CASTINE, Maine – Freshman signal caller Chris Mullins (Centerville, Va.) threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns to propel the Nichols College football team to its third-straight New England Football Conference (NEFC) win, a 54-28 drubbing of Maine Maritime Saturday afternoon at Ritchie Field.
 
In the process, Mullins became the program's single-season leader in passing yards (2,580) and helped the Bison secure their first .500-or-better season since 2007, when they finished 5-4 under head coach Bill Carven. Defensively, the Bison held an opponent to zero passing yards for the third time in program history and first since 1976 against Framingham State.
 
Freshman running back Joshua Pierre-Charles (Millis, Mass.) had his best game in more than a month, rushing for 102 yards and one touchdown on just six carries (17.0 ypc). Classmate Tony Martignoli (Santa Rosa, Calif.) was one of 11 different receivers Mullins hooked up with and finished with a team-high five receptions for 94 yards. Sophomore Brenden Massey (North Attleboro, Mass.) caught three passes for a team-high 146 yards and one score while senior Grant Klimek (Toms River, N.J.), along with juniors Mike Abbruzzese (Natick, Mass.) and Scott Dargan (Middletown, Conn.), also caught TD passes.
 
Senior captain Matthew McEvilly (Clinton, Mass.) led the defense with 11 tackles (seven solo), one more than junior LB Brett McEvoy (Wrentham, Mass.), who racked up 10 solo tackles. Sophomore Maxwell Garrant (Palmer, Mass.) recovered three fumbles and finished with four tackles.
 
Nichols trailed 22-14 at halftime before outscoring the Mariners 40-6 in the second half. Pierre-Charles opened the second-half scoring with a 41-yard TD run, followed by a four-yard YD pass from Mullins to Dargan that put Nichols in front for good at 28-22. In the fourth, Mullins hit Klimek from 11 yards out and then Abbruzzese from 23 yards away to extend the lead to 42-28 before a one-yard run from junior Michael McCourt (New Fairfield, Conn.) and a seven-yard TD scamper from sophomore Jacob Duffrene (Boston, Mass.) made it 54-28.
 
Maine Maritime rushed for 389 yards, led by junior Corey Creeger (Biddeford, Maine) with 173 yards and two touchdowns. The Mariners lost all four of their fumbles.
 
All-Time Series
Today's contest marked the 38th all-time meeting between Nichols College and Maine Maritime. The Bison snapped a four-game losing streak with today's win and now trail the series, 20-18.
 
Next Games
Nichols (5-4, 3-3 NEFC) – Saturday, November 12 vs MIT, 12:00 pm
Maine Maritime (1-7, 0-6 NEFC) – Saturday, November 12 vs Salve Regina, 12:00 p.m.