Another weekend, another huge NESCAC game.
The football team completes a tough three-game stretch tomorrow, as the Jumbos finish out October with their fifth league game of the season against their toughest opponents yet.
After losing back-to-back games at Trinity and Williams at home, Tufts now stands at 3-2 on the season and travels to Amherst to face the Lord Jeffs at Pratt Field. The Jumbos are badly in need of a win to salvage their season and stop a two-game slide, and they are confident they can deliver one.
"We are extremely optimistic," senior quad-captain Chris Decembrele said. "This is a team we have beaten in two of the last three years, and we know we can beat them."
The Jumbos started off the season 3-0 but now find themselves reeling with the possibility of dropping to a .500 record this weekend. Tufts ran into the premier team in the league, the 5-0 Williams Ephs, last weekend, struggling on both sides of the ball and losing 38-14.
In that game, the Jumbos found themselves down 28-0 at one point in the second quarter and struggled just to keep the score respectable. A balanced Williams offensive attack, led by junior quarterback Pat Lucey, racked up 352 total yards and scored touchdowns on its first four drives, while the Tufts offense was consistently going three-and-out at the game's onset.
However, the Jumbos' defense was not without bright spots. Saturday's game saw the continued excellence of sophomore linebacker Tyson Reynoso, who finished with 10 total tackles on the day, while senior quad-captain Chris Decembrele recorded a game-high five solo tackles.
The offense has slumped in the past two games, and will need a resurgent performance if it hopes to overcome Amherst's defense, arguably the best in the league. Senior quarterback Matt Russo has struggled in the two Jumbo losses after a strong showing at the beginning of the season.
Last weekend, Russo threw for 104 yards with a touchdown and tossed a pair of interceptions, two of Tufts' three turnovers in the game. The offensive line didn't lend him much help, as the Ephs recorded five sacks and put consistent pressure on Russo. The running game was equally feeble; if not for an 89-yard touchdown scamper by sophomore Brad Ricketson late in the fourth quarter, the first Tufts advance past their own 35, the Jumbo runners would have amassed only 10 net yards.
"We know that if we do the right things on offense, we will move the ball," senior quad-captain and offensive lineman Brian Schurko said. "The past few weeks we haven't been doing that, and we need to get back to it. Coach Samko has been stressing getting back to basics - our core running plays and passing plays - and we will just have to go from there."
Amherst, meanwhile, finds itself in a three-way tie for second place with Trinity and Middlebury, as all three teams enter the weekend with 4-1 records. The Jeffs' lone loss came on Oct. 7 versus Middlebury, a game in which the touted Amherst offense was held to three points in a 7-3 defeat.
Except for that off-week, the Amherst offense has been potent all season. The Lord Jeffs have averaged 23 points a game and boast some of the best offensive talent in the conference. Last year's first team All-NESCAC quarterback, senior Nick Kehoe, is averaging 230 passing yards per game. His main target is Mark Hannon, a senior wide receiver who took Offensive Player of the Year honors in the conference last season. Last week, the duo hooked up for two touchdown passes in the Lord Jeffs' 23-0 win over Wesleyan.
"We are hopefully going to get a lot of pressure on the quarterback," Decembrele said. "We have to cover the wide receivers tight. Just like any other team, they run the ball to set up the pass, so we have to stop both. We're hopefully going to stop the run and get to the quarterback and get some turnovers."
Meanwhile, the Jeffs' defense has been underrated though it's arguably the best in the NESCAC; it has allowed an average of only 4.6 points per game - best in the nation in this category - and never more than seven in a single game.
In the Wesleyan blowout, the Jeffs' defense showcased its talents well. In addition to posting its first shutout of the season, Amherst forced three turnovers and held Wesleyan to only 182 total yards, and only 23 yards on the ground against the Lord Jeffs' run defense.
Sophomore defensive lineman Guy Matisis, last week's NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week, had a seven-tackle, two-sack day and is one of the team's defensive leaders. Senior quad-captain Brendan McKee is a standout on the line, which has helped the Jeffs hold opponents to only 58 rushing yards a game.
It will be important for the Jumbos to find some early running success if they hope to open up the offense and allow Russo to find his groove. They come into this weekend hoping to forget about Trinity and Williams, and rebound against the Jeffs.
"Basically, we have moved on from the past two weeks," Schurko said. "We faced two very good clubs the last two weeks, and we know the next three games are winnable. We just have to get back to the basics, on both offense and defense, and play well so we can win these next few games."
