New London — Coast Guard Academy's Tyler Henning was asked if he thought his pulsating, game-winning field goal with three seconds remaining Saturday was good from the time he kicked it.

"I didn't look," Henning said in all seriousness. "I looked at the holder (Jordan Groff) and waited for him to put his hands up. I never look. I just wait for Jordan's reaction."

The Coast Guard football team, playing its New England Football Conference opener against Salve Regina — the fifth-ranked team in the New England Division III poll — thrilled a Parents' Weekend crowd of 3,416 fans at Cadet Memorial Field with a 21-20 victory that came on Henning's 37-yarder, his third field goal of the game.

Coast Guard sophomore Ryan Robertson blocked two Salve punts, the final one to set up Henning's winning kick, and he recovered a fumble, while Henning punted six times for an average of 41.2 yards per kick, once pinning the Seahawks at the 1-yard line in the third quarter.

In addition, quarterback Derek Victory found his rhythm late in the second quarter and carried it throughout the second half, going 19-for-34 with 171 yards and a touchdown, breaking Coast Guard's career record of 849 passing attempts and helping the Bears even their record at 2-2 overall.

Salve, which got 216 yards rushing and a touchdown on 36 carries from running back Sam Pascale, had won seven straight games dating back to last year, including a season-ending victory over Norwich a year ago in the ECAC Northeast Bowl. The Seahawks, however, were penalized 12 times for 140 yards and fumbled a punt against Coast Guard, contributing to their own downfall.

Coast Guard trailed 7-6 at halftime on the strength of two Henning field goals, one from 28 yards out and one from 35.

"We made plays. That's what winning football games is," Coast Guard coach Bill George said. "That's effort by (Robertson on the final blocked punt). That's him getting off the edge. You just keep fighting, keep battling. There's a lot of guys who made plays. You have a snapper on that field goal, a holder, a kicker.

"... Coach (C.C.) Grant is coaching Tyler. He has a good feel for Tyler. He kept saying, 'Get it to the 20, get it to the 20.'"

Trailing 20-18 after Salve's go-ahead touchdown by Pascale with 9:41 to play, Coast Guard punted the ball back to the Seahawks with 6:05 to go. Salve got one first down, but big hits by Jack Brandt and Joe Rizzardi and a holding call halted the drive with the Seahawks punting from their own 43.

Robertson's block gave the Bears the ball at the Salve 37. On third-and-5, Victory completed a 9-yard pass to Kyle Jackson for the first down and from there Mike Clancy ran the ball twice up the middle, getting Coast Guard to the 21.

"I was just trying to calm down, to be completely honest," Henning said of what he did to occupy his time during a Salve timeout designed to ice him. "Try not to think about it. I had a lot of positive encouragement. Guys saying, 'Hey, we believe in you.'"

Groff finished with six catches for 56 yards and a touchdown for Coast Guard and Cody Bain (25 yards), Carter Provost (23 yards) and Jackson (18 yards) had three catches each. Eli Maurer led the defense with eight tackles.

Henning's punt to the 1 changed the momentum of the game, as Salve went two straight possessions without making it past its own 13-yard-line. On the second of those, quarterback Brandan Basil was intercepted by Coast Guard's Mark Behne, giving the Bears the ball at the Salve 16.

Victory scored on a keeper from the 3, giving the Bears an 18-14 lead. Coast Guard missed a two-point conversion attempt, but Salve, following its ensuing touchdown to claim the lead, missed its extra point attempt, leaving the margin at just two points.

Victory credits Coast Guard's fast-paced no-huddle offense with giving it the advantage over Salve late: "They're one of the best defenses you'll see, but they took a while to get set up and we're pretty fast. I love it. That's when I'm most comfortable. That way, they can't sub in, they can't sub out."

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday