Dustin Mathews scored a game-winning overtime touchdown from the one
yard line Saturday afternoon, propelling Plymouth State past Nichols
College in the annual homecoming game, 20-14 in NEFC Boyd Division
play at Currier Field.
The Panthers came out and played hard, inspiring football in front of
a packed crowd during homecoming weekend. Mathews’ winning touchdown
came on the Panther’s first possession of the overtime, following an
interception by Josh Morgan on Nichols’ first chance. PSU used an
11-yard pass from senior quarterback Jake Tyler to Mathews, followed
by an 11-yard rush by Andrew Foglia to set up the game-winning play.
The Panthers seemed primed to win the game outright, but the Bison had
other plans. Junior quarterback Jacob Shoup launched a 41-yard
touchdown to Dylan Rimski with 2:23 remaining in the 4th tying the
game at 14, and rousing the Nichols bench and fan base that made the
trip from Dudley, Mass. Plymouth had broken the 7-7 stand-still midway
through the 4th with a 2 yard touchdown run by Tyler.
Although the Panthers were outgained in total yards 355-164, the
defense showed up when it needed to, and had a number of great
performances. Sophomore Chris Smith had five tackles and an
interception while senior Louis Montegari added eight tackles and a
fumble recovery. The star, though, was senior Josh Morgan, who had 12
tackles, a fumble recovery, and interception, earning him the NEFC
defensive player of the week award.
The win improved Plymouth State’s record to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the
NEFC, while Nichols dropped to 0-5 and 1-2. Both teams will play NEFC
action next Saturday as the Panthers will travel to MIT and Nichols
will visit Endicott.