In his four seasons on the Bishop Fenwick football team, Peabody native Nick Bona was the ultimate team player.
Bona’s Fenwick career came to the best possible ending as the Crusaders won the Division 5 state championship in 2013, his senior season. Fast forward to 2017, and Bona’s working to repeat that fairytale ending.
Now a star safety on the football team at Division II Stonehill College in Easton, Bona holds high expectations as he enters his senior season with the Skyhawks.
“The goal we have is to win the NE-10 championship,” Bona, who was voted a team captain this season, said. “The only way we can reach that is by winning one game at a time. That’s definitely the overall goal and I think we all know that.”
Having closed his career as a Crusader on a high note with an undefeated season, Bona remembers how meaningful it was to see his hard work pay dividends when he hoisted the Division 5 Super Bowl trophy at Gillette Stadium. Now with one season remaining at Stonehill, Bona’s hoping to close his career as a Skyhawk with another strong year.
“It’s similar to high school,” Bona said. “You want to end one of your football careers on a high note. I was able to do that in high school so it would be awesome to have that same success this season.”
Bona added, “I remember how it felt when we were able to do it four years ago at Fenwick. We left it all on the field with no regrets. It’s hard to put it into words. It would be awesome.”
As a Crusader, Bona was a four-year varsity starter from 2010-2013. He played a variety of positions, filling in wherever Fenwick coach Dave Woods needed him to. Defensively, Bona played safety and linebacker. Offensively, Bona starred as a wide receiver until taking over at quarterback as a senior.
The aggressiveness he flashed on both sides of the ball made Bona an ideal candidate to join the Skyhawks.
“I think what jumped out must about him from his high school career is how aggressive he is,” Stonehill coach Eli Gardner said. “He isn’t the biggest kid on the field but he plays like the biggest kid on the field. He had a really great high school highlight film. He made a ton of tackles and was an all-around great player.”
In his three seasons at Stonehill, Bona has developed an instinct for the ball that separates him from the rest of the competition. The more comfortable he got with Stonehill’s scheme, the more he flourished on the field.
“He’s at the point where he’s able to just let his instincts take over and play within our scheme,” Gardner said. “The first couple of years you’re still processing things. Now it’s all instinctual to him so he can let it loose. What separates him is how fast he plays. He plays on the border of out of control, which is a great place for defensive players.”
Bona has also seen success on the academic end. Although being a student-athlete poses its share of challenges, Bona, who’s majoring in criminology with a minor in communications, has made the necessary adjustments to shine both on the field and in the classroom.
“Things are going good,” Bona said. “I’ve been on the honor roll the past semesters. During football season it’s tough to balance the challenges of football and academics but I’ve been doing it for three seasons so I think I have the gist of it.”
Last season, the Skyhawks finished the year at 5-6. The Achilles heel for the team last fall, Bona said, was it allowed too many big plays in crucial situations. The Skyhawks are adamant on limiting their mistakes on the field this season.
“Last year we played some good football but we let up some big plays and games got away from us,” Bona said. “That hurt us. We have to limit the mistakes on defense and offense. We just have to limit the big plays. Those big plays open the door for success for a lot of teams.”
Stonehill came together for training camp in early August and thus far the team looks to be in a good place. The goal is to get ready for the team’s season opener at Bloomsburg University on September 2.
“We look good,” Bona said. “Everyone’s looking good. Camp’s been going on for a few weeks and it’s good that our energy has still been high. We’ll be heading down to Pennsylvania soon to open up the season at Bloomsburg.
“We’re all pretty confident in ourselves and our abilities,” Bona added. “I’d say we’re pretty anxious. We’re all ready for the season opener and by the time we know it, we’ll be getting on the bus to Bloomsburg.”
