BEVERLY, Mass. – On Homecoming Saturday, the Endicott football team garnered a 28-6 victory over Curry in the opening weekend of NEFC action as senior quarterback Drew Frenette (New Bedford, Mass.) threw three of his four touchdown passes to senior receiver Brett Egizi (Walpole, Mass.) and the Gulls defense, led by a two-sack performance by fifth-year linebacker Andrew Holfinger (Sterling, Mass.), was able to subdue a Colonels offense that held a significant advantage in time of possession.
Endicott (2-2, 1-0 NEFC), after going 1-2 in their non-conference schedule through week three, have returned their overall record to .500 and now look ahead to their week five matchup at Maine Maritime Academy on Saturday, October 4th. Kickoff is at 12:00 pm on Ritchie Field in Castine, Maine against a Mariner squad that is currently 2-2 (0-1 NEFC) after a lop-sided 80-16 loss at home to Western New England.
Frenette threw for 197 yards and connected with Egizi on touchdown passes of 37 yards and one yard in the first quarter and later added a 31-yard score with 54 seconds remaining in the third quarter to cap off the scoring. Frenette also hooked up with sophomore wide out Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) midway through the second quarter as the Blue and Green owned a 21-0 lead before Curry got on the board.
On Curry's possession following the Lipscomb touchdown, Colonels freshman quarterback Spencer Tyler (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) led his team to their only points of the game as Spencer found sophomore running back Dean Anderson (Melrose, Mass.) on a short pass that turned into a 15-yard score. On the ensuing extra-point attempt, Fiero Parmalee's (Seekonk, Mass.) attempt was blocked Holfinger to hold Curry to just six points on the drive.
Holfinger had an impressive overall game, totaling nine tackles including 2.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks, breaking up two passes, hurrying the quarterback twice, and blocking an extra-point. The defense was led by a standout effort from freshman linebacker Erik Goguen (Waltham, Mass.) who in his first game action of the season was a force with a team-high 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, a sack, and a pass breakup. Sophomore linebacker John Elnagger (Rowley, Mass.) had 11 takedowns and junior defensive back Brian Mey (Marshfield, Mass.) added 10 tackles, including four solo, with a tackle for a loss and a breakup.
Senior cornerback Jake Cox (Wrentham, Mass.) was a major factor in Endicott's causing six changes of possession on defense as Cox intercepted Tyler in the second quarter which set up the Lipscomb touchdown catch. Cox was also relied upon to cover one of Curry's better receivers in sophomore Alex Kershaw (Boston, Mass.) who last week hauled in eight passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. Kershaw had a solid game with six receptions for 77 yards but was blanketed by Cox for the majority of the game.
Tyler, who finished 31-of-51 for 252 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, used sophomore fullback Dave DiGiorgi (Watertown, Conn.) on a regular basis with short out passes as DiGiorgi had 12 catches for 77 yards. Curry's offense did find some success on the ground with senior running back Trae Weathers (Revere, Mass.) who ran 11 times for 93 yards (8.5 ypc) with a long rush of 34 yards. Anderson added 26 yards on seven rushes.
The running game for the Gulls was shared between sophomore tailback Christian Martinez (Tariffville, Conn.) and freshman running back Lavante Wiggins (Dalton, Mass.) who combined for 94 yards. Martinez rushed 12 times for 49 yards (4.1 ypc) and Wiggins carried the ball eight times for 45 yards (5.6 ypc). Freshman Robert Williams (Wayland, Mass.) came on in the fourth quarter to rush four times for 18 yards including a nine-yard scamper for a first down.
On special teams, sophomore punter Kyle Regan (Nashua, N.H.) was impressive with four punts going for an average of 49.8 yards including a personal-best 61 yarder that was downed on the Curry 23. He had one punt land inside the Curry 20. Frenette himself contributed to the punting game, adding a pooch punt on 4th-and-1 just inside Curry territory.
Curry's defense was led by freshman linebacker Devin Williams (Gardner, Mass.) who had a team-high 12 tackles and two tackles for a loss. The Colonels defense, however, managed just one sack as Endicott's offensive line front of starters Michael Minerva (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.), Mike Marini (Trumbull, Conn.), Andrew Edwards (Falmouth, Maine), Nick Rowe (Avon, Conn.), and Anthony Fulmine (Carver, Mass.) protected Frenette the entire game.