The Tufts football team, which yielded 137 yards to Wesleyan running back Greg Thomas in the week one opener, will have its hands full again this week when the Jumbos face hard-running Bates College in week two.
Bates is headed by sophomore tailback Sean Atkins, whose sublime performance in his first ever start in week one earned the rusher co-offensive Player of the Week honors in the NESCAC. Atkins rushed 25 times for 218 yards last Saturday in the Bobcats' 46-34 loss to Trinity. He also tacked on 91 receiving yards, making his total of 309 yards the second most in Bates history.
If the Jumbos hope to bounce back from last week's season-opening 16-7 loss to Wesleyan, stopping Atkins will have to be priority number one. It's a task that the team should be able to handle, though, as the defense essentially allowed just one significant Wesleyan scoring drive last week.
The Jumbos are led up front by senior tri-captain Pete DiStaulo and Everett Dickerson, who combined for eight tackles and two sacks last Saturday. DiStaulo and Dickerson got help from the rest of the opportunistic defense, as well, as Tufts came up with six total sacks, a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception.
But the men up front for the Jumbo defense will be staring down an experienced Bobcats offensive line. Bates returns four out of five starters from last year's team that was third in the NESCAC in total offense. Like the Jumbos, though, Bates' biggest losses came at the specialty positions on the offensive side of the ball, as it was forced to replace the team's leading passer, rusher, and receiver from the past three seasons.
Clearly, Bates doesn't need to worry about the running back position, as Atkins added three touchdowns to his overwhelming yardage totals last week. Bigger concerns come at the quarterback spot, as sophomore Steve Barry won the starting job but was erratic in the opener. Barry was 8-for-19 with 157 yards but threw four interceptions against the Bantams. No receiver stepped into the forefront either, as Atkins led the team with three receptions, one more than John Katsarikas.
The offensive explosion last week - the Bobcats scored more than 30 points just once last season, averaging only 20 points per game - isn't as exciting to the Bates coaching staff as a defense that allowed 46 points to Trinity. The Bobcats' 1999 defensive unit surrendered an average of just 16 points a game, including a total of seven points in the last two games.
The perplexing part is that the defense was supposed to be the veteran bunch. Bates is led on the defensive side of the ball by senior captain, linebacker Bob Rosenthal, the team's leading tackler. Three starters are also back on the defensive side of the ball, including All-NESCAC selection Ryan Gray and all-ECAC lineman Jaime Sawler.
A defense that can be scored on is a tasty proposition to the Tufts offense, which struggled in week one. Tufts' only score came on a Matt Cerne catch in the closing minutes. Cerne was named NESCAC Rookie of the Week after his opening debut, which consisted of four receptions for 43 yards and the touchdown.
The offense will be engineered this week by sophomore Scott Treacy, who was brought in for relief of sophomore Todd Scalia. Treacy threw a touchdown and two interceptions last week, but his quickness and mobility got him the starting nod. Still, if Treacy is ineffective, Scalia and his superior arm will be waiting in the wings.
Another factor that could help the Tufts offense is the return of senior wide receiver Brett Cicchillo. The leading returning receiver from '99 was banged up until two days before last Saturday's game and saw limited playing time. His knee has recovered now, though, and that will give Treacy another option when he drops back to pass.
Both teams will be looking for their first win, and it could come down to a battle of two inexperienced quarterbacks.
