Quarterback Brett Nabb led a balanced attack. In his third year as a starter, the graduate student from Avalon, N.J. ran for 144 yards and a score and threw for 130 yards and another touchdown. Jeremiah Avrilien made good use of his eight touches on the ball. The junior running back from Miami ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns behind an offensive line that did not give up a sack and helped the Eagles to run for over 300 yards.
"We got off to the start we wanted," Head Coach Billy Crocker said after the game. That is something we have been talking about for a while with the team. I thought we played efficient in all three phases, and we didn't turn the ball over. That is always big for us.
The Eagles won the toss and elected to put their defense on the field first. The AMCATS (0-1) gained 12 yards on their first two plays, but a high snap and fumble on the ensuing first-down play put the gusts behind the sticks and the Eastern defense forced a punt. Justin Nikolopolous set upt he first Eastern drive with a 27-yard punt return into AMCAT territory.
Nabb ran for five yards on the first play and completed a deep ball into tight coverage for Eddie Swinton at the five yard line. Swinton won the battle for the ball as he and the defensive back battled for the ball. Avrilien found the end zone on the next play. With the early score, the Eagles lined up off-center and Nabb converted the two-point play with a runt through minimal traffic.
The AMCAT offense, which averaged over 400 yards per game last year showed some life to start the next drive. First-year quarterback Nikolay Boyce threw for a pair of first downs on the first two plays of the drive.
After an incomplete pass, the Eastern rush put pressure on the young QB and Dru Beckford took advantage. The junior from Middletown, Del. reacted to the ball, made the interception, and looked like a running back as he avoided tacklers on the way to the end zone.
After another good defensive series ended in a punt and a touchback, the Eagles put together their most complete drive of the afternoon. Nabb completed three passes for 24 yards and had a big 30-yard run. Including a three-yard touchdon catch, Nikolopolous caught two balls in the stretch.
Less than five minutes into the second quarter, Avrilien scored on a nine-yard scamper to put Eastern up 29-0. The Eastern defense held AMC to 22 yards in the second quarter.
The Eagles stalled on their first drive of the second half, but senior punter John Westfield hit a 49-yarder to the five to pin the AMCATS in deep. The Eastern defense picked up a stop, but after the AMCATS punt, both teams were sent to the locker rooms for a 45 minute lightning delay.
The Eagles have a little history of winning games with delays. In the program's first-ever game- as a club team in 2022, the teams stayed in the locker rooms at LVC for an extended period of time. The same thing happened in 2023, when the Eagles hosted Alvernia at Franklin Field. The team won both those games.
After the break. Nabb and the Eagles marched 53 yards for a 36-0 lead. Avrilien scored the final Eastern touchdown of the day on an impressive 40-yard run with 42 seconds left in the quarter.
With players rotating in for the Eagles, the guests finally broke through with a brilliant 15-yard grab against good coverage to end a 50-yard drive early in the fourth quarter. John Nolek knocked in a 40-yard field goal for the final points of the game.
Gashawn Moody Sr. finished with nine tackles and Jaden Todd had five. Salif Nikiema had a sack and was in on another tackle for loss.
"Looking forward, we need to clean up the penalties," Crocker said. "Especially on offense, because they really hurt us at times and set us back. We missed some opportunities for big plays that we will need to make in conference play. "
Eastern is back at Radnor Street Road to opens MAC play against Alvernia next Saturday. The 2025 Hall of Honor class will be introduced at the game in inducted in a ceremony in the gym afterwards. Alvernia lost to Ursinus last night.
Eastern University Football Opens Third Season with Win over Anna Maria
/seasons/2025/boxscores/20250906_1qqy.xml
2025
Anna Maria
7
Eastern
46
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna Maria (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Eastern (1-0) | 22 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 46 |
Sep 06, 2025