On Saturday, Nov. 4, the Wesleyan football team traveled up to Williamstown, Massachusetts for what they knew would be one of their most important matchups of the year against Williams.

After the previous weekend’s dominant 34–7 homecoming victory over Amherst, the Cardinals boasted a 5–2 record. And with two weeks left in the season and not a single team in the conference left undefeated, the NESCAC Championship was still very much up in the air.

Captain and linebacker Jake Edwards ’24 spoke about the team’s game plan and mindset going into the game. 

“We knew they had a really solid run game,” Edwards said. “That was a big emphasis and practice that week. We put in multiple packages to stop the run. We always expect to win, but we always know we have to work for it. We knew Williams was a good team, we knew we would have to perform at our best.” 

The game got off to a shaky start for the Cards. A great punt by the Ephs pinned the Cardinals deep in their own territory. Starting from their own two-yard line, the Ephs were able to stop the Cardinals behind the line of scrimmage and force a safety, giving them a 0–2 lead. The Ephs then continued to put points on the board with back-to-back field goals. But neither team managed to find the back of the end zone by the end of the first quarter, putting the score at 0–8.

In the second quarter, things started looking up for the Cardinals as quarterback Niko Candido ’25 marched the team down the field in a seven-play, 64-yard drive ending with a five-yard pass caught by wide receiver Jared Lindstrom ’27 for the first touchdown of his collegiate career. With a successful two-point conversion rush by Candido, the score was tied up 8–8. But the Ephs were undeterred by the mounting pressure and put up two more touchdowns to extend their lead to 8–22 by the end of the first half.

WR Chase Wilson ’25 noted that the team was underwhelmed with their performance but knew they were capable of more.

“We weren’t in our groove offensively,” Wilson said. “So really the message at halftime was just that nobody should be hanging their head or getting down because after the first half, the score was still only 8 to 22. So that was the message from the coaches and the senior leaders to just keep our head up. Get back to the plan—the football that we went up there to play.”

It was a sloppy third quarter with both teams trading turnovers. Captain and safety Jack Nally ’24 had a clutch interception deep in Cardinals territory to keep it a two-score game. Ultimately, it was a scoreless quarter, and the Cardinals still had a 14-point deficit to overcome and with just 15 minutes remaining, it was do or die.

Cornerback Wesley Abraham ’25 spoke on the shift he saw in the team after the third quarter. 

“I think we came together and were a lot more focused,” Abraham said. “You can kind of feel the energy, the vibe that everybody would do whatever they had to do to make sure we did not lose the game. I just saw a different look in everybody else’s eyes. And I kind of knew right then in there, we’re down 22 to 8, but it didn’t feel like we were down, it felt like the game was tied.” 

In a truly impressive display of grit and determination, the Red and Black began the quarter with a game-changing eight-play, 68-yard drive capped off with a clutch 3rd-and-10 28-yard pass to WR Thomas Elkhoury ’24. With a completed two-point conversion pass to Wilson, the Ephs’ lead was narrowed to 16–22. 

With less than 10 minutes on the clock, the Purple and Yellow retook possession and drove steadily down the field but a strip sack by LB Joe Schaefer ’24 gave the Cardinals the ball deep in Ephs’ territory. Capitalizing on their momentum, Candido fired the ball to tight end Matt Luttenberger ’24 for a 20-yard touchdown, giving the Cardinals a narrow 23–22 lead.

Captain and offensive tackle Justin Lockwood ’24 emphasized how impressive Candido was while facing serious pressure.

“Niko played his butt off,” Lockwood said. “He was able to just get out of the pocket and make some big plays while taking some big hits. It just shows how much he cares about this team in this program and how much of a baller he really is.”

The Ephs took the ball back with under five minutes remaining, looking to turn the game around. But in just five plays and 17 yards, LB Jason Villano ’25 forced a fumble to give possession back to the Red and Black at the Williams 35. 

Once again, the Cardinals were at their best as Candido sent a 32-yard bomb to Wilson and then rushed for three yards to punch in another touchdown and extend the lead to 30–22.

