BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott football team rushed for a season-high 349 yards in its 45-14 conference victory over Nichols College on Saturday afternoon at Hempstead Stadium.
Hakim Fleming (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the charge for the Gulls with a career-high 126 rushing yards and one touchdown on 18 attempts (7.0 average). Endicott also received 85 yards from Anthony Whiteley (Pittsfield, Mass.), 55 from Joe Kalosky (Plymouth, Conn.), 45 via Greg Ruff (Saco, Maine), 21 from Spencer Burton (Waltham, Mass.), and 17 via Dylan Bonfilio (Burlington, Mass.).
Up front, the starting offensive line consisting of right tackle Kha-lil Goodman (Bellmore, N.Y.), right guard Isaiah Gibbs (Teaneck, N.J.), center Drew Salvo (Danvers, Mass.), left guard Matt Hughes (Hanover, Mass.), and left tackle Kyle Brennan (New Fairfield, Conn.) created several holes throughout the entire contest that guided the running game to flourish against the Bison.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter, Christian Cole (Goshen, N.Y.) put Endicott on the scoreboard first when he leaped over his defender in the left corner of the end zone to snag a four-yard TD reception at the 12:50 mark. However, Nichols responded immediately on the ensuing kickoff as Josh Pierre-Charles (Millis, Mass.) took one to the house for 87 yards to tie the game up at 7-7.
From there, Endicott produced a 10-play, 86-yard drive capped off by a Fleming 10-yard scamper and the Gulls never looked back scoring 17 unanswered to put the game away. In the second half alone, Endicott outscored Nichols 14-0.
FOR ENDICOTT
- In the last two weeks, Endicott has rushed for 349 and 310 yards, respectively. It marks the first time in program history the Gulls have rushed for back-to-back games of 300 or more yards.
- Endicott's 349 rushing yards ranks fifth all-time in a single game in program history.
- The Gulls compiled 546 yards on offense (349 rushing, 197 passing), which marks its second-highest total this season. It also marks the first time Endicott has registered 500 yards or more of offense in back-to-back games since 2014.
- Kalosky was efficient going 17-for-23 on pass attempts for 197 yards and three touchdowns.
- Shea McManaway (Lisbon, Conn.) caught two highlight-reel touchdowns in the left corner of the end zone to stand out among Endicott's receiving corps (8-yards, 13:00 mark of the 2nd quarter, 21-7 lead | 14-yards, 9:08 mark of the 3rd quarter, 38-14 lead). On the day, McManaway finished with six catches for 67 yards.
- Bonfilio put the Gulls ahead 28-7 with 7:40 to play in the second quarter on a three-yard TD run, while Ruff closed out the scoring in the matchup with a three-yard TD of his own at 10:42 of the fourth.
- Nick DiCairano (Trumbull, Conn.) connected on a 31-yard field goal to make it 31-7 with 2:47 to play in the second and also converted all six of his point-after attempts.
- Defensively, Endicott held Nichols to its second-lowest total offensive output this season (264 total, 94 rushing, 170 passing).
- As a team, the Gulls had 10 tackles for a loss (16 yards total, one sack).
- James Lewis (New Fairfield, Conn.) notched a team-high nine tackles (two solo, seven assisted), including two for a loss.
- Sam Opont (Bridgeport, Conn.) collected seven tackles (three solo, four assisted).
- William Rivera (Orangeburg, N.Y.) had four solo stops, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
- Noah Fearnley (Orange, Conn.) made three stops (one solo, two assisted) and picked off one pass in the end zone around the five-minute mark of the second quarter with Endicott up 28-7.
- Kevin O'Brien (Braintree, Mass.) came up with four assisted tackles (three of them being for a loss) and a team-high two pass breakups.
FOR NICHOLS
- Michael Pina (Brockton, Mass.) was 11-for-17 passing for 153 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He also registered a team-high 45 yards rushing on 16 attempts.
- Hunter Ferreira (Mansfield, Mass.) hauled in four catches for 90 yards and a touchdown. His 39-yard TD reception with zero seconds remaining in the first half put the score at 31-14 at the break.
- Pierre-Charles tallied 239 yards and a touchdown on eight kickoff returns (long of 87, average of 30).
- Sean McGuigan (Charlton, Mass.) and Michael Spraulding (Lithonia, Ga.) tied for the team-high and game-high in tackles with nine apiece. McGuigan had five solo stops and four assisted tackles, while Spraulding had three solo tackles and six assisted stops.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (4-2, 2-0 CCC Football) travels to the University of New England on Saturday, October 13 at 2 PM. Nichols (3-3, 1-1 CCC Football) visits Becker College next Saturday at 12 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)