Oct. 22, 2005
MILTON, MA - At stake was the Boyd Division title of the New England Football Conference. With it came an NEFC title berth and a shot at an automatic NCAA Division III playoff berth.
Curry College, ranked seventh in the New England Division III Football Poll, owned that right for the last two seasons and the Colonels made it three straight Boyd Division titles by way of a 21-16 victory over Endicott College Saturday at Walter Katz Field during Homecoming Weekend at Curry.
The Gulls, who were ranked fifth in the New England poll coming into the game, dominated almost every statistical category. The visitors had a 3-2 advantage in turnovers, rushed for 257 yards compared to 72 Curry rushing yards and held the ball for 39:08 to Curry's 20:52. However, it all went for naught, as the experienced Colonels cashed in on big plays to win the game.
"I thought we outplayed them," said Endicott head coach J.B. Wells. "The game was ours for the taking but we had a few miscues and you can't give a team like Curry anything. That was as close as you can play them and lose."
Curry (6-2, 5-0 NEFC Boyd) jumped out to a 14-3 second-quarter advantage but the Gulls (5-3, 3-1 NEFC Boyd) scored with 26 ticks remaining in the half on a three-yard pass by sophomore quarterback Alex Smith (Winthrop, MA/Winthrop) to freshman running back Nicholas Giacalone (Gloucester, MA/Gloucester). The touchdown cut the Colonels' lead to 14-9 at the break.
The hosts increased the advantage to 21-9 with 9:42 to play in the third on a Kevin Holleran 36-yard pass to Jon Jones. Linebacker Mike Kelley (Abington, MA/Cardinal Spellman) responded for the visitors, taking an interception 19 yards for a touchdown to make it a 21-16 game.
The Gulls threatened to take the lead on the final possession of regulation, but a holding call negated a Tim Boyd (Rockland, MA/South Shore Voke) 15-yard touchdown run and time expired on Endicott's hopes for its first NEFC Boyd title.
Boyd ran for 113 yards on 24 carries while Gerard Festa (Revere, MA/St. Mary's) added 50 of the Gulls' 257 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Smith was 14-of-28 for 173 yards, throwing three passes apiece to Festa (29 yards), Ryan MacLean (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield), who led Endicott with 45 receiving yards, and Andy Roy (Manchester, NH/Manchester Central), who had 29 receiving yards.
Defensive back Orlando Johnson (Newport, RI/Rogers) led the Gulls with 7.5 tackles while defensive lineman Joe Leaver (Stoughton, MA/Stoughton) added 6.5 tackles, including one for an 11-yard loss. Jay Munroe (Beverly, MA/Beverly) and Pego Jean-Paul (Stamford, CT/Stamford) had four tackles each.
"The defense was awesome and we executed pretty well. This is a disappointing loss but it doesn't destroy our season. We still have a really good shot at reaching the ECAC's. We have to finish the year strong and realize there are a lot of goals to play for," said Wells.
Endicott will look to rebound next Saturday when it travels to Nichols College, while the Colonels host Western New England College.
