BEVERLY, Mass. – Heading into their week seven bye, the Endicott football team will own a 4-2 (3-0 NEFC) record with four straight wins after defeating conference opponent Nichols 26-16 on Saturday at Endicott Stadium. The fourth touchdown pass by Gulls senior quarterback Drew Frenette (New Bedford, Mass.), a 30-yard completion to senior wide out Brett Egizi (Walpole, Mass.), provided some much needed separation from a surging Nichols squad that had pulled within six points with 6:18 remaining in the game.
Trailing 20-0 at the half, the Bison leaned on their running game to crawl back into contention as junior quarterback Bryan Hummel (Dedham, Mass.) ran for a six-yard score to make it 20-7 midway through the third quarter. Later in a fourth quarter drive, Hammel handed the ball off to Jarvis Harris (Houston, Texas) with regularity and the freshman responded with 36 yards on the ground which set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Hammel to senior Brett Franciosi (Leominster, Mass.). Nichols trailed Endicott 20-14 with just 6:18 remaining.
On the ensuing drive, Frenette would rely on freshman running back Lavante Wiggins (Dalton, Mass.) and sophomore receiver Conor Crotty (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) who crucial third down conversions through the air as well as a 16-yard completion to junior tight end Dimitri Skinsacos (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) to extend Endicott's final scoring drive. On 2nd-and-10 on the Nichols 30, Frenette found a wide open Egizi in the end zone with 2:16 remaining to make it a 26-14 Gulls lead.
The Gulls opted to go for two following the touchdown and a curious play call resulted in Endicott senior receiver Nate Lewis' (Acushnet, Mass.) pass attempt getting picked off and returned 98 yards by Bison captain Paul Craig (New London, Conn.) to the end zone for two points.
Nichols would gain a first down on their final drive, but the Gulls defense held firm on 4th-and-8 by forcing a pass incompletion to take over on downs. Endicott would hold on to win 26-16, improving their all-time record versus Nichols to 10-2.
Frenette would finish the game 19-of-36 for 330 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. The majority of his yardage went to Lewis who hauled in seven catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard score on the game's first offensive play. Lewis also caught a five yard pass from Frenette with 1:09 remaining in the first half as Endicott went into the locker room with a 20-7 advantage.
Sophomore receiver Thomas Connors' (Amesbury, Mass.) second career reception was a 40-yard touchdown as Connors caught a pass up the middle, eluded a Bison defender, and raced down the sideline for the end zone.
As the offense was firing on all cylinders for most of the first half, the defense was holding its own too as the Gulls nearly set a team record for tackles for a loss in a game with 13.0 takedowns behind the line of scrimmage, two shy of the record. Defensive ends Andrew Holfinger (Sterling, Mass.) and Craig Anderson (Franklin, Mass.) both had 2.5 TFLs with middle linebackers John Elnagger (Rowley, Mass.) and Erik Goguen (Sauderstown, R.I.) adding two apiece. The defense also recorded five sacks with Holfinger leading the way with 1.5 sacks to raise his team lead up to 6.5. Anderson, senior linebacker Eric Dwinell (Waltham, Mass.), and junior defensive back Eric Joyner (Bridgeport, Conn.) all had individual sacks while Holfinger and senior lineman Nick Almeida (Somerset, Mass.) teamed up for a strip sack at the end of the first quarter that was recovered by Joyner.
Nichols freshman linebacker Brett McEvoy (Wrentham, Mass.) led all players with 14 tackles, five of which were solo, and also recorded a sack. Fellow linebacker Orlando Vega (Homestead, Fla.) was also in double figures for tackles with 12. Craig, who intercepted a ball on the two-point conversion attempt, also had an interception on Frenette at the goal line to half Endicott's bid to go up by three touchdowns early in the game.
Gulls sophomore lineman Matthew Dow (Nottingham, N.H.) led Endicott with 11 tackles followed by 10 from both Dwinell and Anderson. Strong safety Bryan Mey (Marshfield, Mass.) was a factor in stopping Nichols' run game with five solo tackles, eight total.
Following the bye week, Endicott will be on the road for a week eight match up with NEFC opponent Coast Guard starting at 1:30 pm. Coast Guard defeated Curry 17-0 this week and will be coming off a game with Maine Maritime when they face off with the Gulls. Nichols (1-5, 0-3 NEFC) hosts undefeated NEFC opponent MIT who will be coming off a week six bye.
