Behne Wins Prestigious Gold Helmet

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Coast Guard senior Mark Behne has won the prestigious Gold Helmet from the Jack Grinold Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the National Football Foundation which is presented to the Division I (FBS and FCS) and II/III football players who have established himself for outstanding contributions to his team on the given week.

Behne, the New England Football Conference (NEFC) Defensive Player of the Week, received his award at the New England Football Writers luncheons at Harvard and become just the sixth player at the Coast Guard Academy to win the prestigious award.

Current senior Joe Rizzardi was the last Coast Guard player to win the Gold Helmet as he won it
during the 2013 season when he returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns in the Bears 37-20 win over Nichols.

Cornerback/kick returner Pat Bennett (2010), quarterback John Resch (2009), quarterback Niles Pierson (2006), and running back Scott Huerter (1988) were the other Bears to win the award.

Behne registered two fourth quarter interceptions the final one in the end zone with 40 seconds left to preserve the Bears 21-14 win at Maine Maritime on Saturday.

He also recorded a career-high 14 tackles from his free safety spot as the Bears improved to 3-2 overall and remained unbeaten at 2-0 in the NEFC as the Bears overcame a 14-0 second quarter deficit.

Behne is third on the team with 40 tackles and leads the team 3.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and five pass breakups.

Coast Guard is off this week and the Bears return to action on Oct. 17^th when they host MIT as part of Homecoming Weekend with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m.