Bison Best Anna Maria 51-29 in Football Home Opener

PAXTON, Mass.—The Anna Maria College football team hosted nearby foe, Nichols College, in non-conference football action on Saturday afternoon at AMCAT Field. The Bison had a high-scoring day and took a 51-29 win.

With the win, Nichols improves 1-1, while the loss drops Anna Maria to 0-2.

THE NUMBERS

The Bison dominated on both ends of the field, as they totaled 537 yards of offense while holding the AMCATS to 277 yards. 444 of Nichols' total offense came in the air, while the Anna Maria defensive line held the Bison to just 93 rushing yards.

The two teams finished with an even 16 first downs each, and Anna Maria held a 43 percent efficiency (6 of 14) on third downs in comparison to Nichols' 33 percent efficiency (4 of 12). Anna Maria held an advantage in time of possession for the second-straight week.

PASSING FOR POINTS

Nichols had a monster day in the secondary, as quarterback Michael McCourt completed five touchdown passes in addition to a 20-25 effort overall for 360 total passing yards.

Derrick Warren was McCourt's favorite target, as the wing tallied 11 receptions for 287 yards and four touchdowns, including an 84-yard touchdown completion in the fourth quarter.

Ann Maria also scored three of their four touchdowns in the air, as quarterback Malik Faison (Bowie, Md.) finished the day 14-for-23 with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Sophomore Trai Weaver (Waterbury, Conn.) caught two of the scoring passes, totaling 150 yards on six catches with a long of 73.

Senior Will Ricard (Billerica, Mass.) also had a touchdown reception on a 13-yard catch from Faison in the second quarter.

THE RUNNING GAME

Grant Klimek tallied 71 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown as the game's highest running performance. The AMCATS were led by senior fullback Aaron Koehler (West Warwick, R.I.), who tallied 31 y ards in seven attempts with a long of eight.

OPENING OFFENSE

The AMCATS opened the game as the receiving team and saw a 23-yard return by freshman Austin Paygai (West Warwick, R.I.), but a first-play interception resulted in a 46-yard touchdown completion from McCourt to Warren on Nichols' first play of the game. Nichols would add a second score three minutes later to take a 14-0 lead before Anna Maria tallied a score on a one-yard run by Faison.

AMCATS CUT THE LEAD  

Trailing 30-15 at halftime, the AMCATS opened the third quarter with a 73-yard touchdown completion from Faison to Weaver to bring the AMCATS within single digits. A failed two-point conversion set the score at 30-22, the smallest margin of the day.

BISON BOUNCE BACK

Unsatisfied with an eight-point lead, the Bison responded with three-straight touchdowns over the third and fourth quarters to take a 51-22 lead. At 6:34 of the third quarter, McCourt connected on a 20-yard pass to Derrick Warren, using just five plays to travel 44 yards for the score.

PENALTY PROBLEMS

Both teams struggled with penalties, as there were 20 total infractions for a total of 269 yards. The Bison had 13 penalties to Anna Maria's seven, but the AMCATS took a larger hit to yardage, 144-125.

TURNOVER WOES

The AMCATS had six turnovers on the day—three interceptions and three fumbles. Midway through the third quarter the two teams had back-to-back turnovers, as Faison fumbled and saw his ball recovered by Nichols' Nicholas Dimopoulos, only for the AMCATS To get the ball back three plays later on a fumble by Klimeck, which was forced and picked up by senior linebacker Mike Sinto (Long Beach, N.Y.).  

The AMCATS were unable to capitalize on the fumble recovery though, as the team gave the ball back to Nichols on downs.

DEFENSE

Brian Camacho had a standout day on defense for Nichols, as he tallied two interceptions and returned them for eight yards. The Bison saw a game-high eight tackles from McCoy Scott and an additional seven tackles from Tom Ellison. Scott, Ellison, and James Singletary all tallied sacks for the Bison.

Anna Maria saw seven tackles apiece from sophomore defensive back Charles Dickerson (Randallstown, Md.) and Sinto, while senior Victor Sambola (Worcester, Mass.) added six tackles.

WHAT'S NEXT

The AMCATS host Curry College next weekend in a 3:00 p.m. tilt as part of Anna Maria's Homecoming weekend.