New London — There's nothing like starting your first game as a college quarterback and having one of the best Division III receivers in the nation, in this case Coast Guard Academy's Darius Adams, come back from injury to help you out.

"He definitely caught a few he shouldn't have," said Coast Guard sophomore quarterback Ryan Jones of Adams. "It was great to have one of my favorite targets back to put us in some good spots."

Jones, starting in place of the injured Ethan Goldcamp, went down throwing in a 20-14 loss to Catholic University on Saturday before a crowd of 3,305 on Parents' Weekend at Cadet Memorial Field.

Trailing 20-14, Jones led the Bears on a pair of pulsating potential game-winning drives, before being intercepted on both, once with 4 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the game and again with 27 seconds left.

On the first drive, starting at Coast Guard's 25, the Bears (3-2 overall, 1-1 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference) moved forward on a pass interference call and then got a 25-yard gain from Jones to Adams on an improbable catch by Adams (1,054 yards, 13 touchdowns last season).

Adams, playing for the first time this season following a hamstring injury, caught the ball after it was tipped by fellow receiver Cody Bain. The Bears got as close as first-and-10 at the Catholic 30 when Jones was picked by Catholic's Joe Nacci.

The teams then traded series and it appeared as if Catholic would run the clock out with 48 seconds remaining. The Cardinals, though, had a field goal attempt fall short, giving the ball back to the Bears with 44 seconds to play.

One 38-yard throw to Adams, coming down with the ball in double-coverage, got the ball all the way into Catholic territory before Jones was intercepted again.

Jones finished 14-for-31 for 152 yards, his first career touchdown pass, 20 yards to Cam Cecchini, and had a rushing touchdown. Jones threw three interceptions.

"There's so much on your plate. It's so quarterback-driven," Coast Guard coach Bill George said of the performance by Jones, who hasn't started a game in two seasons since his senior year at Punxsutawney (Pa.) High School. "I thought he threw the ball better than he had all week. You have a sophomore quarterback in his first start and at the academy that means he's a freshman quarterback. It was exceptional."

Following the game, Jones met his parents, Jamie and Heidi, on the field. George walked over to greet them and flung his left arm around Jones' shoulders for a pep talk, telling him not to be discouraged.

"He told me first starts are tough ... he's proud of the way I performed," Jones said. "I think the week (of practice) went really well. It was a good-to-practice type of deal. ... I had a lot of pressure (Saturday). There are definitely some throws I left out there. It's always disappointing to lose, but I think that's a really good team we just played."

Coast Guard's defense, which stretched its string to 10 straight quarters without allowing a touchdown before Catholic (3-2, 1-1) broke through in the second quarter, came up big again with two goal line stands to force Cardinals field goals.

Linebacker Jake Behne led the Bears with 12 tackles, tying lineman Tommy Jones each with two tackles for a loss. Lineman Jack Brandt had a sack.

Coast Guard took a 7-3 lead in the second quarter after a 10-play, 88-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by Jones and the ensuing kick by Cole Austin. Catholic scored on a 14-yard touchdown catch by Blake Gomez with 29 seconds left in the first half to make it 10-7 in the Cardinals' favor.

The teams traded touchdown passes in the third quarter, making it 17-14 before Catholic tacked on a field goal with 7:15 to play, making it 20-14, but still leaving the Bears within striking distance.

"We'll get better," George said. "We have some new faces out there on offense. I thought the guys played a tough, tough game. The defense is playing lights out football and that's all I can say. You can't ask for more than that from a group of guys."

v.fulkerson@theday.com