Fire up the grills and crack open the beers (for fans over 21) because Cardinals football is BACK!

The Cards performed impressively in 2022, finishing with a 6–3 record overall (their 10th straight season with a winning record), the Little Three title, and eight Cardinals earning All-NESCAC honors. But this past spring, graduation resulted in the loss of numerous key players on both sides of the ball, among them two-time reigning NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year defensive lineman (DL) Nick Helbig ’23 and First Team All-NESCAC honorees wide receiver (WR) Logan Tomlinson ’23, cornerback Danny Banks ’22, and quarterback (QB) David Estevez ’22. This marked a critical point of transition for the program, but the Cardinals’ new class of leaders was ready to step it up.

“At the beginning of spring, we all got together as leaders and realized that it’s a new team, and it’s new players, and we’re gonna need a lot of new leadership because we don’t really have those dudes that have played for multiple years,” QB Niko Candido ’25 said. “So we’ve just had to become closer as a team and really want to play for each other and all win together.”

After months of preparation throughout the spring, summer, and preseason, the Red and Black were ready to tackle their first opponent and traveled up to Lewiston, Maine on Friday, Sept. 15 to take on Bates. The Cardinals have not suffered a loss to the Bobcats since 2005, but the team knew that the win was not a guarantee and that the game would serve as a key test of their abilities and chemistry in live play.

“No matter who we’re playing, we had to come out strong, and it was really just us against ourselves,” captain, offensive lineman, and First Team All-NESCAC honoree Justin Lockwood ’24 said. “We knew if we were at our best that it’d be hard for a team to beat us, and we just spent the entire preseason focusing on what we were doing and making sure that we were the best that we could be.”

Immediately, the Cards got off to a hot start as they marched down the field with an 11-play, 55-yard drive to open the game. Though it ended with a fumble at the Bates 9-yard line, it showed the offense’s ability to get the ball moving, and the defense was able to get the ball back in just three plays at the Bates 32-yard line off of a blocked punt by linebacker Kade Doverspike ’24.

“The first drive was really a key point in our day,” Candido said. “We needed to come off strong because we didn’t know how we would line up against [Bates]. And us coming down the field right away all the way to the red zone really showed that we could do that. Even though we did end up giving the ball over that play, that was just a huge confidence boost in every player on that field because they all did amazing that first drive.”

With the ball already deep in Bates territory, the Cardinals capitalized on the moment and capped off a five-play drive with an expert pass from Candido who escaped defensive pressure to send the ball 19 yards to WR Chase Wilson ’25 for the first touchdown of the game.

Bates picked up a couple of first downs on the ensuing drive, but the Cardinals defense ultimately stood strong, stopping the Bobcats on fourth and three. Taking over at their own 31-yard line, the Cardinals offense strung together a 10-play, 69-yard drive capped off by Candido and running back Tyler Flynn ’26 connecting for a nine-yard touchdown. Candido completed six passes on this drive, with all six completions going to different receivers.

“As we progressed throughout the game, a cool part of it was that everyone was catching the ball,” Candido said. “The ball was spread around through eight different players, so it just showed that everyone on that field could make the plays. And I think that that’s a huge part of our offense that is gonna be tough to stop.”

The two teams exchanged punts, but Bates managed to orchestrate a scoring drive just before halftime, culminating in a 39-yard field goal. Still, it was a fairly dominant first half by the Cardinals that saw them take a 14–3 lead heading into halftime.

Having deferred, the Cardinals received the second-half kickoff. The offense marched down the field, converting two pivotal third downs before Candido linked up with Ezra Jenifer ’23 MA ’24 for a sixteen-yard, catch-and-run touchdown.

The Bobcats responded with a quick touchdown in which all 43 of their 47 yards came on the ground, and cut the lead to 21–10. The Cardinals offense stalled on their ensuing drive, but a good punt by Gage Hammond ’27 pinned the Bobcats inside their own 15. Despite getting torched on the ground in the last possession, the Cardinals defense bounced back, forcing a three-and-out highlighted by stuffing the Bobcats QB Colton Bosselait behind the line on third-and-two.

