Another weekend of NESCAC football saw just one team fall from the crowded first-place slot, leaving four teams to remain deadlocked with identical 4-1 records. In a battle of 3-1 squads, Amherst disposed of Wesleyan, 9-7, to knock the Cardinals down into a fifth-place tie with the Williams Ephmen. Colby, Middlebury, and Trinity each followed the Lord Jeffs' lead, though, to keep pace with the lead pack and leave the conference title up for grabs.
Amherst 9, Wesleyan 7.
In a game where its offense gained a mere 184 yards on the day, Amherst instead counted on its special teams to extend its winning streak over Wesleyan to seven on Saturday in Middletown, Ct. Derrell Wright put the Lord Jeffs on the board first with 5:04 to play in the first half, when he broke free for a 68-yard punt return. Then, just before the two teams headed into the locker room for intermission, it was the other side of the Amherst special teams unit that struck. David Frankel blocked a punt, which subsequently rolled out of the end zone to give his team the safety.
Wright's punt return marked the first time Wesleyan had allowed such a touchdown since 1994, while Frankel's block was the first time in three seasons, or 110 kicks, that a Mark Olschefskie punt had been blocked.
The hosts produced 271 yards of total offense, only to come up short twice in the red zone, as two 30-yard field goal attempts went awry. On a critical fourth-and-one play with less than a minute to go in the third, luck was once again not on Wesleyan's side, as Ronnie Jacobs was stuffed on the Amherst 44. Jacobs ended up with 87 yards on 25 carries in the losing effort, while quarterback Brennan Carney hit 23 of 45 for 206 yards and a 60-yard touchdown strike to George Thompson (six catches, 112 yards).
Trinity 21, Bowdoin 11.
The Bowdoin Polar Bears are still looking for their first win of the season after dropping a 21-11 decision to Trinity in Brunswick. The visitors held a commanding 21-5 lead through three quarters, as two Polar Bear fumbles ended drives in Bantam territory. Bowdoin would then cut the lead to ten with just over seven minutes to go, but could not overcome the swarming Trinity defense before time ran out.
The hosts got on the scoreboard first, by virtue of a safety, when freshman Jeff Pike sacked Trinity quarterback Greg Ward in the opening quarter. Bowdoin would tack on another three points before the half ended on a 40-yard field goal by Alex Tatum. This came after Trinity took the lead for good, however, scoring on a seven-yard jaunt by running back Tom Pierandri, who finished with 115 yards on the ground.
The Bantams would make Bowdoin pay for both its turnovers, with Ward throwing a touchdown pass on each ensuing possession. Ward first found David Morgan for an 11-yard score, and then connected with Kevin Waters from 20 yards out to up the margin to 21-5. Polar Bear quarterback Justin Hardison responded with a six-yard strike to Jason Rawlins with 7:29 to go in the contest to finish off the scoring for the afternoon.
Ward's final numbers included 132 yards and two touchdowns, while Hardison amassed 189 yards and one touchdown pass on 23-of-38 passing. Bowdoin (0-5) did manage 334 yards of total offense, just seven less than the Bantams (341).
Middlebury 31, Bates 0.
Middlebury thrashed Bates (0-5) in Vermont, 31-0, for its third straight shutout win, something that no Panther team has done since 1959. After an early field goal gave them a 3-0 lead, the hosts capitalized on a Bates turnover and never looked back. Greg Kraczkowsky recovered an errant snap on a Bobcat punt attempt in the end zone to officially jump-start the Middlebury offense and up the score to 10-0.
Bryan Sanchez led the charge from that point, rushing for 219 yards and two touchdowns on the day, as he continued his string of five consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts. Sanchez scored on runs of 10 and 73 yards in the first half, as his team jumped out to a 24-0 advantage.
Panther quarterback Scott Roberts completed 13 passes for 130 yards. On defense, Middlebury was dominant, holding the Bobcats to just 164 total yards.
Colby 13, Hamilton 3.
Colby returned to its winning ways this weekend, scoring all of its points in the first half to knock off the Hamilton Continentals in Waterville, Maine. Hamilton, which snapped an 11-game losing streak last week against Bowdoin, seemed to be within reach of the White Mules in the third quarter when Frank Vinci made a catch on the Colby five. The visitors failed to cross the plane, though, and also missed a second-half field goal.
Hamilton (1-4) stayed in the game due to an outstanding effort on defense, as the usually high-flying Colby was relatively quiet for the majority of the contest. Harry Hristoforatos chipped in with ten tackles and a sack for the Continentals, who also got two sacks from Ron Thomas and an interception from Thatcher Freeborn.
