Endicott 42, Nichols 14
Dudley, Mass. – Vendetti Field
Saturday, September 26, 2015
All-Time Series & Streaks
The Gulls improve to 11-2 all-time against the Bison and have now won eight in a row.
Three Stars of the Game
1 – Endicott Junior Craig Anderson (Franklin, Mass.) – school-record four sacks; finished with seven tackles (all solo)
2 – Endicott junior Joe Picard (Essex Junction, Vt.) – completed 17-of-30 for 222 yards and three touchdowns; rushed for eight yards and two touchdowns
3 – Endicott freshman Johari Johnson (Rockville, Md.) – rushed 12 times for 89 yards (7.2 ypc) and one touchdown, a 40-yard scamper in the second quarter
Scoring Drives
First Quarter
EC – Craft 8 yard pass from Oullette (Regan kick); 5-20-2:07, 0-8
Second Quarter
NC – Warren 66 yard pass from Romero (Haynes kick); 3-69-1:21; 7-7
EC – Crotty 49 yard pass from Oullette (Regan kick); 4-59-0:30, 7-14
EC – Johnson 40 yard run (Regan kick); 2-40-0:11; 7-21; 7-21
EC – Craft 9 yard catch from Oullette (Regan kick); 9-81-1:06; 7-28
Third Quarter
NC – Romero 2 yard run (Haynes kick); 7-57-3:19; 14-28
Fourth Quarter
EC – Oullette 1 yard run (Regan kick); 14-78-7:15; 14-35
EC – Oullette 3 yard run (Regan kick); 6-13-2:47; 14-42
Key Stat of the Game
The Gulls held the Bison to -60 total rushing yards. They sacked Nichols signal callers 10 times for a total loss of 57 yards, led by Anderson with four and freshman Drew Jones (Philadelphia, Pa.) with two.
Endicott capped the first half with a nine-play, 81-yard drive that culminated with a touchdown pass from Oullette to senior Jamison Craft (Phillipston, Mass.) with nine seconds left to give it a 28-7 lead going to the locker room.
Quick Hits
-Nichols sophomore Derrick Warren (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) caught his sixth touchdown pass of the season, a 66-yarder in the second quarter. He now has three scoring plays of 40+ yards.
-Both of Craft's catches on the afternoon went for touchdowns (8, 9).
-Nichols freshman Princewell Iwejuo (Boston, Mass.) made his first collegiate reception in today's game and finished with four catches for 64 yards.
-Nichols freshman Alex Swaby (New Britain, Conn.) recorded a game and career-high 15 tackles (11 solo).
-Senior William O'Keefe (Trumbull, Conn.), sophomore Brett McEvoy (Wrentham, Mass.), and freshmen John Elliott (South Windsor, Conn.) each recorded their first collegiate interceptions for Nichols. McEvoy returned his pick 51 yards into Endicott territory while O'Keefe's pick came in the fourth quarter. Elliott's, meanwhile, occurred on the fifth play of the second half.
-The Gulls racked up a season-high 522 yards of total offense and also collected 23 first downs – also a season-high.
-Junior Grant Klimek (Toms River, N.J.) opened the game with a 48-yard kickoff return into Endicott territory for the Bison.
-Nichols freshman O'Jay James forced his first collegiate fumble in the second quarter, which was recovered by sophomore James McGuigan (Charlton, Mass.). The recovery was the first of McGuigan's career.
-Endicott junior Rasheed Adigun (Salem, N.H.) tallied his first collegiate interception this afternoon while graduate student Mike Romanelli (Lighthouse Point, Fla.) recorded his fourth career pick.
-Junior captain Matthew McEvilly (Clinton, Mass.) racked up a career-high 12 tackles (five solo) for Nichols.
Quotes
"We knew they were going to come in here hungry. They played three tough non-league schools. We went with Jacob Romero (at quarterback) to starter the game. We're still a young team trying to figure out what we want to do, so we're giving guys the opportunity to prove their worth. That's a very good football team. We made too many mistakes. We didn't play particularly well early on, but we were still in there. I thought the defense played well at times, as did the offense. With young teams, we have to work hard and be consistent. That's what we will do. Endicott is a program that we emulate. They have size and speed. We recruit the same area. They have kids that have graduated already up front and we're running freshmen and sophomores out there. We battled hard and made them sweat a little bit at times, but they executed in the end and we were unable to. That's pretty much the bottom line. " - Nichols head coach Dale Olmsted
Next up
Nichols – Saturday, October 3 @ Western New England, 1:00 p.m.
Endicott – Saturday, October 3 vs MIT (Homecoming), 12:00 p.m.