When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

Where: Cadet Memorial Field, New London.

Records: Springfield 5-0 overall, 2-0 NEWMAC; Coast Guard 3-2 overall, 1-1.

Players to watch: Springfield, QB Jake Eglintine (8-for-21, 144 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 69 carries, 371 yards, 7 TDs), FB Jordan Wilcox (115 carries, 673 yards, 8 TDs), HB Hunter Belzo (42 carries, 387 yards, 4 TDs), WR Jedi Haynes (4 catches, 110 yards, 2 TDs), DE Nick Giorgio (23 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, five sacks), LB Dom Traversa (29 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss), DB Josh Corporan (26 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss), DB Marlowe Scott (3 interceptions).

Coast Guard, QB Ryan Jones (14-for-33, 1 TD, 4 INTs), RB Cam Cecchini (68 carries, 238 yards, 2 TDs; 17 catches, 141 yards, 2 TDs), WR Justin Moffatt (19 catches, 209 yards, 2 TDs), WR Cody Bain (20 catches, 200 yards, 2 TDs), WR Darius Adams (2 catches, 62 yards), DT Jack Brandt (28 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks), LB Jake Behne (39 tackles), LB Titus Creamer (29 tackles, 3 sacks), DB Patrick Crowley (36 tackles, 2 INTs), P Chip Crowley (39.6 yards per kick), K Cole Austin (9-for-10 PATs, 6-for-7 FGs).

Analysis: Coast Guard gets the No. 1 team in New England, Springfield, this week, and hopes its surging defense can stop the Pride's well-oiled triple-option attack. Springfield has the top rushing offense in the nation in Division III, averaging 433.8 yards per game. "It's a different animal, plus they're good at it," Coast Guard coach Bill George said of the triple option, which the Bears will face in three of their final five games. "We have five films on them. They're good in every one of them. But we're excited to play; we want to play a team like Springfield. We're going in to win. The heck with it. We're a good football team. We're playing as good of defense as we can." Springfield has run the ball 334 times in 360 plays this season. ... Coast Guard, meanwhile, will start sophomore Ryan Jones at quarterback for the second straight week while junior Ethan Goldcamp recovers from a concussion suffered in a game at Norwich on Sept. 23. George said the coaching staff learned a lot about Jones in his first career start, last week's 20-14 loss to Catholic, including some things Jones may do well that they didn't know about before. "One thing I was impressed by him, he was quite a bit tougher ... you've never seen him play a game at quarterback or any other position," George said. "He told coach (Ray) LaForte he was quite a bit nervous, which you don't realize sometimes. We've spent 30 years (coaching), playing the game on the blackboard, while here's a kid with 19-year-old butterflies." ... Coast Guard got wide receiver Darius Adams back last week after Adams suffered a torn hamstring during the preseason. Adams had 1,054 yards and 13 touchdowns receiving last season. ... The teams have not played since 2003, a 49-10 Springfield victory when both were members of the Freedom Football Conference. Coast Guard last beat Springfield in 1999 (31-20), which was George's first career victory for the Bears. ... Springfield is coming off a 42-3 victory over Norwich last week, getting 21 carries for 111 yards from Jordan Wilcox. ... Coast Guard's defense is ranked 22nd nationally in Division III, allowing just 12.8 points per game.