The Wesleyan football team made history this season, winning the outright NESCAC Championship for the first time ever. 

By fall break, the Cardinals were in the final third of their season. For the first time since 2021, they were still in the running for the NESCAC Championship. But the path to victory was far from easy. It begun on Oct. 26 with their matchup against Amherst, their first Little Three game of the season.

“It’s always one of the biggest games of the year,” captain and quarterback Niko Candido ’25 said. “Not only is it the rivalry, but those games are always super close. We knew it was going to be a big week, and we’d have to really show out and take a next step up offensively for the next three weeks if we wanted to become a championship team.”

After two three-and-outs to open the game, the Mammoths scored on a 20-yard touchdown through the air. They struck again two minutes later to open up a 14–0 lead.

But the Cardinals, who had already shown time and again their ability to come out on top when faced with adversity, were not phased. 

“After going down 14–0, obviously everybody had that sort of doubt in their mind,” captain and cornerback Wesley Abraham ’25 said. “But it kind of shook away quickly when we all met together again on the sideline. It was like, ‘Alright, we’re here. The game started. If you haven’t woken up already, you better wake up now.’”

The Cards marched the ball down the field, with the initial yardage coming from a series of rushes by Candido and running back Matt Diaz ’28. Eventually, Candido found captain and wide receiver Chase Wilson ’25 for a 21-yard reception to get the Cards into the red zone. Three more Diaz carries got the Cardinals down to the two-yard line, and Candido finally hit Wilson for a diving touchdown, his eighth of the season.

The Amherst offense wasn’t able to get their spark back, due in part to a six-yard sack by Wesleyan’s defensive lineman Mike Rowan ’25. The ball was punted to Wes with just 37 seconds until the half. Candido was brilliant under pressure and completed back-to-back 23- and 37-yard completions to defensive back/wide receiver Luke LaSaracina ’25, which got the Cards down to the Amherst 12. Though unable to tack on another touchdown, kicker/punter Gage Hammond ’27 knocked in a 29-yard field goal attempt to cut the Mammoths’ lead to 10–14 at halftime.

On the first drive of the third quarter, Wesleyan wasted no time, beginning with two 9- and 15-yard rushes by running back James McHugh ’26 which were followed by a 49-yard bomb to Wilson at the Amherst 2. At that point, there was no holding back on the Cardinals’ offense; on the very next play, Diaz punched it in to take a 17–14 lead.  

The Cards’ offense returned to the field quickly, as Hammond’s kickoff was recovered by defensive back Evan Lasseter ’27 at Amherst’s 30-yard line.

In just three snaps, the Cardinals added another touchdown as Candido found wide receiver Blake Newcomb ’27 to extend their lead to 24–14. 

“That, in my mind, won us the game right there, because we were down, scored quick, got the ball back, and just rode that momentum at the end,” safety Dylan Connors ’26 said. “A lot of people don’t necessarily realize that, but huge plays on special teams win games.”

The Cardinals’ defense continued to make big plays, with Connors securing his first interception of the year at the top of the fourth. And the offense tacked on another score off an 11-play, 55-yard drive composed entirely of rushing yards by Diaz and McHugh, capped off with a 10-yard Diaz touchdown—bringing the final score of the game to 31–14.

With their hopes of the NESCAC title still alive, the Cardinals then faced what was arguably their biggest test yet: the homecoming game against Williams on Nov. 2. 

After a slow start to the first quarter, Rowan forced a fumble that captain and linebacker Ben Carbeau ’25 recovered, and the offense capitalized, as Candido punched in the score on a QB sneak. Williams tied it up at the end of the first, and neither team could find the endzone in the second. Hammond ended the second with a 24-yard field goal, putting Wes up 10–7 at the half.

The Ephs received the second-half kickoff and quickly scored a 46-yard rushing touchdown, securing a 14–10 lead. But the Cardinals did not give up, as the momentum shifted with a Connors 46-yard pick-six on the Ephs’ next offensive drive. Quarterback Chase Vaughan ’27 mishandled the snap on the extra point but recovered it and hit tight end Will Rao ’27 for a successful two-point conversion. 

