Box Score DUDLEY, Mass.—Sophomore quarterback Derek Victory threw for 259 yards and a career-high four touchdowns leading Coast Guard to a 28-12 win over Nichols in the New England Football Conference (NEFC) opener for both teams.
Coast Guard evens its record at 2-2 on the season, 1-0 in the NEFC while the Bison drop to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Bears finished with 348 total yards, 259 of those in the air while Nichols totaled 435 total yards, 223 of those on the ground.
Victory threw a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter as the Bears led 14-0 at the break. Senior Jake Wawrzyniak's 41-yard run down to the 5-yard line set up Victory's third touchdown pass of the game a 5-yard strike to junior Jordan Groff as the Bears pushed the lead to 21-6 with 12:20 left to put the game away.
Groff, who led the Bears with eight receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns, would add a 54-yard touchdown reception from Victory with 6:57 left as the Bears led 28-6.
Nichols closed the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Respass to senior Brett Franciosi with 1:27 left.
Victory was 22 of 34 on the day with the four touchdowns and two interceptions while senior Collis Brown had six receptions for 80 yards while Wawrzyniak led the Bears with six carries for 57 yards in the win.
"Our defense kept us in the game. We had three guys at different positions on the offensive line and they did not allow a sack," said Coast Guard head coach Bill George. "It was a tough week with the roller coast of emotions, with the high of Merchant Marine to the low of Hampden-Sydney and our senior leadership helped us rally through this."
"Derek continues to develop and he is still a young quarterback. He did a great job of spreading his receivers out today," added George.
Junior Andre Rickerson's 3-yard touchdown run capped a 15 play, 97-yard drive on Nichols' first possession of the second half to cut the deficit to 14-6 after the extra point was blocked by senior Aaron Black with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
Following a Coast Guard punt, sophomore quarterback Quillian Respass' 15-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-five was called back for a hold and the Bison turned the ball over on downs following an incomplete pass with 2:16 left in the third quarter.
Nichols took the opening kickoff and marched down the field inside chewing up 7:46 off the clock. They converted three third downs and moved inside the Bears 20-yard line before a pair of penalties stalled the drive as the Bison turned it over on downs at the 22-yard line.
Coast Guard junior punter Tyler Henning, who is ninth nationally with a 42.5 yard average, boomed a 56-yard punt to pin Nichols at its own 3-yard line and the Bears defense forced a punt.
Victory was intercepted by freshman Brian Camacho at the Nichols 49-yard line on the Bears' next possession.
Following a Nichols punt, Coast Guard marched 92 yards in seven plays as Victory threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to senior Blake Thompson, his first touchdown of the season. The big play in the drive was a 48-yard pass from Victory to senior Collis Brown. Sophomore Chris Bell made his first career extra point as the Bears took a 7-0 lead with 13:03 left in the second quarter.
The Bears defense would get a three-and-out and a 17-yard punt return by junior Mark Behne would give Coast Guard the ball at the 50. Victory would throw a 12-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Bryan Popp, his first career touchdown reception, with 9:16 left in the half for a 14-0 lead.
Junior Joe Rizzardi, who returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns against Nichols last season, intercepted Nichols quarterback Quillian Respass at the 12-yard line and returned it 23 yards, but junior Connor Richard intercepted Victory and returned it 32 yards to set up the Bison at the Bears' 19-yard line.
The Bears defense stopped the Bison inside the 5-yard line and sophomore Grant Kilmek would miss a 20-yard field goal with 21 seconds left as the Bears took the 14-0 lead into the half.
Senior Victor Rizzardi also had an interception while Joe Rizzardi led the Bears with 16 tackles, nine solo in the win.
Nichols dominated the time of possession in the first half 21:55 to 8:05 and the Bison had the ball for 37 minutes and 53 seconds in the game.
Coast Guard will hit the road for the third straight week next week when the Bears travel to Western New England for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 4th.