“We didn’t think [Bosselait] was gonna run quite as much as he did, given his film from last year and how he played but we made the adjustment, and we always have those adjustments ready in case we need them,” captain, linebacker, and Second Team All-NESCAC honoree Jake Edwards ’24 said of the Bobcats’ rushing attack.

The Cardinals’ next possession began inside Bates territory and the first play resulted in a 47-yard bomb from Candido to WR Thomas Elkhoury ’24, which gave the Cardinals first-and-goal at the Bobcats’ one yard line. Flynn was able to punch it in, giving the Cardinals a 28–10 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats responded with a touchdown, and after a turnover on downs by the Cardinals, Bates had the ball with a chance to make it a one-possession game. The defense stood strong, forcing the Bobcats into a fourth and six. Bosselait attempted to locate his senior tight end, Steven Guerrette, on a crossing route, but linebacker Ben Carbeau ’25 dove and deflected the ball into the turf, a play that gave the Cardinals the ball back and virtually secured Wesleyan their first win.

The Cardinals controlled the ball for the rest of the game, with Flynn picking up a fourth down conversion that allowed the Red and Black to line up in victory formation, and with that, the Cards secured their 28–17 win.

In total, Candido threw for 341 yards and went 28-for-37 on passing, with a competition percentage of 75.7%. This made him the first Cardinal to throw for 300+ yards since Ashton Scott ’22 did so in 2019 versus Trinity, and gave him the most passing yards total for a Cardinal since Mark Piccrillo ’19 put up 388 versus Bates in 2017. Candido’s sensational performance was also good enough for him to be awarded NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career. Eight different receivers caught the ball, with the standout of the night being Elkhoury, who set career highs in both receptions and yardage with 12 catches totalling 147 yards.

Defense also saw several standout performances, including Edwards, who led the team in tackles with eight total (seven solo), as well as DL and Second Team All-NESCAC honoree Mike Rowan ’25, who recorded six tackles (three solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack. Thanks to their efforts, Bosselait was held to just 128 yards and went 10-for-27 on passing, a career-low 37% competition rate.

Additionally, Elkhoury highlighted the contributions of younger, less experienced players who were still crucial to the team’s success.

“We just had a lot of younger guys get time and when you get young guys in the game, you hope that there’s no mistakes, because in a game like that they can have big impacts,” Elkhoury said. “But we rotated almost everywhere on the field and those guys really stepped up to the occasion and performed how they should perform, which is always what you want to happen.”

Next on the schedule, the Cardinals will be facing much stiffer competition as they take on Middlebury on Saturday, Sept. 23 for their home opener. In the two teams’ most recent meeting in 2022, the Panthers beat the Cards 10–24, and last weekend Middlebury opened their season with a 21–7 home victory over Amherst and set the single-game team record in sacks with nine.

But even going up against a stronger team, the Cardinals are confident in their abilities to meet the challenge head-on and correct last year’s mistakes.

“I think coming out without energy was the biggest downfall for us last year,” Edwards said. “We came out flat…we thought we could win just by stepping on the field and Middlebury brought it, so I think that’s the biggest thing. And I think something that will help is playing at home, playing in front of our guys. But I also think we’ve got a really good game plan this week.”

Elkhoury also stressed the importance of adaptability in their next game.

“I think [Middlebury’s] biggest strength is being smart on the field,” Elkhoury said. “For us that just means little to no mistakes, playing our best football—playing situational football, not always going for the deep ball, not always doing the most flashy thing, but just taking what we can get, moving down the field.”

Above all, the Cardinals’ main goal is to continue to take the season one game at a time and know that no opponent is too big an obstacle for them.

“The guys before us did a great job of just building a culture where losing is not taken lightly,” Lockwood said. “And I feel like those guys really instilled into us that we have the athletes to win every game we play. And if we play to the standard that we can play at, if we take care of the ball, if we follow our assignments, then we’re gonna be in every game.”

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu.

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.