BANGOR, Maine – The Husson University football team rolled to a 56-22 win over Nichols College in its Conference of New England opener on Saturday afternoon at the Dr. John W. Winkin Sports Complex, as junior quarterback Max Clark set the single-game passing touchdown record with six touchdowns on the day.
The Husson (4-2, 1-0 CNE) defense made an immediate impact in Saturday's contest, as it stuffed Nichols (3-3, 0-1 CNE) on fourth down to allow its offense to take over in plus-territory early on.
The Eagle offense didn't waste the opportunity that was presented with them, as after five rushing attempts from senior Lavar Hunter and junior Jed Lober pushed Husson further down the field, Hunter ripped off a 21-yard touchdown run to break the 0-0 tie.
The Bison were able to go on a touchdown drive of their own on their next possession, as Ian Snow connected with Joshua Vitti from five yards out to even the game back up.
Husson stuck with the ground-game for the majority of its next drive, as Hunter started the possession off with a 22-yard rush to get the Eagles into enemy territory. After four more rushes and a short pass from Clark to senior Cullen Casey, Husson was in the end zone once again, as Casey caught a crossing route over the middle and rumbled his way into the end zone to give Husson the lead back.
Following a punt from Nichols, the Eagles found paydirt for a third-straight drive to begin the game. After Clark hooked up with senior Cam Holmes for a fourth down conversion, Clark connected with Holmes on a deep ball down the right sideline, which led Holmes into the end zone to give Husson a two-score lead early on in the second quarter.
After the Bison offense went three-and-out, Nichols forced a big stop on defense and forced the Eagles into a 37-yard field goal attempt, which senior Cason Markevich hit off the right upright and kept the game at 21-7 with 3:02 left in the second quarter.
Nichols took advantage and marched down the field late in the first half and Snow capped off the long drive with a one-yard touchdown rush to bring the Bison back to within seven.
With just over a minute left in the opening half, Clark and the Eagles were left with just enough time to put together their fourth touchdown drive of the game, as a 37-yard pass from Clark to Holmes got Husson just outside the red zone and Clark floated a touchdown pass three plays later to senior Dom Wilson, giving the Eagles a two-touchdown lead heading into halftime.
Sophomore Cameron Cornett set Husson up with more great field-position to open the second half, as he took the third quarter kick-off 54 yards to set up the Eagles at the 33 yardline of Nichols.
After four rushes to begin the drive, Clark hit senior Nason Berthelette over the middle at the 10-yard line and Berthelette was able to evade a defender and post the fifth touchdown of the game for Husson.
A shanked punt by the Bison put the offense for the Eagles on their own 49-yard line and after four more rushes to open the drive, Clark once again made a simple read and hit Casey over the middle and the tight end hurdled over a Nichols defender and marched his way into the end zone for his second score of the day.
The Husson defense stepped up again on the next drive for the Bison, as sophomore Jahmye Tyson stuffed a rushing attempt from Nichols on fourth down to put the ball back in the hands of the Husson offense.
Much like the previous two drives, the Eagles used the ground game to get deep into Bison territory and Clark found Holmes for his second touchdown of the day from seven yards out to bring the lead to 49-14 for Husson.
Despite a long touchdown drive from the Bison that carried into the fourth quarter, the Eagles offense never lost its groove, as freshman Aiden Sergent rushed in from 29 yards away on the next drive to get Husson over the 50-point plateau.
After another turnover on downs from Nichols on its final drive of the game, the Eagles were able to salt away the final 5:42 of the game to open up CNE play with a win.
Clark finished an efficient 15-19 through the air on his record-setting day, finishing with 212 yards and six touchdowns, as well as two rushes for 25 yards.
Hunter and Lober were a two-headed monster for the Eagles in the backfield, as Hunter posted 129 yards on 21 rushes and one touchdown, while Lober totaled 18 rushes for 126 yards.
Holmes and Casey led the Husson receiving core with five catches and two touchdowns each, while Holmes posted 91 receiving yards and Casey tallied 56.
Four Husson defenders finished with seven tackles in the game, as freshman Brayden Trombly and seniors Ethan Turgeon, CJ Nicely and Ricky Hendrix combined for 28 stops, while seniors DJ Wilson and Walker Lenz combined for a sack in the victory.
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Curry College for another CNE matchup, with kick-off set for 2:30 p.m.
