Jumbos square off against Trinity in battle of unbeatens

Coming off a 26-7 victory over the Bowdoin Polar Bears in last Saturday's homecoming game, the Tufts University football team is riding high with a three game winning streak. This weekend the team faces its biggest test of the season in a home game against defending NESCAC co-champs Trinity College. The teams find themselves tied atop the NESCAC standings with identical 3-0 records.

The game is an even tougher one for the Jumbos as they may be playing without their top two running backs, juniors Steve Cincotta and Matt McMillan, who were both injured in the game against Bowdoin. Cincotta, Tufts' leading rusher this season, sprained his ankle in the third quarter of last Saturday's game and did not return. X-rays on the ankle came back negative, and he is listed as day-to-day.

McMillan suffered a more serious injury, dislocating his shoulder. He will not suit up this weekend and may not play again this season. The injury is especially frustrating for McMillan because he returned this season from a broken foot, and had been playing well.

Should Cincotta not be able to play, Tufts will turn to sophomore full back Steve Lombardi and freshman Brian Cammuso. Offensive coordinator Mike Daly expressed confidence in both of the players.

"Lombardi can play tailback if necessary. He took over in the fourth quarter against Bowdoin, and had two of the biggest plays of the game," Daly said. "We have a lot of confidence in him as a runner. I think he still considers himself a tail back."

Lombardi gained 50 yards against Bowdoin after Cincotta and McMillan went down with injuries. On the Jumbos' last scoring drive, he ran for 45 yards.

The offense faces a stiff challenge from Trinity, whose defense is surrendering just 4.3 points per game. The Trinity defense stops the run especially well and has given up only 68 rushing yards per game. However, Daly was confident in his unit's running game.

"It's a key for us to run the ball," Daly said. "And I think we can run the ball against Trinity. We still want to keep it mixed up [between the run and the pass], but we want to start by running."

The Jumbos also want to keep the receivers involved in the offense. Senior Tim Mack, senior Matt Cerne, and junior Kevin Holland must get the ball as much as possible, according to Daly. The trio hadn't had many touches in the first two games.

However, they broke out against Bowdoin with a combined 10 catches for 143 yards, with Holland scoring a touchdown. Additionally, Mack had a 33 yard run on an end-around.

"We track touches by offensive players, and we want Mack, Cerne, and Holland to get at least 5 touches a game each," said Daly. "In the early games we were being conservative, but we know we need those guys to get the ball a lot."

On the defensive side of the ball, the team faces similarly stiff competition. Trinity has been moving the ball effectively so far this year, especially on the ground. They boast two running backs, Tom Pierandri and Drew Finkeldey, who each average over 100 yards rushing per game. Trinity is coming off a 45-7 demoliton of Hamilton in which they scored 45 points and gained 438 yards.

"They're definitely two of the best running backs in the leagues," Tufts' defensive coordinator John Walsh said. "They're the best we've seen so far this year and they compliment each other well. [Pierandri] is a big, strong bruising back, and [Finkeldey] has major speed."

Trinity also throws deep ten times a game, making them an even more dangerous offensive unit. The Jumbos will try to counter by taking away the run and making the Bantams one-dimensional.

"They're going to get yardage no matter who they play," Walsh said. "We just want to force them to make long drives to score, to not give up any big plays."

Besides the implications the game has for the NESCAC standings, the game is made even bigger by last year's result when the two teams met. Trinity won by only one point, 13-12, and the game has been on the minds of the Tufts' players and coaches since. Walsh was adamant about how much the game means to the team.

"This is a huge game for us," Walsh said. "There's a big difference between 3-1 and 4-0 in this league. We've been 3-0 the last couple of years, now it's time for us to take the next step."

Daly played down the game's importance somewhat, citing the fact that it's only one game in the season and he doesn't want his players to be "too up for it."

"There's no question it's a big game, but in this league they're all big games," Daly said. "I want the guys to realize that all games count as one, and whichever one we're playing is the most important game."