The only solace the Jumbos can take in losing 8-0 to the Amherst Lord Jeffs on Saturday is that Amherst had already blanked two other opponents this season, and has held the opposition to a league-low 6.3 points per game.
"They were really strong defensively," sophomore quarterback Todd Scalia said. "I think we went in with the same game plan though."
The usual game plan was not enough to generate a win though, as a couple of missed opportunities and a hurting offense continue to plague the now 2-4 Jumbos, who failed to score a point for the first time this season. Amherst, meanwhile, moved to 5-1 and stayed atop the NESCAC, knotted in a three-way tie with Colby and Middlebury.
The Jumbos, who generated only 189 yards of total offense in the loss, had a chance to even the game in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, beginning a drive from the Amherst 38-yard line with a 13-yard pass from Scalia to Bryan Pitko. Scalia found Tim Mack ten yards downfield a couple of plays later, and Tufts had a first down on the Amherst 14 with just over a minute to play.
Scalia then hit senior running back Brian Holmes and freshman wideout Matt Cerne on consecutive short passes, moving the Jumbos to the Lord Jeff five with 46 seconds on the clock. On third down, Scalia's pass to Cerne went incomplete. Holmes got the fourth-down carry, but was stopped by Amherst defensive lineman Ted Hollo, who tackled him for a four-yard loss to end the Jumbos' hopes of tying things up.
"It was a typical toss play," Hollo said in a press release. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time on fourth down."
The opening drive for the Jumbos also included two injuries to the left side of the offensive line, as one lineman left the game with a sprained knee, and the other with a sprained ankle. This did not make the attack against a stringent Amherst defense any easier.
"Amherst is the best team in the NESCAC," McGraw said. "There are always things we could do better. We lost the left side of our line early on in the same play. We had two guys who stepped in and did a great job though."
Amherst put two points on the board early in the game, after Lord Jeffs kicker Geoff Bough sent the Jumbos deep into their own territory with a 42-yard punt midway through the first quarter. Starting from the Tufts two-yard line, Chuck McGraw rushed for no gain and, on second down, Amherst linebacker Kenn Barrington broke through the Jumbo defense and tackled Holmes in the endzone for a safety, giving the Lord Jeffs a 2-0 lead.
The Jumbo defense, led by ten tackles apiece from Evan Zupancic and Scott Mitenthal, held the Lord Jeffs scoreless through the second and third quarters, but couldn't stop junior running back Okey Ugwonali in the final frame. Ugwonali, who finished with 151 yards rushing, capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive at the start of the fourth quarter with a lunge into the end zone for the game's only touchdown. Ogwanali had nine carries for 58 yards on the drive alone.
It was the second straight week that the Jumbos struggled against one of the league's better rushers, as Tufts couldn't stop Williams freshman running back Mike Hackett last week. Hackett rushed for 148 against Tufts, but it was Ugwonali on Saturday who had the most success of any back the Jumbos have seen this season. What started out as a scary run defense for the Jumbos this year has now been abused badly in each of the last two weeks.
It was the passing game that the Jumbos did a good job limiting this weekend, however, holding Amherst quarterback Peter Honig to 78 yards on 12 completions.
But Scalia could only manage 68 yards passing of his own, going 10-23. It was the second time this season that he has played the entire game.
Saclia's targets were varied on Saturday, as five different Jumbos caught passes, but none totaled more than 21 yards. No Jumbo receiver has had a 100-yard passing game this season.
Brian Holmes again led the ground attack, this time with 93 yards on 36 carries.
"We did better this week, we've improved offensively," McGraw said. "We didn't turn the ball over once this game, which is a huge improvement. We need to be more efficient and run our routes better to improve the passing game."
Things will not get much easier for Tufts from here on in: after losing to Amherst, the Jumbos will close out the season against the other two teams atop the conference, Colby and Middlebury. Having scored 125 and 124 points, respectively, the White Mules and Panthers bring the two league's top two offenses to the field. Neither team is shabby on defense, either - Colby's 12.2 points allowed per game is fifth in the conference, while Middlebury's 7.5 per game is second.
The White mules come to Medford for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, marking the final home game for 17 seniors.
Luckily for the Jumbos, it's their young offense that will not lose many players, meaning they can at the least chalk 2000 up to experience.
