DUDLEY, Mass. – The Endicott football team will go into their bye week riding a three-game win streak as the Gulls routed NEFC opponent Nichols 51-7 on the road to improve to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Gulls offense showcased a well-rounded attack with three touchdowns through the air, three on the ground, and another on an 81-yard kickoff return.
Endicott will now have two weeks until their next contest when they host Coast Guard in NEFC action on Saturday, October 26th for a 1:00 pm kickoff. Endicott and Coast Guard have never met on the gridiron in the Gulls' 10-year history. The Bears are 2-3 (2-0 NEFC) in 2013.
Last week's New England Football Writers Gold Helmet Award winner, Endicott junior quarterback Drew Frenette (New Bedford, Mass.), continued his stellar play as of late with 249 yards passing and three touchdowns to lead the Gulls offense. Frenette finished the game 21-of-24 with zero interceptions, good for a 87.5 completion percentage.
Frenette threw touchdown passes to junior Brett Egizi (Westwood, Mass.) and sophomore Alec Matys (Woburn, Mass.) in a first quarter that saw the Blue and Green take a commanding 17-0 advantage after just 15 minutes. Endicott also got a 41-yard field goal from senior Dylan Rushe (Palos Verdes, Calif.) with 5:32 remaining in the period.
Endicott sophomore tailback Spencer Walsh (Malden, Mass.) scored the first his two rushing touchdowns with a six-yard run midway through the second quarter to make it 24-0 Gulls. Frenette would find the end zone one last time with just seven ticks left on the clock until halftime as he hooked up with freshman Jamison Craft (Phillipston, Mass.) on a 15-yard route to give Endicott 31-0 halftime lead. Craft now has touchdown receptions in three of last four games.
At the start of the second half, Endicott wasted no time getting back on the scoreboard as Gulls junior Jake Cox (Wrentham, Mass.) returned the Nichols kickoff 81 yards to the end zone to make it a 37-0 game after the missed extra point. The Blue and Green added seven more points on Walsh's second rushing touchdown of the game, a punch-in from two yards out at the 7:57 mark of the third quarter.
Endicott turned the ball over to freshman running back Andrew Cross (Lancaster, Mass.) in the fourth quarter and Cross put up good numbers and finished the game with 120 yards on 22 rushes with a touchdown. He scored with 2:20 remaining in the game on the Nichols three yard line to cap off the scoring.
On the defensive side, Endicott held Nichols to 14 first downs, 241 yards of total offense, and just 4.2 yards per play. The Gulls forced seven punts and recorded one turnover, an Andrew Lawson (Framingham, Mass.) interception, his first of the season. Lawson, along with teammate Mark Theriault (Beverly, Mass.), led the team with five tackles.
Endicott's front seven attacked the quarterback effectively with three sacks and two hurries. The Gulls welcomed back sophomore linebacker Marjan Solomon (Waltham, Mass.) who had a sack and both quarterback hurries in this win.
