Nov. 2, 2003
Endicott faced a tough opponent on Saturday in the form of the Bison from Nichols College. The Gulls responded well when on the first play of the second quarter quarterback Jameson Pelkey found wideout Dan Marshall down the left side and after a few nifty moves Marshall found the end zone for a 20-yard score.
The Bison would tie the game midway through the second quarter on a double-reverse pass as wide receiver Ben Karter took a handoff from tailback Anthony Smith and launched a 47-yard strike to quarterback Michael Carven for a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Johnny Moore was pressed into running back duties due to injuries and he delivered with a 17-carry, 107-yard performance and the deciding 2-yard score early in the fourth quarter as Nichols defeated Endicott 14-7 in New England Football Conference Boyd Division play.
Offensively, Endicott struggled but the play of sophomore punter Jeff Antista kept the Gulls in the game. Antista had 9 punts for an average of 39.8 per punt and also landed 4 inside the 20.
Endicott's defense kept them in the game allowing only 10 Nichols first downs. The Gulls allowed only 294 yards of total offense but kept them between the 20 yard lines. The defense is also credited with the missing of two Matt Cestone field goals, by putting numerous pressure on the kicker. On defense, freshman Joe Leaver played extremely well totaling 10 tackles as well as having 2 tackles for loss totaling 12 yards. Freshman Mike Petrini also chipped in with 7 total tackles and Nick Waitt starting in his first game had 6 total tackles, 1 pass breakup and an interception.
Linebacker Shane Szydlo led the Bison with nine tackles and had an interception. Defensive tackle Adam Button had six tackles and a sack and Curtis Slaughter had two tackles and a big interception one play after Nichols had turned the ball over.
The Gulls are now 3-5 and will play thier final game of the season at home versus MIT on November 8th.