WESTFIELD, Mass. - Behind a 27-point second half effort, the Nichols football team rallied to take down Westfield State, 30-29, on Friday night at Alumni Field.

The Bison (1-0) opened the scoring with 12:23 remaining in the second quarter on a 21-yard field goal by junior Daniel Donovan-Blanford. Westfield (0-1) dominated the rest of the frame, scoring two touchdowns and returning a fumble for a score, bringing the score to 20-3.

Freshman quarterback Kyle Keckler connected with freshman wide receiver Maverick Freeland just under a minute into the third quarter for a 49-yard touchdown to cut the Owls lead to 20-10. Westfield responded with a touchdown of their own with 6:40 remaining, before junior running back Zahir Booker broke free for a 14-yard touchdown with 3:40 left in the frame.

The Bison brought themselves back within a score on an 18-yard touchdown from junior quarterback Xavier Powell to junior tight end Kevin Fuoroli. Westfield extended the lead back to six points by returning the blocked extra point attempt to bring the score to 29-23.

Nichols got the ball back with six minutes remaining in the contest. Following a 54-yard pass completion from Powell to sophomore wide receiver Sebastian Banach, the Bison drew three Owl penalties, setting themselves up at the Westfield 2-yard line. After a timeout, Booker pushed through the pack to complete a 1-yard touchdown rush to tie the game. Donovan-Blanford drilled the extra point attempt to take the lead with 3:28 remaining on the clock.

Westfield returned freshman Kyle Yannucci's kickoff to their own 36-yard line, and on their first play of their final possession, threw an interception to senior linebacker Phil Dinov who returned it for 16-yards to the Westfield 21-yard line to seal the win.

The Bison return home to Dudley on Friday, September 9th to face Dean in non-conference action at Vendetti Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.