WESTFIELD, Mass. – A fourth-quarter 95-yard touchdown reception by David Benoit gave the Westfield State College football team a season-opening 13-10 victory over visiting Nichols College in New England Football Conference action at Alumni Field Friday evening. The Bison (0-1) took the lead just before halftime on a Robert Morris (Melbourne, Fla.) reception, after the Owls (1-0) had jumped ahead to a 6-0 lead on a pair of field goals.

Nichols stalled a series of Westfield State rushes at midfield early in the first quarter, but a pair of pass plays set up a 29-yard field goal by Chris Stengel at 10:25 for a 3-0 Owls lead. Stengel put Westfield up by six with a 33-yard field goal at 4:56 after a nine-play drive.

Late in the first half, a Westfield State penalty set up Nichols on the 32-yard line after an Anthony Pillari (Lumberton, N.J.) 13-yard punt return. With 18 seconds on the clock, sophomore Justin Nelson (Oceanside, Calif.) connected with Michael Seiger (Pittsfield, Mass.) on a 12-yard pass before the scoring 20-yard pass to Morris with nine seconds left in the half. Nelson finished the night completing 22-for-34 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown.  

The Nichols defense held Westfield to minus 12 yards on the opening drive of the second half, after Thomas Mulligan (Elmwood Park, N.J.) intercepted the ball and returned it for 15 yards.  The play sparked the Bison for a 40-yard drive capped by a field goal by Josh Harris (Northbridge, Mass.) for a 10-6 lead at 9:14 of the third.

Westfield State's game-winning 95-yard pass from Dan Cohen marked a school record play; Cohen completed 12-for-29 passes with two interceptions. Benoit finished with six receptions for 176 yards and a score.  

Harris led Nichols with an all-around effort, posting a third-quarter field goal, a fumble recovery and an interception. Morris led Nichols with 85 rushing yards.

Defensively, Jason Vega ( Methuen, Mass.) was impressive in his collegiate debut with seven solo tackles, while Evan Greathead (Pepperell, Mass.) had eight. Jonathan Merjuste (Norwich, Conn.) posted six tackles, including three for a loss of 17 yards, and 1.5 sacks for a loss of 10 yards.

Nichols opens its home slate on Friday, September 12, when the Bison host Framingham at 7 p.m.

Box Score