Box Score
DUDLEY, Mass. (Sept. 4) – Westfield State sophomore Kyle Anderson (Westminster, Mass.) was stellar in his collegiate debut at quarterback, throwing for four touchdowns as the Owls defeated Nichols College, 33-13, on the Bison’s home turf of Vendetti Field Friday evening in the season opener.
Anderson, who was Westfield State’s second-leading tackler at strong safety last season, completed 12 of 25 passes for 190 yards without an interception, and also rushed for 82 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. He racked up 272 yards in total offense in accounting for all five of Westfield's touchdowns.
Anderson had the benefit of All-East Region receiver David Benoit (Ludlow, Mass.) on the other end of his passes, as the senior standout had seven catches for a game-high 148 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Nichols opened the scoring late in the first quarter when senior receiver Brian Dean (Seymour, Conn.) finished off a 56-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Sean Smith-Vaughn (Cumberland, Maine) by hurdling past a pair of defenders and into the endzone. A fumbled PAT attempt left the Bison up, 6-0, with 3:30 on the clock. Dean finished with 82 yards on the night.
Kevin Parnell (Berlin, Conn.) returned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to the Owls’ 39, setting up the first TD pass between Anderson and Benoit of the night, a 60-yarder. Chris Stengel’s (Forest Hill, Md.) kick was good, and the Owls took a 7-6 lead into the end of the first quarter.
A series of pass plays put the Bison on the Owls’ 33, and Smith-Vaughn connected with senior Mike Seiger (Pittsfield, Mass.) as he dove into the endzone to retake the lead. Dave Wyrick (Avon, Conn.) nailed the kick and Nichols was up, 13-7, just 3:41 into the second quarter. Smith-Vaughn completed 13 of 33 passes for 203 yards and was picked off four times in his debut.
The Bison held the Owls at their own 34, forcing them to punt on fourth and five, but Westfield’s Jon Palmer (Charlton, Mass.) recovered a fumble to set up the Owls’ five-play, 35-yard scoring drive that knotted the game, 13-13, with 6:48 left in the half.
Westfield took a 20-13 lead into halftime after a nine-play, 43-yard drive that saw Anderson rush for 11 yards before Benoit made a leaping catch just inside the sideline for a 6-yard TD reception.
Anderson threw a 26-yard scoring pass to Andrew Hernandez (West Springfield) to close out the third quarter, and then after forcing Nichols to punt on their first drive of the fourth quarter, capped a three-play, 17-yard drive by carrying in the ball himself for the Owls’ final touchdown.
Westfield’s Luke Johnson (So. Attleboro, Mass.) led all rushers with 127 yards on 23 carries. Robert Morris (Melbourne, Fla.) paced the Bison with 102 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Seniors Lawrence Scott (Oxford, Mass.) and Bill Hassett (Oxford, Mass.) led the Nichols defense with 11 tackles each; Scott posted four solo stops and Hassett made 1.5 tackles for a loss of three yards and an assisted sack.
Mike Jolicoeur (Wilbraham, Mass.) paced Westfield's balanced defense with seven tackles (two solo). Adrian Lafayette (Springfield, Mass.) and Chris Walker (West Springfield) each had a sack for a loss of nine yards and a forced fumble. Josh Mathieu (Fitchburg, Mass.) posted a pair of interceptions.
Westfield racked up 406 yards of total offense to the Bison’s 266. The Owls exhibited balanced by rushing for 232 yards and passing for 190. In another key statistic, Westfield did not commit a turnover while Nichols coughed up the ball six times (four interceptions, two fumbles).
Nichols returns to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 12th in an NEFC cross-divisional matchup at Framingham State. Westfield State plays its home opener on Friday, September 11th when the Owls host Western New England College in a 7 p.m. game.
In an NCAA sportsmanship initiative to kick off the 2009 football season, players, coaches and administrators from Westfield and Nichols meet at midfield for a pre-game handshake.