Franklin, Mass.) and Matthew Dow (Nottingham, N.H.) set the Bears back near midfield and the final drive that saw the potential game-winning field goal fall short.
Endicott's defense was a presence all game long as sophomore linebacker John Elnagger (Rowley, Mass.) led all players with 11 tackles, 10 of which were solo, with three tackles for a loss. Junior Bryan Mey (Marshfield, Mass.) had nine tackles and a pass breakup from the safety position and Anderson added eight tackles including 3.5 tackles for a loss. Gulls senior cornerback Jake Cox (Wrentham, Mass.) had six tackles and a key interception deep inside Endicott territory to keep the Bears off the board.
Frenette's day under center wasn't all good as the senior tossed two interceptions to Coast Guard junior defensive back Mark Behne (Clifton, Va.), one which was returned 48 yards to the Endicott nine-yard line. Cox would negate that interception by picking off Bears quarterback Derek Victory (Weston, Fla.) inside the Gulls five-yard line.
Coast Guard had one touchdown drive in the contest that ended in a five-yard end zone score by senior running back Jake Wawrzyniak (Sylvania, Ohio). Wawrzyniak finished the game with 69 yards on the ground and 24 yards on two catches through the air. Victory threw for 228 yards with no touchdowns and one pick.
Frenette threw for 217 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in the win and connected with Lewis six times for 49 yards and fellow senior Brett Egizi (Walpole, Mass.) caught four balls for 44 yards. Crotty finished with 41 yards receiving with 37 coming on his touchdown grab in the fourth quarter.