Tufts football scores huge OT win over Amherst

Going into Saturday's game against the Amherst Lord Jeffs, the Tufts football team faced many questions. The Jumbos wondered if they would be able to move the ball against a defense that already had four shutouts this year, and stop an offense that was averaging over 400 yards per game. The team answered these questions and proved that it is one of the best teams in the NESCAC, with a 24-17 overtime victory over Amherst at Zimman Field.

Tufts dominated the game statistically, outgaining the Lord Jeffs by 180 yards and controlling the time of possession by more than seven minutes. Senior Tim Mack had a huge game in his second start at running back, gaining 138 yards and scoring two touchdowns, including the eventual game winner in OT. Junior quarterback Jason Casey had his best game of the season, completing 23 of 36 passes for 227 yards.

The Jumbo defense set the tone early in the game, stopping Amherst on its first two possessions. Amherst running back Fletcher Ladd, the league's leading rusher entering the game, was repeatedly stopped at or before the line of scrimmage on both of the series. The first quarter ended in a scoreless tie, despite Tufts having moved the ball well.

The Jumbos put up the first points of the game with 9:04 to go in the second quarter, when Mack ran 11 yards into the end zone. The touchdown was set up by a 44-yard punt return by senior Mark Tilki.

The Lord Jeffs were stopped on their next possession but got the ball back when Tilki fumbled the ensuing punt return. With the ball on the Tufts 16-yard line, the Jumbo defense stopped Amherst from gaining any yardage, and it appeared they would have to settle for a field goal. But an offsides penalty against Tufts on the field goal attempt gave Amherst first and goal on the five-yard line. Ladd scored on a one-yard run with 4:59 to go in the half to tie the score at 7-7.

Tufts was able to regain the lead before halftime, driving 65 yards on their next possession for a touchdown. The drive was capped off by a 29-yard pass from Casey to senior wide receiver Kevin Holland that put the Jumbos up 14-7 going into the half.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Amherst was able to tie the score early in the fourth on Ladd's second touchdown run. It appeared that Tufts would score again with just over nine minutes to go in the game when Casey connected with Holland at the Amherst two-yard line. However, Tufts was penalized for a personal foul on the play, taking the ball back to the 16-yard line. Senior kicker Marcellus Rolle missed the resulting field goal attempt, his second miss of the day.

Amherst took the ball 68 yards on its next possession, scoring on a 29-yard field goal that gave it a 17-14 lead 2:28 to play in the game.

On their next possession, Casey was able to move the Jumbos down the field. Tufts failed to score a touchdown after having first and goal on the Amherst three-yard line, but Rolle kicked a 20-yard field goal to tie the game and send it into OT.

"It's the best feeling of my life," Rolle said after the game. "This is the result of everything we've worked for. The belief and the trust that the coaches had in me, and that we all have for each other, that's what makes us a team."

In overtime, Tufts scored on a three-yard touchdown run by Mack. Casey set up the score with a 20-yard pass to Holland that took the Jumbos to the Amherst three-yard line. On Amherst's ensuing possession, Tufts senior Caleb Hudak intercepted a tipped pass from quarterback Marsh Moseley to end the game.

"[Defensive coordinator John Walsh] gave us a great game plan. He went to Amherst so he knows their system pretty well," Hudak said. "Everybody did their job and we came out with the win."

According to Hudak, the game is important because of the course it sets for the rest of the season.

"We were in the same position last year, and when we lost in OT to Amherst, it kind of deflated the rest of the season," Hudak said. "Hopefully we're on the way up."