The Ephs had one last shot to make a comeback and drove down the field all the way to the Wesleyan eight-yard line, but on the 11th play of the drive, Abraham intercepted a pass by Williams QB Owen McHugh and sealed the Cardinals’ victory. 

With this win, Wesleyan was crowned the Little Three Champions, their fifth outright title in the past 10 years and their first back-to-back outright championship since 1970. The significance of the win was not lost on the team.

“It was awesome to win a Little Three, making it back-to-back victories is great,” Lockwood said. “Williams and Amherst, beating them two years in a row just kind of capped off a great season and it sets up future success and the expectation that we can be winning Little Threes more often than in previous years.”

For his phenomenal performance, in which he accounted for 28 for 30 of points scored and threw for a career-high 365 yards (on top of dealing with a severely busted-up chin), Candido was awarded the New England Football Writers Association Gold Helmet Award, which honors the best DII/III player in New England of the week.

However, to Candido, the award held little significance compared to securing the win alongside his teammates.

“The best feeling was just being with our team after that win, being on that bus and everyone being so happy and telling stories from the game,” Candido said. “Going from such a low point in the game to fighting together and hugging each other and smiling, it’s just one of the best feelings ever and it gives you chills. You don’t necessarily remember the accomplishments; you remember those exact moments because that’s what you cherish.” 

Fired up by such a thrilling victory, the Cardinals began to prepare for their final matchup of the year versus in-state rival and reigning NESCAC Champions Trinity.

Lockwood spoke on the team’s mentality going into their matchup against Trinity.

“The comeback into Williams really pushed us in the right direction,” Lockwood said. “So we were really excited. We knew Trinity was a good team. But like every team, we knew they were beatable. So we were really excited, really ready to go, and the week of practice went great. And I thought the guys had a really good mentality coming into the game, we’re pumped to get going and attack every opportunity that we got.”

Unfortunately, this game did not go the Red and Black’s way as the Bantams defeated the Cardinals 58–6 in their highest scoring and largest margin win of the season. 

Wilson explained what he thinks accounted for such a major loss.

“When a team is that good and they have a chance to capture the momentum like that of the game, they’re gonna make you pay for it, and they’re gonna capitalize on every opportunity we give them,” Wilson said. “I felt we just gave them too many opportunities, we put our defense in some hard spots sometimes, and just the way momentum swings, with a team that good, things can get away from you pretty quick.”

With that the Cardinals’ season concluded with a 6–3 record, their 11th consecutive season with a winning record, and made history by securing the first back-to-back Little Three Championship in over 50 years.

Six Cardinals received end-of-season honors for their outstanding performances this season, five of which were for the first time in their careers. Wilson—who ranks top five in the conference in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown catches—was awarded First Team All-NESCAC. Linebacker Ben Carbeau ’25 became the first Wesleyan linebacker to earn First Team All-NESCAC since 2018. Abraham, who leads the conference in interceptions and ranks second in passes defended, was named First Team All NESCAC and was also selected to First Team All-Region 1, which advances him to candidacy for the All-American Team. 

Lockwood was awarded Second Team All-NESCAC, the second all-conference honor of his career. Elkhoury—who ranks top ten in the conference in receptions and receiving yards—was awarded Second Team All-NESCAC. This marks only the second time in team history that two receivers earned all-conferences honors in the same season. Defensive end Declan Welch ’26, who ranked sixth in conference in sacks, was one of just four sophomores in the entire league to earn All-NESCAC with his Second Team distinction. Abraham, Lockwood, and Welch also all made the NESCAC All-Academic Team, along with 28 additional team members.

With a successful 2023 season officially behind them, the Cardinals are eagerly anticipating the upcoming season with a sense of optimism.

“I’d say the team’s season overall, we had so many glimpses of greatness and then so many things we necessarily didn’t do great,” Candido said. “We have so many studs coming back and so many great players and so many young guys that are stepping up and coming together. Our energy as a team and the communication has been better than ever and I think that’s really gonna help [us] for next year.”

 

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