MILTON, Mass. – Senior quarterback Ryan Van De Giesen threw four touchdown passes as Curry knocked off visiting Nichols College, 45-20 in New England Football Conference (NEFC) Boyd Division action. The Colonels extended their home winning streak to 34.
Curry (8-1, 5-1 NEFC Boyd) raced out to a 24-0 halftime lead by virtue of three Van De Giesen touchdown passes to three different receivers, and a 32-yard field goal by sophomore Matt Alksninis. Van De Giesen hooked up with senior running back Steve DiFabio from 44 yards out, sophomore wide receiver Jon Chattman from 18 yards out, and senior wide receiver Brian Taylor from six yards out to give Curry all the points it would need on the day. Alksninis added three more points as time expired in the second quarter.
After the break, the teams combined for six touchdowns and 41 points in a third-quarter offensive explosion. The Colonels extended their lead to 31-0 with their only rushing touchdown of the contest, a 27-yard scamper by junior fullback John Sughrue.
The Bison (2-7, 0-6 NEFC Boyd) got on the board courtesy of a 69-yard scoring romp by freshman running back Frank Brown (Dorchester, Mass.). Curry responded with a 27-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Patrick Maloney to Chattman.
Nichols replied with a 90-yard kickoff return from junior Lawrence Scott (Oxford, Mass.). Scott racked up 255 yards on kickoff returns – a school record.
The Colonels’ last points resulted from the second Van De Giesen-to-Taylor connection of the afternoon, this one from 15 yards away.
The Bison dented the scoreboard for a final time at 4:36 of the third frame when Brown found pay dirt from one yard out.
Van De Giesen finished 16 of 25 for 194 yards with four TDs and one interception. Nichols’ sophomore quarterback Charles Samples (Deming, N.M.) had 10 completions in 32 attempts for 121 yards with one interception. Sughrue paced a balanced Curry ground attack with 87 yards on nine carries. Brown led all rushers with 128 yards on only eight carries. Taylor had a game-high seven receptions for 73 yards, while Bison sophomore Langston Little (Stratford, Conn.) had three catches for 51 yards.
Defensively, Curry’s effort was paced by sophomore defensive back Jason Ryan and junior linebacker Daniel Dawson, who shared team high tackling honors with six hits apiece. Dawson also had four tackles for loss (-13 yards). Nichols was led by senior linebacker Josh Harris (Northbridge, Mass.), who amassed a game-high 10 tackles (7 solo).
Nichols closes out its 2008 campaign at home next Saturday against Western New England College at 1:00 p.m.
Box Score