A fourth quarter comeback from a 17-point deficit was too little, too late for the Jumbos on Saturday in Hartford, as they fell 27-20 to the Trinity College Bantams. The loss dropped Tufts to .500 (2-2) on the season, while propelling Trinity (3-1) into a five-way tie atop the NESCAC.
The Jumbos, who played with senior running back Brian Holmes back from injury but were missing quarterback Scott Treacy, gave up two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter to find themselves in too deep a hole. Just over a minute into the final frame, Tufts quarterback Todd Scalia had a pass picked off by Trinity linebacker Andrew Wertz and returned to the Jumbo six-yard line. Bantam quarterback Greg Ward then found David Mogan in the end zone to put Trinity up, 20-10.
Scalia was intercepted again two plays later, this time by safety Gavin O'Reilly, who ran 28 yards for another Trinity touchdown, making the score 27-10.
The game marked Scalia's third start of the season and saw both high and low points for the sophomore quarterback. He threw three interceptions on the day and completed 12 of his 29 passes, but also notched the first two passing touchdowns of his young college career, to go with a season-high 149 yards.
"I'm obviously disappointed," Scalia said. "I'm just going to keep trying."
Scalia rebounded from the interceptions to engineer a comeback that just fell short. Howie Rock's 30-yard field goal with eight minutes remaining narrowed the margin to 14, and five minutes later Scalia capped a lengthy drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Brett Cicchillo, making the score 27-20. It was Cicchillo's first touchdown of the season, and one of three passes he caught on the day.
The touchdown came with just over two minutes remaining in the game, and the Jumbos almost had a chance for another scoring drive. The Tufts defense forced Trinity to punt with 1:27 remaining, but was called for a personal foul penalty on the punt, giving the Bantams time enough to run out the clock.
"I thought they were pretty good," Scalia said afterwards. "But we could have beat them."
Scalia's first touchdown pass came on a 44-yard strike to sophomore Bryan Pitko, giving Tufts a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter. It would prove be the Jumbos' only lead of the game, though, as Trinity struck back with a 12-yard, 75-play drive led by five Ward passes. The quarterback finished it with a five-yard touchdown pass to Mike Indelicato that put the Bantams up 13-7 heading into the locker room.
The Jumbo defense, led by 11 tackles apiece from defensive back Greg Devine and linebacker Mike Marino, held Trinity scoreless in the third quarter, while Tufts tacked on another three points with a 40-yard Rock field goal to make the score 13-10.
But the Jumbos dug their own grave with the two costly interceptions in the fourth quarter.
"We played hard," sophomore offensive lineman Andy Dickerson said. "But we made some mistakes that cost us the game."
Saturday marked the first time Matt Cerne did not lead the team in receptions and receiving yardage, as the freshman and two-time NESCAC Rookie of the Week caught two balls for 48 yards. Instead, it was Pitko who had a breakout day for the Jumbos, gaining 68 yards on four receptions.
"He's a really good receiver," Scalia said of Pitko. "He stepped it up on Saturday, and he's just barely scratching the surface of what he can do."
Senior Brian Holmes, who sat out last week's game with a hamstring injury, returned and led the team with 84 rushing yards, while sophomore Chuck McGraw got just seven carries and totaled 31 yards on the ground. Unlike in previous weeks, the Jumbos went to the pass nearly as many times as they went to the rush.
Trinity was led by freshman tailback Tom Pierandri, who ran for 103 yards off the bench. The Bantams totaled 131 rushing yards, more than any of Tufts' other three opponents combined this season.
But this Saturday's opponent, Williams, has rushed for 681 yards on the season, led by David Kinsley and Fred Storz.
The final four games of the season arguably bring the team's toughest four opponents of the season, particularly Williams (2-2) this weekend and an Oct. 28 date with Amherst (3-1).
Middlebury topped Williams 28-14 this weekend, so next weekend's Tufts Homecoming match will pit two teams coming off of disappointing losses. Despite Saturday's loss, the Jumbos remain just a lone game out of first place in the NESCAC and still very much in contention.
The Ephmen traditionally dominate the Jumbos, but the graduation of several key players from last year's team, including quarterback Sean Keenan, have put a huge dent in the team's roster that it has been surprisingly unable to overcome. A Tufts win on Saturday could actually anchor Williams' record below .500.
"They've been struggling," Scalia said of the Ephmen, "but they're always a tough team to play."
As usual, it remains uncertain whether Scalia or Treacy will get the nod at quarterback. Saturday's game kicks off at 2 p.m. on Zimman Field.
