WESTPORT, Conn. -- Staples HIgh School graduate Nick Kelly is having a big year for the Amherst College football team.
On Saturday, Nov.1, he’ll take on two former teammates in perhaps his team’s biggest game of the season.
Amherst (6-0) travels to play Trinity College (5-1) at 12:30 p.m. in Hartford. Kelly, a sophomore running back, can expect to run into Trinity’s Rob Gau, a former Staples teammate and Trinity’s second-leading tackler. Peter Hoets, a sophomore linebacker from Staples, also sees playing time for Trinity.
Trinity will undoubtedly focus on stopping Kelly, who has rushed for 495 yards and five touchdowns this season. He averages a league-high 5.8 yards per carry, and is third in the conference in rushing and all-purpose yards.
Kelly’s biggest game this fall came in a 33-30 overtime win against Wesleyan. Kelly rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns as Amherst handed Wesleyan its only loss of the season. Kelly also had 141 yards in a 7-0 win over Middlebury, with his 59-yard run accounting for the game’s only score. He has rushed for 100 or more yards three times this season.
Kelly went to Amherst, in Massachusetts, after a standout career at Staples, where he helped the Wreckers reach the Class LL championship game in 2011.
Click here to sign up for Daily Voice's free daily emails and news alerts.