DUDLEY, Mass. – The Western New England College football team spoiled Nichols College's senior day with a 42-14 victory in New England Football Conference Boyd Division action at Vendetti Field Saturday afternoon. Junior quarterback Justin Walz (Groton, Conn.) passed for 183 yards to register 1899 passing yards on the season, breaking his own school record by five yards, and senior running back Jordan Capitanio (Torrington, Conn.) rushed for 94 yards to become the second player in Western New England College history to break the 3,000-yard rushing mark.
Captianio, who ran for two third-quarter scores after a 53-yard scoring catch in the second frame, eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark at 8:11 of the third with a 34-yard scamper, and then followed with a 58-yard touchdown run to put the Golden Bears up, 42-6. He joins Marvin Langley, who rushed for 3,401 yards from 1998-2001.
Walz finished the day completing 18 of 30 passes with a pair of touchdowns, and was sacked five times. Nichols quarterback Charlie Samples (Deming, N.M.) completed nine of 33 attempts for 137 yards with touchdown and a pair of interceptions.
Nichols tailback Robert Morris (Melbourne, Fla.) led all rushers with 100 yards on just eight carries, including an 80-yard scamper to put Nichols (2-8, 0-7 NEFC Boyd) on the board in the first quarter. It was the fifth 100-yard game for Morris this season.
The Golden Bears (3-7, 3-4 NEFC Boyd), pounced on a pair of Nichols turnovers early in the game, first when Scott Wojciechowski (Adams, Mass.) recovered an errant high snap in the endzone from the Bison’s first play of the game for a touchdown just nine seconds into the game. James Farrel’s (East Longmeadow, Mass.) kick was good and Western New England was up, 7-0, right from the get-go.
Freshman defensive back Daniel Darragh (Northford, Conn.) picked off Samples on Nichols’ next drive, setting up a series of pass plays before Walz carried the ball in for the final yard (kick good) and a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
After the Golden Bears’ punt on fourth and 10 at the Bison 30 resulted in a touchback, Morris broke through the defense for an 80-yard touchdown run. The Bison’s two-point conversion failed, leaving Western New England ahead, 14-6.
That was as close as Nichols got, however, as Walz and Capitanio connected for a 53-yard completion to start the second quarter (kick good). After Patrick Lesko (Seymour, Conn.) picked off Samples again, Walz found a diving Chris Vaillant (Holliston, Mass.) in the corner of the endzone (kick good) with 41 seconds left in the first half to carry a 26-6 lead into halftime.
Nichols got one back on the board in the fourth quarter when Langston Little (Stratford, Conn.) made a one-handed catch as he was falling into the endzone, connecting with Samples for a 13-yard pass. Frank Brown (Dorchester, Mass.) hurdled in the two-point conversion for the 42-14 final.
Defensively, Josh Harris (Northbridge, Mass.) posted a game-high 11 tackles (six solo), 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards. Brandon Wallace (Windsor, Conn.) made a career-high seven tackles. Western New England was led by Dylan Chandler (Durhamn, Maine), who collected nine tackles and two tackles for a loss of eight yards.
Saturday’s game marked the final in the career of 10 Nichols seniors, who were honored prior to the game: linebacker Harris, strong safety David McLean (San Antonio, Texas), free safety Terrence Mayrose (Staten Island, N.Y.), defensive back Brian Dardy (Worcester, Mass.), linebacker Tom Mulligan (Elmwood Park, N.J.), wide receiver Jon Snediker (Grafton, Mass.), linebacker Erik Valentine (West Lebanon, N.H.), running back Jay Pino (Middletown, N.J.), fullback Jim Fritz (Souderton, Pa.), and offensive lineman Christopher Heuer (Scarborough, Maine).
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