Box Score Freshman running back Anthony Pillari (Westwood, NJ) ran for over 100 yards for the second straight game to lead the Nichols football team to a 19-14 victory over new NEFC Boyd Division foe Plymouth State in front of a packed Homecoming crowd at Vendetti Field on Saturday. Pillari rushed for 142 yards and scored two of Nichols three touchdowns on the day, including a big 38 yard run at the end of the third quarter, which helped seal the victory. The Bison are now 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the NEFC Boyd Division, which ties them for second place behind undefeated Curry. The Panthers fall to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the Boyd Division.

The Bison started out strong on both sides of the ball as Plymouth State went four and out on its first possession and senior Bryan Meuse (Billerica, MA) forced a Panthers fumble on their second drive. Pillari ran in his first touchdown from five yards out with 5:33 left in the first quarter on Nichols second drive.

A 19 yard rush by Panthers senior quarterback Tye Seastedt (Danville, NH) got Plymouth State down to the eight yard line to start the second quarter. He followed with a seven yard run, just shy of the end zone but sophomore John DeMarco (Milford, NH) was able to sneak into the end zone on the next play to make it a 7-7 ball game, which stood until halftime.

The Nichols defense was dominate in the second half, allowing Plymouth State just 46 yards of offense while the Bison offense did its job, racking up 182 yards. Senior quarterback Michael Carven (Hanover, MA) connected with junior Nicholas Kane (Holyoke, MA) on a 12 yard pass to put the Bison up 13-7 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.

Pillari then gave Nichols a key 19-7 lead when he broke free for a 37 yard touchdown with 1:07 left in the third quarter. The score proved to be key as Plymouth State rallied back in the fourth quarter. Seastedt found freshman Shawn Durgin (Concord, NH) wide open in the end zone on a fake hand-off to get the Panthers to within five, 19-14, with 8:17 left to play.

Nichols was unable to get into the end zone on the ensuing drive, despite a 32 yard run by Pillari. Freshman Kyle Gilson's (East Waterboro, ME) 29 yard field goal attempt went wide right, giving Plymouth State the ball back at its own 20 yard line with5:34 left to play in the game.

A one yard rush followed by two incomplete passes quickly gave Nichols the ball back at the Panthers 48 yard line thanks to a 23 yard punt return by Pillari. The Bison were unable to gain enough yardage for the first down, forcing Carven to punt with 3:30 left in the game.

The talent of the Nichols defense was never more apparent on the Panthers last drive as freshman Bill Hassett (North Oxford, MA) and junior Brendan Bonn (East Haven, CT) took down Seastedt on the first play and senior Shane West (Clinton, MA) batted away a pass attempt to junior wide receiver Drew Richardson (Newburgh, ME). Meuse followed up with another pass break-up for the Bison. Needing to score, the Panthers went for it on fourth down but West was right there once again to tip away Seastedt's pass.

Pillari finished with 196 all-purpose yards while Carven added 68 yards on the ground, including a long of 26 yards. He completed 7 of 20 passes for 56 yards, including his 12 yards touchdown toss to Kane in the third quarter.

Meuse led the Nichols defense with 10.5 total tackles, ten of them solo hits and another two for losses. He also broke up two passes and forced the Panthers fumble in the first quarter.

West tallied 7.5 tackles, seven of them solo. He recovered Meuse's forced fumble and had three key pass break-ups. Bonn totaled 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss. Hassett also had 1.5 sacks along with 1.5 tackles for a loss. Sophomore Thomas Mulligan (Elmwood Park, NJ) also had one sack which sent Plymouth State back ten yards.

The Bison will host UMass-Dartmouth in a key Boyd Division match-up next Saturday at Vendetti Field.