HENNIKER, N.H. - Over 2,000 fans watched on as the New England College Pilgrims kicked off their first official season in over 50 years on Saturday, marking the return of football to Henniker.
Plymouth State won the toss and deferred, setting the stage for New England College to receive the opening kick in the team's historic home opener on campus. Freshman Gavin Philbrook (Goffstown, N.H.) returned the kick to the NEC 34-yard line where the Pilgrims would start the first drive of the game.
The first offensive play from scrimmage saw the ball handed off to junior Aidan McDonald (Salem, N.H.) out of the backfield, and McDonald plowed ahead for six yards to begin the day for the Pilgrim offense. A few plays later, sophomore quarterback Lukas Köttstorfer (Bruckmühl, Germany) found sophomore Gavin Auger (Derry, N.H.) streaking across the middle of the field for a 15-yard chunk play.
NEC's offense continued to move the ball with ease on their opening drive with Köttstorfer finding a wide-open receiver down field in sophomore Conrado Lago (Methuen, Mass.) for a 27-yard gain down to the Plymouth 10-yard line. Two plays later, Köttstorfer flipped the ball to sophomore Dontrell White (Weare, N.H.) who broke multiple tackles before bulldozing his way into the end zone for the team's first touchdown of the season.
The Panthers had a clear gameplan in place for their first offensive possession, running the ball on seven straight plays before Greg Walker, who had previously ripped off a 20-yard rush, scored on a one-yard plunge into the endzone to knot the game up at 7-7.
The Pilgrims started their second possession at their own 35-yard line while in search of a response to the Panthers' quick answer. The quickest of answers came on the very first play of the drive as junior captain Icean Taylor (Manchester, N.H.) housed a 65-yard run to put NEC up, 14-7.
The visitors kept the ball on the ground with their rushing attack with an efficient five-play, 57-yard touchdown drive capped off by Walker finding his way into the endzone for his second score of the day. Walker had runs of 23, 9, and 14 on the drive as he proved very difficult to get on the ground.
Plymouth State's defense managed to pull off the first stop of the game, forcing a Pilgrims punt with under two minutes left in the first quarter. Walker then continued to torment the NEC defense with a 12-yard run followed by a 40-yard house call for his third touchdown of the afternoon. On the team's subsequent drive, Walker would cough up the ball on a forced fumble by freshman Logan Paradis (Manchester, N.H.), however the Panthers would jump on the loose ball. The Panthers running attack would continue to move the ball down field and pound the ball into the endzone to go up 28-14.
The Pilgrims would punt on their next possession after stalling out around the Panthers' 40-yard line, but then the NEC defense would come up with a big fourth-down stop later in the second quarter for a turnover-on-downs. Sophomore captain Ethan Cenesca (Manchester, N.H.) and freshman Lleyton Brault (Manchester, N.H.) combined to stuff the ball carrier and retake possession with just over a minute left in the first half.
Racing against the clock, the Pilgrims turned to the no-huddle and pieced together some nice gains through the air, highlighted by a stellar 24-yard throw-and-catch from Köttstorfer to Lago, to reach the Panthers' 7-yard line with under 10 seconds left. The 'Grims would pass up the field goal and take two shots at the end zone but coming up short just before halftime.
Plymouth State would score another touchdown on the ground to open up the third quarter. Walker gained 29 more yards on three carries before conceding the rest of the team's carries for the remainder of the afternoon. Walker ended with 185 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns. After forcing a Pilgrims' turnover on downs, the Panthers would piece together a lengthy drive on the ground culminating in another rushing touchdown.
Another deep ball connection between Köttstorfer and Lago, paired with a couple of costly penalties on the Panthers, put the NEC offense inside the 10-yard line in plus territory. McDonald took three consecutive carries with the third rush attempt ending up in the end zone for the team's third touchdown of the day. Plymouth State would add one more garbage time touchdown, capping off a day in which they totaled 419 yards – and all seven of their touchdowns – on the ground.
Köttstorfer ended the day with 176 passing yards, one touchdown, and no turnovers. Lago snagged four catches for 88 yards while Auger caught four passes for 35. On the ground, Taylor totaled 67 yards and one touchdown while McDonald gained 54 yards on 13 carries and a score. On defense, sophomore captain Erik Menger (Stratham, N.H.) led the team with nine total tackles and senior captain Kaevryel Madison (Concord, N.H.) followed behind with eight.
The Pilgrims will now look ahead to a week two matchup against MIT which comes at home next Saturday at 2:00 PM.
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