DUDLEY, Mass. – Freshman Tony Martignoli (Santa Rosa, Calif.) caught a two-point conversion in the second overtime to lift the Nichols College football team to a 36-35 come-from-behind win over MIT to close the 2016 regular season Saturday afternoon at Vendetti Field in the final New England Football Conference (NEFC) contest in program history.
 
Martignoli finished the afternoon with 12 receptions for 181 yards and one touchdown while freshman signal caller Chris Mullins (Centerville, Va.) racked up his third-straight 400-yard passing game as he completed 33 passes for 436 yards – nine shy of the Nichols single-game record – and scored five touchdowns (three rush, two pass). In the process, Mullins became the program's single-season leader in yards (3,016) and passing touchdowns (20). Martignoli, meanwhile, established single-season program marks for receptions (62) and yards (940).
 
Predicted to finish dead last in the conference preseason coaches poll, today's win gives the Bison a 4-3 record in the NEFC – good for fourth place – and their 6-4 overall mark marks their highest win total since 2003. Nichols won its final four games of the season; the last time the program ripped off four-straight victories was during the 2001 campaign.
 
Nichols outgained the Engineers 562-339 and held the Engineers to just 105 passing yards. Nichols senior captain Matthew McEvilly (Clinton, Mass.) led all student-athletes with 18 tackles while junior Brett McEvoy (Wrentham, Mass.) collected 16 and sophomore Alex Swaby (New Britain, Conn.) picked up 12 – including 2.0 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
 
MIT freshman back Jon Robertson (Brentwood, Tenn.) gashed the Bison for 161 yards and three scores. Sophomore signal caller Ugdam Goyal (Frisco, Texas) rushed for 55 yards on seven carries (7.9 ypc) and one score. Defensively, junior Mitch Turley (Westfield, Ind.) and sophomore Anthony Emberley (Longmont, Colo.) each picked up 11 tackles.
 
Nichols opened the game with a five-play, 79-yard drive capped by a 34-yard TD strike to Massey to put the Bison up 7-0. The Engineers cut their deficit to 7-6 when freshman Sean Kent (Bend, Ore.) returned a punt 87 yards for a score. The Bison responded with a 12-play, 79-yard drive that Mullins polished off with a one-yard TD run to make it 14-6 at the break.
 
A pair of five-yard TD runs in the third quarter – first by Robertson and then by Goyal – gave the visitors a 21-14 lead entering the fourth quarter. Nichols put together a seven-play, 59-yard drive late in the fourth that led to the game-tying score, another one-yard plunge from Mullins. The Engineers attempted a potential game-winning field goal from 34 yards out with 11 seconds remaining, but the kick sailed just wide of the left upright.
 
The Bison scored on the first play of overtime as Martignoli caught a slant from Mullins and took it 25 yards for the score. MIT responded with an 11-yard TD run from Robertson, sending the game to a second OT. The Engineers went up 35-28 when Robertson scooted in from a yard out, leaving the Bison no choice but to score a TD and kick the PAT or go home. After Mullins rushed in from six yards away for the TD, Mullins threw a high ball that only Martignoli could snare, and he pulled it down for the two-point conversion to end the game.

All-Time Series
Today's contest was the 27th all-time meeting between Nichols College and MIT. With the win, the Bison snapped a five-game losing streak to the Engineers and now trail the series, 15-12.
 
Quotes
"There has to be about 300 people on the field hugging and celebrating right now. Being a high school coach, this is the equivalent of a Thanksgiving Day game. This is such an awesome experience. I'm so happy that a lot of alumni and family members made it to today's game and got to witness what our program is all about." –Nichols head coach Dale Olmsted, on the scene on the field following the game
 
"We knew we had something special. Chris Mullins is an outstanding football player. He's incredible. Obviously, there are 11 guys on the field and they all have to play as one, but that young man had an instant connection with Tony (Martignoli). They both came in as quarterbacks and Chris was able to beat him out, and you can see why. His composure is phenomenal. He's probably the best quarterback I've ever coached." –Olmsted, on Mullins
 
"We (the senior class) came in here and our first game went to overtime, and we won that one. To go out the same way is amazing. It feels great. I couldn't have imagined it ending any other way. I love this team more than anything." –Nichols senior Michael Mendez  
 
Next Games
Nichols (6-4, 4-3 NEFC) – Regular season complete
MIT (3-7, 3-4 NEFC) – Season complete