Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
DUDLEY, R.I. – The Nichols College football team forced four turnovers – including two by junior Brian Camacho (Brooklyn, N.Y.) – in a 24-14 win over Coast Guard in New England Football Conference (NEFC) action Saturday afternoon at Vendetti Field.
Interviews: Nichols head coach Dale Olmsted / Nichols senior Matt McEvilly & junior Brian Camacho
The win was the first in four career meetings against the Bears and the third of the season for the Bison, marking their highest win total since the 2009 campaign. Freshman signal caller Chris Mullins (Centreville, Va.) threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third, while senior Grant Klimek (Toms River, N.J.) rushed for 117 yards. Junior Mike Abbruzzese (Natick, Mass.) started on both sides of the ball for the Bison and finished with a team-leading five catches for 56 yards and one touchdown on offense and six tackles (three solo) on defense.
Defensively, along with Abbruzzese's efforts, senior captain Matthew McEvilly (Clinton, Mass.) added to his conference-leading tackles total with 11 (five solo) – including two tackles for loss (TFL). Junior Brett McEvoy (Wrentham, Mass.), meanwhile, made seven stops and also returned an interception 65 yards, setting up the second touchdown of the game for Nichols.
Coast Guard senior Derek Victory (Weston, Fla.) – who threw for 500+ yards and seven touchdowns last week – threw for 270 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Bears were held to 11 yards rushing (1.4 ypc) and were outgained overall 450-356. Junior Darius Adams (Nassau, Bahamas) caught a game-high 10 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bison score 21 points in the first quarter to take their largest lead of the season. Abbruzzese capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Mullins, pushing his way over the goal line to give Nichols an early 7-0 lead. Following McEvoy's interception on the ensuing possession, Mullins scampered in from two-yards out on second-and-goal to make it 14-0. Later in the stanza, Mullins hooked up with sophomore Brenden Massey (Attleboro, Mass.) on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line to make it 21-0.
The Bears got on the scoreboard in the second when Victory connected with Adams for a 28-yard score on fourth-and-16 at the 12:57 mark. In the third, Klimek capped a five-play, 66-yard drive with a 21-yard field goal to extend the Bison's lead to 24-7. Adams second TD catch of the afternoon – this one from 18-yards out – later in the third capped the scoring.
All-Time Series
Today's contest marked the fourth all-time meeting between Nichols College and Coast Guard. The Bison trail the series, 3-1.
Next Games
Nichols (3-4, 1-4 NEFC) – Saturday, October 29 vs Curry, 12:00 p.m.
Coast Guard (3-4, 2-2 NEFC) – Saturday, October 29 @ MIT, 12:00 p.m.