In the first possession of the fourth quarter, Wes forced a fifth straight Williams punt, but Donatio muffed the kick and the Ephs recovered the ball at Wesleyan’s 14-yard line. A Carbeau third down sack led to a Williams missed field goal. However, Wesleyan committed a costly roughing the kicker penalty, and the Ephs retained possession, scored on a rushing touchdown, and regained the lead 21–18. 

The Cardinals’ offense finally found their rhythm on the ensuing drive, working it into the red zone in four plays. However, after Diaz got stopped for a loss of two, Candido threw a costly interception in the end zone, giving the Ephs back the ball with the lead and only six minutes left.

The Ephs worked the clock, picking up two quick first downs, and looked to be on the verge of putting the game away. However, the Cards halted their momentum, forcing Williams to settle for a 44-yard field goal to extend their lead to 24–18 with 1:52 remaining. After a block in the back penalty on the kickoff, the Cardinals started their drive at their own seven-yard line. 

With 93 yards to go, 1:52 on the clock, and two timeouts remaining, it was now or never for the Cards. A homecoming victory, the Little Three title, and their hopes for an outright NESCAC championship were all at stake.

The Cardinals needed chunk plays and got one right away—when Candido found Newcomb for a 43-yard gain to get the ball to midfield. Four plays later, the Cards were at the Ephs 25-yard line with a minute to go and one timeout left. Then, an intentional grounding penalty pushed the Cardinals back 15 yards, but Candido remained clutch and rushed for 16 yards back to the Williams 24. Then on third and nine, he hit Newcomb for 10 yards and a first down at Williams 15.

The clock was the Cardinals’ biggest enemy at this point—ticking under 10 seconds when Candido took the first down snap. The senior quarterback didn’t panic, though, and delivered a strike to LaSaracina in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown, tying the game at 24. Hammond then knocked through the extra point to give the Cardinals a 25–24 homecoming victory. 

Candido described how the final play unfolded.

“Luckily, we had the exact play call that we wanted,” Candido said. “We had Chase motion across the field and then back to see what they were going to do. And they kept the linebacker on Luke. I audible[d] Luke to a post because I knew he would make the play. It was quick…I saw him break and threw it where no one else could get it. He made an insane grab. And that’s what Luke does: make big-time plays. No better way to end it than with my roommate of four years and my absolute boy.”

With this win, the Cardinals captured their third straight Little Three title, the program’s first three-peat since 1946–1948. It also meant that next week’s matchup against Trinity would be for the outright NESCAC Championship.

Connors spoke on how meaningful the historic win was.

“That was probably my favorite moment playing football, saving the season and winning a Little Three at home with the time winding down,” Connors said. “It’s just a testament to the offense sticking together and doing their job, it was just awesome to see them go 93 yards with penalties and time winding down and scoring like that.”

While the Williams victory was big, a victory over Trinity would be monumental. The Cardinals had lost their last three matchups against the Bantams, including a 58–6 catastrophe last year. Edwards spoke on how the team used last year’s loss as motivation in the week leading up to the game.

“We thought about it every day,” Edwards said. “We posted a picture of their rings with our score in our locker room. And that energy fueled the guys. And that week we had more meetings than we ever had. We were more crisp than we ever had been. And you could kind of just feel it throughout the week that we were ready.”

The Bantams had the first scoring opportunity, but Rowan aided in clutch tackles on send and third and goal to hold the Bantams to three points. 

Candido was surgical on the Cardinals’ ensuing drive. The senior quarterback picked up a first down with his legs, found wide receiver Devin Hardy ’25 for a 26-yard gain, converted a key third down to Wilson, and then hit tight end Keith Capuano ’28 for a 22-yard touchdown. It was the rookie’s only catch of the year, but it could not have come at a bigger time. 

“To see him score in his first-ever game, and a championship game was one of the coolest moments that I’ve ever seen,” Candido said of Capuano. “And I was just so happy that he got to score in such a big game. He’s a ball player, and I can’t wait to see what he does.”

The Bantams punched back with a touchdown of their own, retaking the lead. On the Cards’ next possession, they drove down the field, and Candido used his legs to get into the endzone. With Wes up 14–10, Trinity made use of their final first-half drive, scoring in the air and gaining the edge over the Cards before the break, 17–14.

