2007 NICHOLS COLLEGE FOOTBALL (5-4, 4-3)
Nichols closed out the season 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the Boyd Division, matching its record from last season under the direction of Head Coach Bill Carven. The Bison started off the year 4-1 for the first time since 2000 but lost three of their final four games with offensive leader Robert Morris (Melbourne, Fl.) out of the line-up.
Senior linebacker Matthew Parkinson (Coventry, Conn.), junior free safety David McLean (San Antonio, Tex.) and sophomore defensive tackle Bill Hassett (Oxford, Mass.) all earned First Team All-Boyd Division honors while junior first-year running back Morris was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year and freshman linebacker Curtis Smith (New Haven, Conn.) was named Defensive Rookie of the Year for the Nichols football team. In addition, sophomore Bob Bickerstaffe (Millis, Mass.), Smith and Morris collected Second Team All-Division accolades.
The Bison defeated Framingham State, 14-0, on the road to begin the season. The Bison defense was led by Smith who had eight tackles including three for losses. Nichols offense was lead by freshman quarterback Justin Nelson (Oceanside, Calif.) as he went nine for eighteen for 101 yards while running for a touchdown and throwing a 24 yard touchdown pass to sophomore Anthony Pillari (Lamberton, N.J.).
Following the victory over the Rams, Nichols had its Homecoming Weekend spoiled by Worcester State as the Lancers came away with a 17-10 win. A touchdown run by the Lancers with 10:47 left in the game ended up being the game winner as Worcester State’s defense held Nichols out of the end zone three out of four series inside the red zone. Morris rushed for 150 yards on 23 carries while quarterback Justin Nelson threw for 120 yards. Parkinson led the defense with 13 total tackles, including 4.5 for loss.
Morris continued to carry the offense as he ran for 193 yards with two touchdowns as Nichols beat MIT at home, 31-28, to move to 2-1 on the season. Pillari scored the game winning touchdown with 12:41 to play on a 20 yard run. Once again Parkinson led the defense with 14 tackles, two sacks and an interception. Senior co-captain Brendan Bonn (East Haven, Conn.) contributed nine tackles in the win as well.
After a quiet first half with only 22 yards, Morris exploded for 172 yards and three touchdowns in the second half as the Bison came from behind to beat Endicott, 28-14. Morris had touchdowns from 62, 12 and five yards out. The win pushed Nichols to 2-0 in the NEFC Boyd Division. Morris was named the NEFC and ECAC Northeast Player of the Week for his performance.
Nichols defense stepped up big against Salve Regina as it allowed the Seahawks just 77 yards of total offense in a 33-8 win. Freshman Jonathon Merjuste (Norwich, Conn.) recovered a fumble and ran it in for a touchdown while Smith led the way with ten tackles, one sack and one pass break up. Freshman Kevin Oberg (New Milford, Conn.) made his debut as Nichols starting quarterback in the win as Nelson moved over to wide receiver.
In a key Boyd Division match up verses Plymouth State in which both teams were undefeated in conference play, Nichols dropped a 30-0 decision. Nichols couldn’t generate much offense against Plymouth State as it went just 2-19 on third down conversions.
After the tough loss, Nichols regrouped and beat UMass-Dartmouth, 21-10, to improve to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the Boyd Division. In the last 2:12 of the game, the Bison scored two touchdowns to get the victory over the Cosairs. Smith recovered his own forced fumble and went 87 yards for the touchdown to seal the victory and earn NEFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Nichols gave undefeated Curry all it could handle in the first half of play but the five-time Boyd Division Champs pulled through in the second half to hand the Bison a 30-12 loss. With Nichols trailing by just two, 14-12, at halftime, Curry’s offense took over in the second half as it scored sixteen unanswered points.
In the final game of the season, the Bison finished on a disappointing note with a 30-10 loss to Western New England College, ending hopes of an ECAC Tournament berth.
