Bison best Seahawks in conference opener

DUDLEY, Mass. (September 28, 2019) -- Senior Michael Pina scored three touchdowns to lead the Nichols College football team to its first win over Salve Regina University since 2009 with a 25-15 triumph on Homecoming Weekend in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Football action at Vendetti Field.

Pina completed 15-of-30 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown – a four-yarder to junior Joshua Pierre-Charles – and also rushed for two (2, 1) as the Bison (3-1, 1-0 CCC) won on Homecoming for the second-straight year. Sophomore Joe Cox (12 tackles), along with seniors Jared Abbruzzese and Michael Spraulding (11 tackles each), held the Seahawks to just three points in the second half and less than 100 yards rushing (95) for the game.

After the Seahawks (1-3, 0-1 CCC) drove from their own nine-yard line down to the NC4 in 16 plays in the third, Cox tackled freshman Robert Gomes for a loss of five on third-and-goal to hold Salve Regina to three points to tie the game at 15. The Bison answered with a 10-play, 87-yard drive of their own which Pina polished with a one-yard TD plunge to put them up 22-15 four seconds into the fourth. The highlight of the drive was a fake punt on fourth down that saw freshman Julian Ortiz toss a pass to junior Amari Smith that went for 30 yards before a personal foul call on the Seahawks tacked on 15 more.

Following an interception by sophomore Brett Williams in the fourth, senior Alex Santiago kicked a career-long 39-yard field goal to extend the NC lead to 10 with 11 minutes remaining. The defense forced Salve Regina to go three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and then the offense put together a 15-play drive which ate up over eight minutes to essentially seal the win.

Sophomore Joey Mauriello rushed for a game-high 107 yards for the Seahawks while junior Tyler McGovery and sophomore Jack Maguire combined to go 23-of-43 for 259 yards. Salve Regina committed 15 penalties for 135 yards.

Three things you need to know…

-The last time the Bison opened the season 3-1 was back in 2007, when they secured wins over Framingham State (41-0), MIT (31-28), and Endicott (28-14) en route to a 4-1 start.

-The Seahawks arrived in Dudley having averaged 42.6 ppg against the Bison during the last eight games, outscoring them 341-85 during that span.

-Nichols managed to win the contest despite going 1-for-10 on third down conversions.