Story Courtesy of Springfield Athletics

Springfield, Mass. — November 7, 2026 — The 22nd ranked Springfield College football team defeated Norwich, 55-0, on Saturday afternoon to claim the program's sixth straight 2026 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship title after seven different student-athletes scored a total of eight touchdowns.

The Pride improve to 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference while the Cadets drop to 3-6, 1-5. Springfield entered today's contest ranked 22nd in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll and is receiving votes in the national poll while also sitting 13th in the NCAA Power Index rankings. Springfield earned the NEWMAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, but will head to Maritime on Saturday to finish out the regular season. 

Prior to the start of the game, the Pride honored its 32 seniors including in Will Aviles (Bethlehem, Pa.), Avian Evans (West Haven, Conn.), Nick Gonzalez (Parippany, N.J.), Christian Johnson-Hall (Savannah, Ga.), JT Kinsey (Savannah, Ga.), Mike Mendicino (Pound Ridge, N.Y.), Nick Peterson (Brielle, N.J.), Sean Polinsky (Harwinton, Conn.), Owen Shakal (Westfield, N.J.) and Tyler Sordillo (Hull, Mass.) on the defensive side of the ball along with kicker Brian Kolody (Flemington, N.J.) and managers Sam Weatherbee and John Jones. 

On the offensive side of the ball, Springfield honored Bradley Barcello (Weston, Connecticut), Matt Benard (Agawam, Mass.), Ryan Brown (Tappan, N.Y.), Brian Dann (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.), Stanford Davis (Montague, N.J.), Bode Dunn (Stockton, N.J.), Mekhi George (Bethlehem, Pa.), James Green (Gales Ferry, Conn.), Drew Heenan (Londonderry, N.H.), Ty LaFave(Moscow, Pa.), Mason Malloy (West Orange, N.J.), Dante Mangiafico (Ellington, Conn.), Cris Mozeika (Brielle, N.J.), Desmond Perezcastaneda (Brockton, Mass.), Dylan Powers (Cumberland, R.I.), Christian Quandt (Hillsborough, N.J.), Trey Rios (Northampton, Mass.), TJ Welch (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Luke Zoller (Saratoga, N.Y.).

Seven different student-athletes scored a total of eight touchdowns for Springfield as the offense totaled 551 yards with 445 yards on the ground, holding the ball for over 38 minutes and were 7-for-11 on third down conversions. Davis led the Springfield offense on the ground with 94 rushing yards and a touchdown while Heenan threw for 106 yards and a touchdown while Zoller had two touchdowns of his own. 

The defense shut out the Cadets, leaving them scoreless with only 100 yards of total offense and they also did not allow Norwich to get a first down until the third quarter as they went 1-for-9 on third down conversions. Peterson led the defense with nine tackles while Gonzalez had an interception and two tackles for a loss, and Kinsey and Sordillo each had three quarterback hurries. 

Springfield forced a three-and-out from the Cadets to open the game before going on a 15 play, 81 yards drive while holding it for over seven minutes. Perezcastaneda had a big 14-yard run for a first down that then allowed him to run it into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown before the extra point from Ian Wernik (Plymouth, Mass.) to take the lead. In the Pride's next drive, Heenan connected with Caleb Hantho (Schoharie, N.Y.) for a 40-yard pass to set up a rushing touchdown for Zoller to make it 14-0.

In the second quarter, the Pride held the ball for over five minutes on a 11 play, 50 yard drive as Davis scored his first touchdown of the game. Towards the end of the second quarter, Aiden Ruotolo (Guilford, Conn.) had an 18-yard punt return to set Springfield up at the Norwich 30-yard line as Jayden Aziz (Washington, N.J.) ran it in to put Springfield up, 28-0 going into halftime. 

Out of the halftime break, Springfield went on two more scoring drives as the Pride possessed the ball for over seven minutes in the quarter. Zoller rushed for seven yards to get his second touchdown on the day to open up the third and take a 35-0 lead. The Cadets had their first third down conversion of the day in the next drive but the Springfield defense continued to dominate and forced Norwich to punt. Heenan connected again with Hantho, throwing a 40-yard pass at the Norwich 26-yard line before completing another deep pass to Hantho for the touchdown, 42-0. 

The Pride opened up the fourth with a 13 play, 75 yard scoring drive for 6:26 minutes as AJ Vurchio (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) and Brown powered Springfield to score again, as Brown had a 4-yard touchdown before Christoffer Gonzalez blocked the extra point attempt. Dylan Fella (Massapequa, N.Y.) then had a 33-yard interception return to set Springfield up for another scoring opportunity and keep the Cadets from scoring. Dylan Patturelli (Peabody, Mass.) had a 35-yard run before Aidan Calvacca(Seaford, N.Y.) rushed five yards for the final scoring of the game. Kolody then pinned the extra point as Springfield won the contest, 55-0. 

Springfield will head to Maritime on Saturday for a 12:00 pm kickoff.