DUDLEY, Mass. (Oct. 13) – Curry College senior quarterback Zach Cavanaugh threw one touchdown and ran for two more to lead the Colonels to a 42-14 win over Nichols College at Vendetti Field Saturday afternoon. The Colonels spoiled the Bison’s senior day with an explosive second half to improve to 7-2 overall and clinch the NEFC Boyd Division title with a 6-0 conference record.
Senior WR Anthony Pillari (Lumberton, N.J.) did his share for the Bison (4-5, 3-3 NEFC Boyd), as he broke the 12-year-old Nichols career receptions record as well as the 15-year old single-season receptions record with eight catches on the day. Pillari stands with 131 career catches and 51 on the season, breaking previous marks of 125 in a career held by Dave Sokolnicki ‘97 and 49 in a season set by Chris Maher (1993).
Joining in on the record breaking was sophomore QB Sean Smith-Vaughan (Cumberland, Maine), who broke single-season marks for passes attempted and completed, as well as for passing yardage. In his first season with the Bison, Smith-Vaughan has completed 159 of 328 attempts for 1,867, surpassing the previous marks of 138 of 291 attempts held by Doug McKay (1994) and 1,683 yards by Michael Carven (2003).
Through the opening quarter, the game looked to be a defensive battle, but the tide shifted in favor of the Colonels, who racked 512 yards of total offense on the day – 308 in the air split between Cavanaugh and freshman QB Mark Gilson, who took over throwing duties late in the fourth quarter, capping Curry’s scoring with an 80-yard toss to Samuel Victoria.
Curry got on the board late in the first frame after junior linebacker Kevin McCarthy made a diving interception of Smith-Vaughan at the Nichols 33. A 19-yard pass from Cavanaugh to Jon Rodriguez just tucked in the left corner of the endzone followed by a good kick from Matt Alksninis gave the Colonels a 7-0 lead with 1:02 left in the opening quarter.
Nichols was forced to punt from its own 40, setting up Cavanaugh for passes of 8, 7 and 13 yards before Jamaal Woods followed a four-yard burst with a 42-yard scamper, hurdling over Bison backs to sprint into the endzone for a 14-0 Curry lead (Alksninis kick good) with 4:59 left in the half.
On the Bison’s ensuing possession, however, Pillari capped the 11-play, 58-yard drive with a flick pass to R.J. Gagne (Seekonk, Mass.) in the endzone from third and goal at the Colonels’ two yard line. A Dave Wyrick (Avon, Conn.) kick cut Curry’s lead in half headed into the break, 14-7.
Cavanaugh tacked on two quick scores in the third quarter on rushes of four and two yards, the first coming with 7:39 left after forcing the Bison to punt from their own 19 and recovering at the Curry 44. A pair of 14 and 26-yard passes set up the Colonels at the Bison 21 before Woods brought the Colonels to the Nichols four on rushes of seven and 10 yards.
After Bobby Driscoll picked off Smith-Vaughan on the Bison’s next possession, a 33-yard rush by Cavanaugh followed by a 21-yard hookup with Victor Martinez set up Cavanaugh to punch it in with just under 43 seconds left in the quarter for a 28-7 advantage.
Chris Haddad started the Colonels’ next scoring drive with an interception at midfield before returning it 16 yards to the Nichols 33. A pass interference call against the Bison pushed Curry ahead to the 18. Cavanaugh followed with a pair of seven-yard tosses before De’Jon Berment brought it in the final four yards for a 35-7 lead.
Nichols turned it over on downs at the Curry 45 on five plays as Gilson came in to take over the throwing duties for the Colonels. He connected with Martinez for seven yards before the 80-yard touchdown pass to Victoria.
The scoring wasn’t over, however, as Nichols RB Anthony Terenzi (Londonderry, N.H.) capped a six-play, 56-yard drive with his first career touchdown, a one-yard punch that followed a 21-yard catch from Smith-Vaughan to bring the score to 42-14.
Woods finished with 108 yards on 17 carries for the Colonels, while Cavanaugh logged 55 yards on the ground to go with his 221 in the air on 16 of 26 passing with a pair of interceptions. Gilson completed two of three attempts with one score. Martinez was the main target for the duo, logging 129 yards on eight catches.
For the Bison, Mike Seiger (Pittsfield, Mass.) led the receiving corps with his second 100+ yard game of the year, totaling 107 yards on nine catches. Pillari totaled 67 yards on eight snags. Smith-Vaughan finished the day completing 27 of a school-record 56 attempts with three interceptions and 217 yards.
Defensively for the Colonels, LB Scott Driscoll led all players with 12 tackles (five solo) while DB Jason Ryan posted nine (seven solo) for the Curry defense that held Nichols to 240 yards of total offense.
Christopher Kerrigan (Hyde Park, Mass.) posted nine tackles for the Bison, while senior captain Bill Hassett (Oxford, Mass.) added eight with two sacks for a loss of seven yards and a forced fumble.
The game marked the final home game for 12 Nichols seniors: Gagne, Hassett, Pillari, Seiger, LB Lawrence Scott (Oxford, Mass.), WR Brian Dean (Seymour, Conn.), RB Robert Morris (Melbourne, Fla.), OL Bob Campanile (Rockland, Mass.), OL John Sielawa (Dudley, Mass.), OL Brandt Genga (Middletown, R.I.), DL Anthony Freni (Norton, Mass.) and WR Andrew Nemes (Norwood, Mass.).
Nichols closes out the season next Saturday at Western New England College in a 1 p.m. Boyd Division game. Curry hosts UMass-Dartmouth in a 1 p.m. game on the same day.
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