The second half became a battle of the defenses, as both offenses struggled to gain momentum. The Bantams forced a third straight fourth down, with the Cards 17 yards away from a first down. The Cardinals boldly kept their offense out, and great pass protection allowed Candido to find LaSaracina for the conversion. Interestingly, the Cardinals intended to draw the Bantams’ defense down and have Candido punt the ball, but the quarterback astutely noticed the Bantams had jumped into the neutral zone, giving him a free play.

Candido spoke on everything that unfolded with this play.

“Our coach comes up to me and says, ‘We’re gonna run this play where you’re gonna punt the ball, but if they jump offsides, you run a normal play,’” Candido said. “We were able to get them to jump because they were so confused about if we were going for it. Luckily, all of our receivers did exactly what they needed to do, and Luke made the game-saving play.”

Two plays later, the senior teammates hooked up for another completion, this time in the end zone. It was the second-straight game LaSaracina caught the go-ahead fourth quarter TD, and the Cardinals found themselves up three with six minutes left.

The Cardinals’ defense went on to quickly force a three-and-out, giving the ball back to their offense with six minutes left. After giving up a season-high 17 first-half points, the Cardinals’ defense had shut out the league-leading offense in the second half.

Looking to work the clock and protect their three-point lead, the Cardinals ran for 17 total yards on their first three plays. On second and six, the offensive line created a gaping hole for Diaz, which he turned into a 52-yard run down to the Bantams’ 10-yard line. The Bantams stopped the Cards on their next three plays, sacking Candido on 3rd down to force a 4th and goal at the 15-yard line with 1:39 on the clock. Most coaches would kick the field goal here and go up six, but Head Coach Dan DiCenzo had other ideas.

“If we score [a touchdown] we can win the game and I wanted to play to win,” DiCenzo wrote in a message to The Argus. “They were out of timeouts so if we don’t score they have to go 60 yards to get into FG range and our defense had shut them out in the second half… and I didn’t think going up 6 was a huge advantage.”

The offensive line held up well, but Candido didn’t have anything open in the end zone initially. Stepping up in the pocket, he escaped an arm tackle, and as the sideline and defenders were closing in on him, made an across-the-body bullet pass to Newcomb who had worked his way to the pylon to haul in the TD, giving the Cardinals a two-possession lead and effectively clinching the title.

With that, the Cardinals defeated the Bantams 27–17 and became outright NESCAC Champions for the first time in program history.

Abraham spoke on how crucial the contributions from players across the roster were to the team’s success.

“We knew it was going to take all 100 of us if we were going to win this game,” Abraham said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re playing or not, it’s going to take [all of us] from the top to bottom. And something we’ve always said [is], ‘if everybody wants a ring, it’s got to be a team effort.’ And that’s why we’re champions—because we all put in the work.”

Since winning their championship, the Cardinals have continued to rake in the hardware. Wilson and Carbeau earned NESCAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. The two were joined by Abraham, Connors, Edwards, Donatio, Rowan, and defensive lineman Jason Villano ’25, on First Team All-NESCAC. The seven First Team All-NESCAC defensive selections marked a conference record, which Edwards highlighted as a testament to their skill as the number ranked defensive unit in the conference.

“I think the way we trusted each other was special, and I think seven First Team All-League guys just show how complete we were,” Edwards said. “And the other four that didn’t get it could have easily won All-League this year, and the underclassmen are definitely going to win it next year. We all did our jobs. Sometimes, selfish players try to do a little bit too much. They get burned in their responsibilities. But we never did that. We were a very sound, complete defense.” 

Candido and offensive lineman Gavin Tatum ’25 both earned Second Team All-NESCAC honors. DiCenzo and his staff were awarded NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year for the first time in team history. 

The New England Football Writers Association also awarded Wilson, Carbeau, and Connors All-New England Honors and honored DiCenzo with the Division II/III New England Coach of the Year. The NEFWA also named Carbeau the Joseph P. Zabilski Defensive Player of the Year for DII/III. 

Next year, the Cardinals look to replicate the success of this season, though they will face the challenge of significant personnel changes with the impending departure of 27 seniors and three graduate students. 

“I hope now that they know what it takes, they know where we can improve,” Abraham said. “That’s all that you have to do—figure out: where did we go wrong? Don’t hang your head too high on all the stuff we did right. Improve on the things we could improve on for next year. It’s not like they don’t have the personnel to do it. They have the people. They have the right guys; it’s just a matter of how bad you want to work for it.”

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

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