Springfield, Mass. – The Springfield College football team held the ball for nearly 43 minutes and scored four touchdowns en route to its fifth consecutive NEWMAC Championship title, defeating Coast Guard, 30-10, on Saturday afternoon on Stagg Field.
Springfield improved to 7-2 on the season and 6-0 in NEWMAC play following today's victory, while Coast Guard, which entered the game 15th in the NCAA Power Index rankings, fell to 7-2, 5-1. Springfield earned the NEWMAC's automatic berth to the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, but will host Maritime next Saturday for a senior day matchup on Stagg Field to cap the regular season. Depending on next week's results, the Pride could hold the NEWMAC title outright or earn a share with Coast Guard.
Coast Guard entered today's game as the top offensive unit in the NEWMAC this year, but Springfield's potent defense held the Bears to just nine first downs and 130 yards of total offense – averaging just 3.2 yards per play. Meanwhile, Springfield's offense produced 29 first downs and 416 yards of total offense. The Pride held the ball for 42:43, went 4-for-9 on third down, 3-for-3 on fourth down, and scored on 5-of-6 chances inside the red zone.
Stanford Davis (Montague, N.J.) led Springfield's offense with 139 yards on the ground and a touchdown, while
Bode Dunn (Stockton, N.J.),
Cam Pedro (Cumberland, R.I.) and
James Green (Gales Ferry, Conn.) all found the back of the end zone today. Welch's posted 86 yards on the ground and laced a 19-yard pass to Green for the score, while Dunn ended his day with 80 yards of offense on eight carries. Defensively,
Nick Peterson (Kingston, Mass.) led Springfield's defense with seven tackles,
Tyler Sordillo (Hull, Mass.) registered a sack and
Tyler Pohlman (St. James, N.Y.) registered an interception late in the contest to seal the NEWMAC Championship title for the Pride.
Coast Guard wasted little time getting its offense going as on the very first drive of the game, Bears quarterback
Sean Burns (Absecon, N.J.) led the visitors down the field – a span of 75 yards on 14 plays – in just over five minutes for the 7-0 lead. Burns completed a 29-yard pass to
Broock Desta (San Diego, Calif.) before
Harrison Hensley (Riverview, Fla.) punched it in from the one, pushing Coast Guard ahead.
Springfield took over at its own 29-yard line following a kickoff by
Lucas Hubert (Canton, Ga.) with 9:36 remaining in the quarter. In impressive fashion, the Pride drove 71 yards and chewed almost ten minutes off the clock after Davis ran two yards into the end zone tying the game at seven early in the second.
After converting for just one first down on its second drive, Coast Guard punted setting Springfield up for another lengthy drive at its own 30. The 13-play scoring drive that lasted almost nine minutes was highlighted by an 11-yard rush by Pedro before
Ian Wernik (Plymouth, Mass.) drilled a 25-yard field goal giving Springfield a 10-7 edge as that is where the score stood at halftime.
Springfield deferred the opening kickoff and received the ball first to open the third quarter and six minutes later Pedro rushed to his left 18 yards into the end zone extending the lead to ten at 17-7. Coast Guard went three and out and was given the ball right back on a muffed punt, but the Bears were only able to muster a field goal – once again making it a one score game.
With 6:01 remaining in the third, a rush by Davis ignited a 15 play, 71-yard drive that lasted over nine minutes as Springfield extended its lead to 24-10. Pedro converted on a fourth down run before the Pride stalled at fourth and five from the Coast Guard 19. Welch lined up and found Green wide open through the air putting the game further out of reach from Coast Guard.
Another three and out by Coast Guard that ended with an interception by Pohlman set up a short field for Springfield to work with as Welch rushed for 11 yards on first down at the 31 before Dunn ran for 20 yards into the endzone accounting for the 30-10 final.
Coast Guard averaged 46.38 points per game entering today, which ranked top-10 nationally in Division III and Springfield's defense locked down the Bears to its lowest scoring output of the season. In fact, the ten points today scored by Coast Guard were the fewest for the Bears since they scored seven against Salve Regina on October 7, 2023 – a span of 24 games.
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 20 sports.