Quarterbacks
Nelson’s rookie campaign began at the quarterback position before moving to wide receiver. He went 37-87 for 420 yards and two touchdowns as a quarterback. As a wide receiver, he caught 13 passes for 150 yards. He also ran the ball for 277 total yards, which ranked second on the team.
Oberg started the final five games of the season, going 77-168 for 809 total yards. He threw two touchdowns and finished with a 78.31 passing efficiency. He also scrambled for 145 total yards on 51 attempts on the ground.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Pillari made the switch from running back to wide receiver this season and led the team with 31 catches for 380 yards.
He ran for 96 total yards on 23 attempts and had two touchdowns as well. As a kick-off returner, he averaged a team-best 20.2 yards on 17 returns. Pillari’s best performance came against Endicott, where he had eight catches for 95 yards.
Freshman Colton Langdon (Middletown, R.I.) finished third on the team in receiving yards with 138 yards. He had one touchdown reception with 13 total receptions on the year, including a season-high nine against Curry. Langdon also rushed for a total of 23 yards on three rushing attempts.
Junior Jon Snediker (Grafton, Mass.) had 13 receptions for 114 yards which was fourth on the team. Senior wide receiver Nicholas Kane (Holyoke, Mass.) finished with 12 receptions for 122 total yards despite being sidelined by an injury early in the season. He averaged 10.2 yards per catch.
Nicholas Kane’s Career Statistics
RECEIVING Rec Yds TD Lg Rec/G Avg/C Avg/G
2004 6 107 0 27 1.5 17.8 26.8
2005 27 232 1 28 3.0 8.6 25.8
2006 11 185 2 47 1.6 16.8 26.4
2007 12 122 0 31 1.7 10.2 17.4
TOTAL 56 646 3 47 2.1 11.5 23.9
ALL PURPOSE Rec PR KR IR Total Avg/G
2004 107 15 0 0 122 30.5
2005 232 0 0 0 232 25.8
2006 185 0 0 0 185 26.4
2007 122 0 0 0 122 17.4
TOTAL 646 15 0 0 661 24.5
Freshman Joshua Padilla (Hartford, Conn.) had ten receptions for 105 yards while sophomore Michael Seiger (Pittsfield, Mass.) posted eight catches for 85 yards.
Senior Darren Zow (Newark, N.J.) had one reception for 26 yards in his final year with the Bison.
RECEIVING Rec Yds TD Lg Rec/G Avg/C Avg/G
2005 13 270 3 74 1.6 20.8 33.8
2006 6 76 1 26 2.0 12.7 25.3
2007 1 26 0 26 0.3 26.0 8.7
TOTAL 20 372 4 74 1.4 18.6 26.6
ALL PURPOSE Rec PR KR IR Total Avg/G
2005 270 0 19 0 289 36.1
2006 76 0 0 0 76 25.3
2007 26 0 0 0 26 8.7
TOTAL 372 0 19 0 391 27.9
Senior Dane Laboissonniere (Coventry, R.I.) caught three passes for 53 yards with his longest reception being for 28 yards.
Dane Laboissonniere’s Career Statistics
RECEIVING Rec Yds TD Lg Rec/G Avg/C Avg/G
2004 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
2005 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
2006 1 13 0 13 1.0 13.0 13.0
2007 3 53 0 28 0.4 17.7 7.6
TOTAL 4 66 0 28 0.5 16.5 8.2
ALL PURPOSE Rec PR KR IR Total Avg/G
2004 -- -- -- -- -- --
2005 -- -- -- -- -- --
2006 13 0 0 0 13 13.0
2007 53 0 0 0 53 7.6
TOTAL 66 0 0 0 66 8.2
Freshman Tyler Tetreault (Oakham, Mass.) saw considerable time at the tight-end position, putting him in good position for a regular starting role next season.
Running backs
Morris ranked eighth in the country with 135.8 rushing yards per game before being sidelined with an injury for the last three games of the season where he made just 11 carries. He finished the season with a team-high 829 yards on the ground and a team high six touchdowns. Morris was named the NEFC and ECAC Northeast Player of the Week after rushing for 192 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-14 win at Endicott on Sept. 29. He ran for over 100 yards in five straight games and had a pair of 190+ yard games.
