After the first half of the season in which the Jumbo defense carried the load for a struggling offense, the defense finally felt the weight of its burden on Saturday, allowing 30 first half points in the Jumbos' 37-13 loss at Williams.
Tufts suffered both an offensive and defensive collapse as Williams came out swinging early, building a 30-6 lead by halftime and routing the Jumbos on offense, posting 542 total yards. The game marks the third straight loss for Tufts and drops the Jumbos to under .500 on the season with a record of 2-3. The game also marked the Jumbos' twentieth consecutive loss to Williams since 1987.
Tufts seemed to have a chance to make a comeback in the game after a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by freshman William Forde that cut the Ephs' lead to four at 10-6. But after a blocked extra-point, the Jumbos' offense could not pull any other big plays to get back into the game.
"Everyone wasn't on the same page, on both sides of the ball," senior Sean Mullin said. "We weren't being responsible or executing when we had to and you can't win in this league when you don't execute."
Williams followed up with three touchdowns in the second quarter. The first of the three came on a rushing play from two yards out by junior running back Cory Catelli. On the first play of their next possession, the Ephs posted a second score on a 75-yard touchdown pass, adding to their lead, 23-6. The Ephs were able to expand to their cushion right before the end of the half when they connected again on a 14-yard pass in the end zone with 32 seconds left in the half.
Heading into the second half, down 24 points, the Jumbos picked up their play on both sides of the ball, but at that point it was too little too late. A forced fumble recovered by Mullin gave the Jumbos key field position to mount a drive. But a Williams sack on senior quarterback Casey D'Annolfo on a crucial third down forced the Jumbos to punt the ball away.
Williams capitalized on the Jumbos' mishaps on offense and posted its last score before the end of the third quarter. Tufts closed out the scoring with its only offensive touchdown in the final seconds of the game when D'Annolfo connected with junior tight end Mark Jagiela on a four-yard pass in the end zone.
The Jumbos had a weak showing on offense with 190 total yards. D'Annolfo, who has struggled as of late, went 4-18, throwing for thirty-five yards and one interception as the Jumbos picked up just ten first downs. Senior running back Scott Lombardi had a solid game, rushing for a game-high 120 yards.
For a defense that had been strong against the pass, Tufts looked uncharacteristically weak, allowing 391 passing yards. The Ephs were led by junior quarterback Sean Gleeson, who was perfect on the day, going 8-8 and throwing for 215 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Pat Lucey also threw for 179 yards and went 15-18 for Williams.
"We weren't getting any pressure on them all day," Mullin said. "[Williams] had a lot of time to throw, and it just made it harder for our secondary."
Looking ahead, Tufts will match up against Amherst College next week. Amherst has the second best record in the league at 4-1. A win would put the Jumbos back at .500 and give them some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.
"Right now we have to learn from our mistakes," Mullin said. "Its important to win every week, and for right now we're taking it one game at a time and are just focused on beating Amherst."
