NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomore quarterback Ethan Goldcamp came off the bench and threw for 380 yards including 319 of those in the second half with three second half touchdowns as Coast Guard finished with a school record 492 passing yards, but it wasn't enough as the Bears, who trailed by 20 at halftime, fell just short of a stunning comeback falling to Catholic 37-35 on Parents' Weekend.
The game featured 1,102 yards of total offense with Catholic finishing with 622 yards (425 passing) while Coast Guard had 492 passing yards, but had negative 12 yards rushing for 480 yards.
Goldcamp was 23 of 44 for 380 yards. He was 19 of 38 for 319 yards in the final 30 minutes.
Coast Guard had three receivers with over 100 receiving yards as junior Darius Adams, playing his first year of football, had a huge game with eight receptions for 217 yards and three touchdowns, all in the second half. Junior Cody Bain had ten receptions for 121 yards while senior Kyle Jackson had eight receptions for 102 yards in the loss.
Catholic junior quarterback Jorge Pola was 24 of 34 for 366 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions in the win as the Cardinals improved to 3-0 on the season.
Senior wide receiver Lucas Morley (6 receptions, 113 yards, 4 TD) caught four touchdown passes in the first half as the Catholic dominated the opening 30 minutes and led 27-7 at halftime. He caught touchdown passes of 20 and 18 yards in the first quarter.
Coast Guard record setting quarterback senior Derek Victory was 9 of 15 for 112 yards and a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jackson in the first quarter before leaving on the first series of the second quarter with a leg injury.
Morley caught two more touchdown passes in the second quarter, the first from eight yards before a 21-yard score with 6:28 left in the half that gave the Cardinals 27-7 halftime lead. Coast Guard missed a 30-yard field goal with 4:24 left in the half.
Catholic had 387 total yards in the first half, 273 passing while Coast Guard had 179 first half yards, 173 passing.
Coast Guard punted on its first two possessions of the third quarter before Goldcamp marched the Bears 75 yards and threw a 31-yard TD strike to Adams with 6:25 left and following a three-and-out by Catholic, he led the Bears on a 93-yard drive capped on a 4-yard touchdown to Adams to make the score 27-21 with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
Catholic got its first points on the second half on a 26-yard field goal by Peter Rosa pushing the lead to 30-21 with 12:59 left.
Coast Guard punted on its next possession before sophomore linebacker Titus Creamer returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown pulling the Bears to within 30-28 with 9:13 remaining.
Catholic struck quickly as Pola threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to senior running back Matt Perno on the next play from scrimmage as the Cardinals led by two scores 37-28.
The Bears punted on its next two possessions before Goldcamp led the Bears on a 91-yard drive that was capped on a beautiful 51-yard touchdown pass to Adams making the score 37-35 with 1:21 left.
Coast Guard executed the perfect onsides kick by freshman kicker Patrick Crowley that his brother sophomore Chip Crowley recovered at the Catholic 34-yard line.
After two straight incomplete passes junior defensive lineman Neal Davidson sacked Goldcamp and the fourth down passes to Adams was incomplete to end the Bears comeback hopes.
Perno finished with 17 carries for 99 yards to lead Catholic on the ground.
Patrick Crowley made his first career start at cornerback and had a career-high ten tackles for the Bears.
The Bears drop to 1-2 on the season and will travel to Salve Regina on Saturday to open up New England Football Conference (NEFC) play at noon.