Nichols Football - Post-Game Comments - Sept. 17 vs. Coast Guard

DUDLEY, Mass. – Derrick Revolus picked off a Joey Armentrout pass in the endzone as time expired for his third interception of the afternoon, sealing a 37-33 win for Nichols over Coast Guard on Saturday, September 17 at Vendetti Field. With the win, the Bison extend their record to a perfect 3-0 on the season.
 
Without over a dozen starters due to injury and COVID-related circumstances, the Bison used a complete team effort on both offense and defense to takedown the Bears, who now sit at 1-2 on the year.
 
"I'm very, very proud of everybody involved in this program," said football head coach Dale Olmsted. "It was an outstanding effort against a great team, and I couldn't be happier."
 
In the first quarter, Coast Guard jumped out to a 7-0 lead thanks to a seven-play drive spanning just under two minutes.
 
Nichols responded right back with a touchdown of its own, possessing the ball for 5:41. On the 12^th and final play of the drive, quarterback Xavier Powell found Tiago Fernandes for a nine-yard touchdown hookup.  Over six minutes later, the Bison went up by three after a 19-yard field goal by Kyle Yannucci.
 
After forcing a punt at the end of the first, Nichols started a new drive at their own 42, and took it the rest of the distance for a touchdown in just eight plays. Powell called his own number from the two yard line and ran it in, giving the home team a 16-7 cushion with 11:31 to play in the half. The score would hold through the halftime break.
 
The Bison received the ball to start the second half, and got in position for another field goal attempt, again made by Yanucci, this time from 25 yards out, pushing the lead to 19-7.
 
A Spencer McMillion rushing touchdown for Coast Guard brought the game back within one score, as the Bears now trailed by eight, but the succeeding point after try was blocked by Marshall Young. Young scooped the ball at the 10 yard line and ran it all the way in for a timely two-points, swinging the momentum back in Nichols' favor.
 
The longest air hookup of the day occurred on the following drive, as Powell dropped a pass into the hands of Kevin Pinheiro for a 43-yard score, bumping the lead to 28-13 with 5:14 left in the third.
 
Following another McMillion score and Yanucci's third successful field goal, quarterback Kyle Keckler found Pinheiro for a 14-yard score to go up 37-26 with 4:05 to play.
 
In the closing minutes, McMillion rumbled for his third and final rushing score of the game, putting the Bears within four.
 
Punting the ball back with 1:34 to play, the Nichols defensive unit has its work cut out as the Bears offense rolled down the field, picking up five first downs. On the last snap of the game, in a first-and-goal situation, Armentrout's pass was picked off by Revolus to cap-off a three-interception game for the sophomore, solidifying the third-straight Bison triumph.
 
Behind center, both Powell and Keckler combined to go 33-47-1, accumulating 386 yards in the air. Archie Killian led the ground efforts, gaining 47 yards on eight attempts, while Powell rumbled for the lone Bison rushing touchdown of the affair.
 
Wideouts Pinheiro and Jack Morvan were the primary targets from their quarterbacks, as Morvan gained 108 yards on six receptions, while Pinheiro's five catches for 97 yards provided two important scores for Nichols.
 
On the other side of the ball, Joshua Sayer led the tackling department with 13 to go along with a pass breakup. Behind him was Latre Kornegay with 11 tackles, two for a loss. Revolus' 10 tackles and one breakup nicely compliment his three interceptions.
 
Yannucci scored 11 points by himself as part of the kicking duties, as the freshman booted in three field goals and made two of his four extra-point tries.
 
The Bison possessed the ball for nearly 40 minutes of the contest, racking up 28 first downs. Nichols held the edge in passing yards, 386-268, however, the Bears racked up 99 more yards on the ground than their host. Saturday's win marked the second time in as many games that the Bison recorded over 500 yards of total offense.
 
Nichols will hit the road next Saturday, September 24, to take on Hartwick in their non-conference finale, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. from Wright Stadium.