Ask coach Bill Samko how he will attack Amherst's defense, the best in the NESCAC, and he gives his usual answer. Ask Samko just about anything about adjusting strategy, and he gives his usual answer.
"Nothing special."
With the Lord Jeff defense coming to Medford on Saturday for homecoming and the prospect of going against a unit that has surrendered a total of six points in five games, the last thing Samko would do is change.
"We're top ten in the country in running the ball," Samko said. "Our starter is in the top twenty in the country, and our second string tailback rushed for over 100 yards against Williams. We're not doing anything different."
It couldn't be simpler for Amherst if Samko wrote its defensive coordinator a letter explaining the Jumbos' offensive game plan. The Lord Jeff defense will see run, run, and more run.
And Samko has every reason to be confident in his running attack. Through five games, Jumbos' backs have averaged 267.6 yards on the ground, tops in the NESCAC. Tufts has also run for 12 touchdowns, ten more than they did all of last season.
The bulk of the production has come from junior Keven Kelley, who is averaging 141.4 yards per game. Kelley, who is actually a year older than most seniors, but took a post grad year before college and a year off in the middle of college, is a bruising 230-lb. back that can push a pile. Though Williams appeared to hold the junior to a number of short gains, he still averaged four yards per carry.
The good news is that even when Kelley's on the sidelines, he has support from his backups. Junior Chuck McGraw saw his most substantial time of the season last Saturday against Williams, and responded with 108 yards on 17 carries, including a 59-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage.
Tufts also boasts senior Renato DePaolis, who has been used sparingly - only 14 carries in five games - but still has two rushing touchdowns.
But will all of these impressive numbers matter against the best defense in the conference? Samko tends to think so. Though Amherst boasts a stronger defense than Williams, the Ephs are still amongst the stingiest in the league, and the Jumbos had success with them.
"We took the ball and shoved it up their ass," Samko said. "Our two tailbacks combined for 37 carries and 188 yards. I'd say we ran the ball effectively."
Though Tufts was able to move the ball against Williams, the offense could not capitalize on its opportunities. Quarterback Scott Treacy threw an interception inside the Williams ten, and Kelley fumbled in the same area. Both mistakes came in the fourth quarter, but neither concerns Samko a great deal.
"Kelley never fumbled that ball, it was a bad call," Samko said. "And Scott's pass was not one iota his fault. He threw the ball where he should have."
Despite that, Samko realizes that these mistakes cost the team the game.
"We can't make critical mistakes," he said. "But we didn't back off. It would have been easy to back off after that bad call, but we didn't."
In fact, it was Tufts' ability to compete the entire game that impressed the coach.
"The final result is not our main goal," Samko said. "I would have felt better if we won, but I'm more concerned with how we compete. We can't control a lot of things in the game, but we can control how we compete from the first to last play."
The intensity Tufts showed last Saturday will have to be matched, if not increased, at Homecoming, as the Lord Jeffs pose at least as great a threat as the Ephs. But if there is one way to neutralize a defense, it's on the ground. With healthy dosages of Kelley and McGraw, Tufts hopes that it can keep the Amherst defense on the field long enough to tire them out. Additionally, a mammoth effort will be required from the offensive line to both open holes and provide time for Treacy to throw the ball.
If there is any team in the NESCAC that can grind the Lord Jeffs down, it's Tufts. It will be important for the Jumbos to get Kelley into a rhythm early in the gam, and establish the one-two punch of Kelley and McGraw. While Kelley is a bruising, between-the-tackles runner, McGraw compliments him with more speed and agility.
"I am going into this game thinking we can win," Samko said. "Amherst is very good, but in a game that is fairly even-steven, like it was last week, the team that makes fewer mistakes and capitalizes on chances will win."
Tufts versus Amherst commences at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and while the day is a special one, don't look for anything different from the Tufts offense.
