BY KELLY LEWICKI // OCT. 13, 2017 //

Saturday marks the start of Commonwealth Coast Conference play for the Curry football team (4-1) as its takes on conference newcomer Becker College (0-5) in Worcester, Mass.

The stats look good for the Colonels. So far this season, they’ve outscored the Hawks by a whopping 112 points. In addition, Curry’s average yards per game on offense far exceed Becker’s. But none of that matters to head coach Skip Bandini.

“We don’t really look at stats because one team could have played four great teams and their stats could look awful, and then they go play an average team and they could be a great team,” said Bandini in a press conference Thursday.

Much of the Colonels’ success has been attributed to senior quarterback Alex Corvese, and notice has been taken of the team’s impressive start to the season. But being featured in a recent Boston Herald article, Corvese claimed, is not making the team feel any added pressure.

“I wouldn’t say pressure at all,” said Corverse, who passed for 377 yards with four total touchdowns last week in a 30-27 win over UMass-Dartmouth. “The recognition is cool, but it doesn’t add any pressure in my eyes. We’re still college kids who just want to win everyday down there.”

It is unsure how the Colonels starting lineup will be affected in Saturday’s game, as Bandini revealed there are multiple players who are injured and will not be playing. He declined to make any further comment on who. When asked why not, he simply responded with, “Because I don’t want to say. You’ll find out on game day.”

Becker is averaging just 5.4 points a game this season, so look for Curry’s defense to be aggressive.

The Colonels’ offense has been averaging approximately 400 yards per game, almost evenly split between rushing and passing (189.6 rushing and 207.8 passing). Expect another heavy mix of both in this game, especially against an opposing offense that can’t stay on the field.

Despite all of the odds seeming to be in favor of the Colonels, Bandini remained consistent that he was “nervous as hell” and “not comfortable in this game at all.”

However, the coach attempted to keep things in perspective.

“It’s just another football game,” said Bandini. “We’ve been focused and are going to stay focused. We never play down to an opponent; if we play to the best of our abilities, we will win.”

The teams face off at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Becker.

Additional reporting by Zachary Muller