Box Score Three yards is essentially what separated the Nichols College football team from a victory over Worcester State on Friday night. With an incredible 31 yard catch in the corner of the end zone by sophomore running back Joshua Harris (Northbridge, MA) from senior quarterback Michael Carven (Hanover, MA) with 2:59 left, the Bison went for the win by attempting a two-point conversion. Harris received the ball in the corner from Carven on an option play but Worcester State was right there to take Harris down before he could get rid of the ball, giving the Lancers the ball back with a 14-13 lead. Nichols had one last chance with 54 seconds remaining but on the first play of the drive from its own five yard line, a bad snap sent the ball over Carven's head and out of the end zone for a Worcester State safety. The Bison fall to 1-1 on the year while the Lancers move to 1-2.

Worcester State got on the board first with a 44 yard field goal by Tom Gabriel but freshman running back Chris Patterson (Stamford, CT) continued his excellent play for the Bison, running in his third touchdown of the season from nine yards out on the ensuing possession. Freshman Kyle Gilson (East Waterboro, ME) tacked on the extra point to give Nichols a 7-3 lead.

The second half proved to be a defensive battle as neither team scored on the next seven drives of the game following a 44-yard field goal by Gabriel at the 12:36 mark of the third quarter.

Back-to-back turnovers by the Bison set up Worcester State's first touchdown of the game, however, with 11:51 left in the final quarter. Jonathan Godfrey scored from 13 yards out, giving the Lancers a 14-7 lead.

On the next possession, Nichols took the ball all the way down to the three yard line, thanks in large part to a 47-yard reception by junior Nick Kane (Holyoke, MA) from Carven. The Lancers defense kept the Bison out of the end zone, however, sacking Carven on fourth and goal.

Nichols failed to give up, stopping Worcester State on its next drive to get the ball back with 4:48 left to play. Carven completed a pass to Kane to give the Bison a first down at the Worcester State 33 yard line. Patterson rushed for two yards on the next play and on second and eight, Carven threw to the end zone were Harris was able to jump up over his defender and snag the ball for the Nichols touchdown.

Carven threw for 146 yards, completing eight of 17 attempts. Patterson totaled 112 yards of offense, rushing for 84 yards while also making two catches for 28 yards. Senior Bryan Meuse (Billerica, MA) racked up 16 tackles on defense for the Bison. Freshman Bill Hassett (North Oxford, MA) totaled eight tackles, including two for a loss and one sack in the losing effort.

The Bison will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 23, at MIT.