Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
BIDDEFORD, Maine – The University of New England moved the ball on the ground for 209 yards and three touchdowns as it defeated Nichols, 28-19, in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) football action in front of a record crowd at UNE Blue Storm Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Nor'easters (3-1, 1-0 CCC) sprinted out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter with touchdowns on each of their first two drives. Jack Mahoney broke two tackles and tip-toed his way down the sideline for a 22-yard score to get things started 9:23 into action. Following a three-and-out by the Bison, Jaymeson Maheux capped another long drive by UNE with a 20-yard touchdown up the middle.
Connor Sirois ran in on a quarterback keeper from 14-yards out midway through the second quarter to give UNE a 21-0 advantage. Nichols broke through on its next possession as Logan Sawyer found Joshua Vitti for a 46-yard touchdown to trim into the deficit.
Shane LaPorte was able to pin the Bison inside their own 10-yard line after UNE was forced to punt with just over a minute to play in the first half. Three plays later, Archie Killan fumbled the hand-off and Nick Lombard scooped it up and ran in for the score as UNE led 28-7 at the half.
Nichols (2-3, 0-1 CCC) started the second half strong, as Sawyer hit Kevin Diaz for a touchdown on their opening drive to cut the deficit to 28-13. The defense was able to make plays and create turnovers on back-to-back UNE possessions, but the Bison were unable to take advantage and draw closer.
Joshua Pierre-Charles ran in from two yards out with 8:31 to play, but a point-after attempt that would have made it a one-score game was blocked by Brady Feola as the UNE lead stoop at 28-19.
The Nor'easters strong ground game came up big down the stretch as they were able to run out most of the remaining clock.
Mahoney led UNE with 89 yards on the ground and Cam Mann added 67 on just 10 carries. UNE didn't do much damage through the air. Connor Sirois was 5-of-9 for 77 yards and an interception. LaPorte had three catches for 38 yards.
Nichols gained its yards almost exclusively through the air. Sawyer completed 28-of-40 for 302 yards and two scores. Vitti had nine grabs for 128 yards and Hunter Ferreira added eight for 98 yards. The Nor'easters kept the Bison ground game in check and allowed just 29 yards on the day.
Keegan Stanton-Meas had eight tackles and 1.5 for a loss. Franco Covalucci-Abbatessa and Will Peters each had a sack. Joe Cox and Joshua Sayer had eight tackles each to lead Nichols. Dylan Kehoe added five tackles and an interception.
The attendance for the game was 2,178, the highest in the four-year history of the program. The previous record was 2,042 set in the Nor'easters first-ever home game on September 8, 2018 against Husson.
UNE continues conference play next Saturday on the road at Salve Regina at 1 p.m.