Box Score

MILTON, Mass. – Junior Pat Viencek (Bernardston, Mass.) threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns in Nichols College's 34-24 loss at Curry College in New England Football Conference (NEFC) action Saturday afternoon.

Senior David Gonzalez (Springfield, Mass.) and junior Joe Lambert (New Haven, Conn.) added receiving touchdowns for the Bison (1-7, 1-4 NEFC), who were outscored 20-3 in the second half after leading 21-14 at halftime. Gonzalez caught five passes for a team-high 71 yards while junior Dylan Rimsky (Denville, N.J.) also notched five receptions for 61 yards.

Nichols sophomore Casey Lombardi (West Haven, Conn.) kicked a career-long 39-yard field goal while freshman Andre Rickerson (Boston, Mass.) scored his first collegiate touchdown, a two-yard run that gave the Bison an early 7-0 lead.

Sophomores Kris Williams (East Hartford, Conn.) and Alex DiNardo (Wellington, Fla.) each tallied eight tackles to pace Nichols while DiNardo registered three sacks, bringing his team-leading total on the season to 5.5. Freshman Matt White (Milford, Conn.) also brought down the quarterback twice.

"This is a tough loss for us," said Bison head coach Kevin Loney. "Our kids played hard, but we couldn't make any headway in the second half. We did a lot of good things today, but not enough to finish the game."

Senior Robert Bambini (Westwood, Mass.) sparked the Colonels (4-4, 3-2 NEFC) offense with 12 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Kevin Fruwirth (Agawam, Mass.) completed 30-of-45 pass attempts for 375 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Phil Bigelow (East Orange, N.J.) accounted for 112 of the team's 128 rushing yards.

Nichols opened the scoring at 4:52 of the first quarter, capping off a nine-play, 72-yard drive with a two-yard push into the end zone by Rickerson..
 
Curry got the equalizer just 43 seconds into the second frame as Fruwirth fired an 18-yard scoring strike to Bambini. That finished off a brief three-play, 23-yard drive and knotted the score at 7-7.

The Bison reclaimed the lead with 9:39 left in the first half, driving 69 yards on five plays, including a five-yard touchdown toss from Viencek to Gonzalez.
 
With just over seven minutes remaining in the half, Curry tied the game again (14-14), marching 80 yards down field on six plays. Fruwirth led the drive with four completed passes on five attempts for 86 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown toss to sophomore Jordan Shairs (Gloucester, Mass.).
 
Nichols continued the back-and-forth affair, claiming a 21-14 edge at intermission after an 11-yard scoring pass from Viencek to Lambert with 1:56 on the clock.
 
The Colonels received the second-half kickoff and would need just 1:37 to pull even at 21-21. Fruwirth was the catalyst again, completing four passes on five attempts, but ultimately used his legs to rush for an eight-yard touchdown.
 
With 6:30 remaining in the third, senior Rashad Sims (Beverly, Mass.) intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop a Bison drive. However, the Curry offense fumbled the ball on its first play, and Kris Williams recovered the loose ball on the Colonels' 44-yard line.
 
After seven plays and 22 yards, the Nichols offense had to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Lombardi with 2:52 left in the third frame. Curry took its first lead of the game as time expired in the third frame. A six-play, 71-yard drive ended on another Fruwirth-to-Bambini connection, this time from four yards out. After missing the extra point, the Colonels led 27-24.
 
Curry extended its lead, and scored the final points of the day, with 11:20 remaining in the contest. A one-yard push by Shairs finished off the 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive.
 
The Colonels held significant edges in first downs (31-22) and total offensive yards (530-376).
 
On defense, Sims led the Colonels with 10 solo tackles and one interception. Junior Sam Calley (Weymouth, Mass.) had five total tackles (four solo), including four tackles for loss (-24 yards) and two sacks (-21 yards). For Nichols, Williams blocked a field goal attempt and recovered a fumble.

Nichols returns home next Saturday when it closes out the home portion of its schedule with a 2:30 p.m. contest against MIT. The Colonels head to North Dartmouth, Mass. next Saturday for a noon contest with the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth.

Contributions from Curry Sports Information