Freshman Chris Stewart (New Haven, Conn.) finished third on the team in rushing with 102 total yards on 28 attempts. He recorded two touchdowns and averaged 2.7 yards per rush.
Sophomore Lawrence Scott (Oxford, Mass.) finished with 25 carries for 89 yards and one touchdown.
Freshman Patrick Gregory (Webster, N.Y.) earned the starting fullback position for the Bison while junior James Fritz (Souderton, Penn.) also saw time.
Offensive Line
Bickerstaffe started all nine games on Nichols’ offensive line. He provided excellent blocking for Nichols’ running backs all season long as Morris ranked as high as sixth in the country in rushing. Senior Michael Tolman (North Brookfield, Mass.) started all nine games at center in his fourth and final year with the team. Sophomore Brandt Genga (Middletown, R.I.), junior transfer Chernenko Attime (Randolph, Mass.) and freshman Mark Hardy (Westfield, Mass.) joined Tolman and Bickerstaffe on the line this season. They were backed up by junior transfer Chris Heuer (Scarborough, Maine) and freshmen Ryan Donahue (Bradford, R.I.), Sean Bagley (Saunderstown, R.I.), Joseph Golden (New Milford, Conn.) and Zach Rosenbluth (West Hartford, Conn.).
Defensive Line
Hassett ranked 33rd in the nation and led the NEFC with 7.5 sacks on the season. His 76 total tackles were third for the Bison and tenth in the conference while his 11.5 tackles for loss were second on the team and eighth in the NEFC. Hassett had ten or more tackles in three games, including a season-high 12 against Boyd Division champion Curry.
Bonn played in all nine games while finishing second on the team in sacks. His three solo sacks and six assisted sacks for 47 yards ranked third in the NEFC. Bonn finished tied for fifth on the team with 47 total tackles. He closed out his four-year Nichols career with 179 total tackles, including 23 sacks.
Brendan Bonn’s Career Statistics
TACKLES UA A Total TFL-Yds PD FF FR Blkd
2004 25 13 38 7.0-48 1 0 0 1
2005 20 30 50 9.0-23 0 0 0 0
2006 25 19 44 18.5-66 2 1 1 0
2007 16 31 47 10.5-60 1 0 0 0
TOTAL 86 93 179 45.0-197 4 1 1 1
SACKS UA A Total Yds
2004 6 3 7.5 43
2005 3 1 3.5 15
2006 5 2 6.0 35
2007 3 6 6.0 47
TOTAL 17 12 23.0 140
Merjuste played in all nine games with a total of 35 tackles and recorded two sacks with one blocked kick for the season.
Freshman Anthony Tognacci (Plymouth, Mass.) recorded 46 total tackles with one fumble recovery. He had five punt attempts for 197 yards and recorded three sacks for a total of 16 yards lost.
Sophomores Nick Michaud (Williston, Vt.) and Zach Mihaly (Hamden, Conn.) along with junior transfer Douglas Lord Jr. (Port Charlotte, Fl.) all saw time on the line this season as they hope to earn a spot in the starting line-up next season.
Linebackers
Parkinson ranked second on the team and eighth in the conference with 84 total tackles, including 34 solo stops on the year. His 17 tackles for loss were 24th in the country and second in the NEFC. Parkinson also had 4.5 sacks, which ranked third for Nichols and tied for eighth in the conference. He compiled four ten or more tackle games, including a career-high 13 in two games against Worcester State and MIT. The co-captain finished his Bison career with 167 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, one forced fumble and four fumble recoveries as a four-year letterwinner.
