Step aside, Trinity. There's a new powerhouse in the NESCAC, and it's the Williams Ephs.
Just one week after their 40-9 thrashing of previously undefeated Middlebury, the Ephs rode into Somerville and beat the Jumbos on Saturday in convincing fashion. Junior quarterback Pat Lucey led the Ephs to a 38-14 win, improving their record to 5-0, the only flawless record remaining in the NESCAC. The loss dropped Tufts to 3-2.
"[The Ephs' offense] played extremely well," Samko said. "They've done that every time this year. Lucey played very well - he completed the first five passes he threw. It's as good an offense as I've seen in the NESCAC in a long time. I don't think they even care if you score or not - they just want the ball back."
Lucey went 9 for 12 for 112 yards and a touchdown, while his backup, senior Sean Gleeson, also participated in the action, giving Lucey a breather in the second quarter. His lone attempt was a 54-yard touchdown pass to senior tri-captain Jonathan Drenckhahn. Combining the passing efforts with three rushing touchdowns - two from senior Cory Catelli and another from sophomore Brian Morrissey - the Ephs' offense turned in a banner day.
"I'd say the score represents itself," senior quad-captain Chris Decembrele said. "They had great receivers and a good O-line. And Pat's a good quarterback - he got ahead on us early, and it's hard to come back from that."
The Ephs' offense strung together an aggressive running game, notching 55 carries. Morrissey led the way with 74 rushing yards, while junior Kevin Flynn added 46.
Meanwhile, the Williams defense applied an equal amount of pressure to Tufts. The Ephs' defensive line held Tufts junior running back Brendan Georges to 27 yards on the ground, while senior Brian Cammuso only added eight yards and sophomore Will Forde had just one. Meanwhile, the Ephs roughed up Tufts senior quarterback Matt Russo, sacking him five times and putting him on the defensive.
"They've been blitzing 65 percent of the time all year," Samko said. "They did it again today, and we had to adjust. We had to try some quick drops, some three-step drops. But once you get behind by three scores, you have to start doing some things differently."
Russo eventually found his groove, coming to life late in the first half with the Jumbos already trailing 28-0. On the Jumbos' fourth drive of the game, which began with 7:19 left in the half, Russo took to the air six times, and completed all six passes - all without sophomore David Halas, who entered the game as the Jumbos' leading receiver with 176 yards and four touchdowns.
"We hope [Halas is] going to be back next week," Samko said of Halas. "He got kicked in the calf down at Trinity, and he didn't practice all week."
Senior Steve Menty re-emerged as Russo's favorite target, grabbing three crucial catches in the late first-half drive, including a 32-yarder for the Jumbos' first touchdown. He finished the day with five catches for 65 yards, leading the Jumbo offense.
"Steve's our best receiver," Decembrele said. "He's a senior - he's been doing it for the past four years. Pressure or whatever, he just doesn't feel that. He just goes out and plays."
"Steve is one of the guys that I can really count on," Samko added. "He's a really, really good receiver. Not a superstar because he doesn't quite have that speed. But I thought he stepped up today - I thought he played well."
Despite trimming the lead to 28-7, Tufts found itself in a hole shortly after intermission, as the Ephs tacked on a 20-yard field goal from freshman Scott Sobolewski and a six-yard touchdown run to widen the lead to 38-7. The Ephs took Lucey out of the game for the duration, comfortable with their 31-point lead.
"Sure, the score got away from us," Samko said. "But I'm not embarrassed. We took some chances because we were trying to win the game. I didn't think we gave up. I thought we played very hard."
Even with time winding down, the Jumbos continued to fight. With less then four minutes left and Williams threatening again, Tufts sophomore Seth Bancroft intercepted a pass from Williams' third-string quarterback, freshman Tyler Ware. Williams stopped Bancroft's return at the Tufts 11, but on the ensuing drive, sophomore running back Brad Ricketson broke free from the Eph defenders and took off down the left side, dashing 89 yards for the only Tufts rushing touchdown of the afternoon. Seconds later, Ephs sophomore Sean Milano fumbled the kickoff from freshman Oliver Snider, and Bancroft recovered the ball.
The Jumbos failed to capitalize, however, and they left Zimman Field with a 38-14 loss. The setback is a disappointing one, but Samko is already looking ahead to the rest of the schedule.
"We try to take them one game at a time," Samko said. "The last two games we've played the two best teams in the league. But I'm not looking back - I'm looking forward. These next three games will determine what kind of season we have."
Those next three games come against Amherst, Colby and Middlebury. Colby is the lone home game left on the schedule for the Jumbos. Next week the Jumbos head to western Massachusetts to take on Amherst and hope to be at full strength for that contest.
"I'm extremely optimistic," Decembrele added. "Middlebury, we play them hard every year - they haven't beaten us by any more than six points. And Amherst, we've beaten them two of the last three years. If we can win these last three games, we're 6-2, and that's a great season. I can't wait to go up there and play Amherst."