Matthew Parkinson’s Career Statistics
TACKLES UA A Total TFL-Yds PD FF FR Blkd
2004 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
2005 9 8 17 2.0-4 2 0 0 0
2006 40 26 66 6.5-21 0 1 3 0
2007 34 50 84 17.0-63 4 0 1 1
TOTAL 83 84 167 25.5-88 6 1 4 1
SACKS UA A Total Yds
2004 -- -- -- --
2005 0 0 0.0 0
2006 2 0 2.0 10
2007 4 1 4.5 31
TOTAL 6 1 6.5 41
Smith led Nichols with 89 total tackles. His 51 solo stops were sixth in the conference and 23rd in the nation. His three recovered fumbles and two forced fumbles led the team. Smith’s 11 tackles for loss ranked third on the team as well. He was named the Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against UMass-Dartmouth where he recovered
his own forced fumble and ran it back for an 87 yard touchdown. He also posted a season-high 14 tackles in that game as well as in the final game of the season at Western New England College.
Junior Thomas Mulligan (Elmwood Park, N.J.) recorded 49 total tackles on the season, which ranked fourth on the team.
Freshman Trevor Robertson (Hingham, Mass.) recorded 22 tackles with one pass deflection this season.
Junior Erik Valentine (West Lebanon, N.H.) saw time as a back-up this season as did freshman Evan Berneche (Chicopee, Mass.).
Defensive Secondary
McLean led the defensive secondary this season as Nichols had the second best pass efficiency defense in the conference. The Bison allowed quarterbacks a 47.8 pass completion percentage and made ten interceptions for a 95.1 efficiency rating. McLean posted three pass break-ups and 20 total tackles despite being hindered by a nagging injury. He also was Nichols top punt returner as he averaged 19.8 yards on eight returns, including one touchdown return of 73 yards. McLean also averaged 19.3 yards on nine kick-off returns.
Junior Joshua Harris (Northbridge, Mass.) led the team in punting with 33 attempts for 1204 yards. His longest punt of the season went for 58 yards. Harris tied for fifth in tackles with 47 and led the team with six breakups. He also tied for the lead in interceptions with three in his first year on the Nichols defense.
Freshman Thomas Carty (Ocala, Fl.) tied for the team lead in interceptions with three and posted 26 total tackles as he earned a starting role as a rookie. Freshman Jeramie White (New Haven, Conn.) also earned a spot in the starting line-up, posting 19 total tackles and three pass break-ups. Freshman Antiwone Carr (Middletown, Conn.) recorded one interception with a total of 13 tackles for the season.
Junior Terrence Mayrose (Staten Island, N.Y.) saw considerable time on the field this season, putting him in good position for a starting role next season. Freshmen Marquis Long (New Haven, Conn.), Evan Greathead (Pepperell, Mass.) and Matthew Shelter (Bethel, Conn.) also served back-ups roles on the secondary.
Kicking/Punting
Freshman Mark Capitanio (Mansfield, Mass.) finished second in scoring with a total of 35 points. He went six for ten on field goals, including longs of 37 and 35 yards, while going 17-19 in extra point attempts. Capitanio ranked fifth in the NEFC in field goals.
NEFC Boyd Division Awards
First Team All-Division Linebacker: Matthew Parkinson
First Team All-Division Defensive Line: Bill Hassett
First Team All-Division Defensive Back: David McLean
Second Team All-Division Linebacker: Curtis Smith
Second Team All-Division Running Back: Robert Morris
Second Team All-Division Offense Lineman: Bob Bickerstaffe
Boyd Division Offensive Rookie of the Year: Robert Morris
Boyd Division Defensive Rookie of the Year: Curtis Smith
All-Worcester Area Awards
First Team Linebacker: Curtis Smith
First Team Punt Return Specialist: David McLean
First Team Running Back: Robert Morris
Second Team Linebacker: Matthew Parkinson
Second Team Defensive End: Bill Hassett
Second Team Defensive Back: David McLean
Second Team Defensive Tackle: Brendan Bonn
Second Team Offense Lineman: Bob Bickerstaffe
Second Team Placekicker: Mark Capitanio
Co-Defensive Rookie of the Year: Curtis Smith
