Just three weeks ago, the football team kicked off its 2006 season with a decisive win, blowing out Hamilton, 17-0, in front of a home crowd at Zimman Field.
Much of the credit for that win went to the Jumbo defense, which made the day an absolute nightmare for Hamilton quarterback Ben Saccomano. The sophomore was picked off five times, sacked four times, and completed just 45 percent of his passes. With their defense at the top of its game, the Jumbos just couldn't lose.
Three weeks later, the Tufts offense found itself on the losing end of the exact same nightmare. Saturday's game was eerily similar to the Jumbos' season opener, only this time it was the Tufts squad being humiliated on the road, by the identical score of 17-0. And this time it was senior quarterback Matt Russo being terrorized by the Bantams' defense.
Russo entered Saturday's game as one of the most accurate passers in the league, completing 32 of 52 passes with zero interceptions. But the senior's day at Trinity's Jessee/Miller Field included three interceptions, five sacks taken, and just a 45 percent completion rate. The Jumbos who showed up Saturday clearly were not the same team who started 2006 with a perfect 3-0 record.
"We won as a team those first three times by protecting the ball, not turning it over," Russo said. "When you turn the ball over the way we did [Saturday], with three interceptions, you're going to have trouble."
Russo and his receivers managed only 80 yards passing on the day, and the running game wasn't any better. Junior Brendan Georges led the way for the Jumbos with 29 yards on 13 carries. Georges along with Russo and five more running backs ran into a Trinity defense that brought its A-game to the gridiron and combined for a total of only 24 net yards on the ground.
"Trinity's defense had great team speed," Russo said. "They really got to the ball well. It was like they had 11 guys on the ball almost every play. And we made a lot of mistakes in key situations, and we just couldn't recover."
Things won't get any easier for the Jumbos in the near future. Next on the schedule are the Williams Ephs, the only undefeated team left in the NESCAC. The Ephs blew out previously-undefeated Middlebury, 40-9, over the weekend, and two weeks ago, they stomped the Bantams, 41-16. However, despite the setback this weekend, Russo is hopeful the Jumbos can rebound in time for the home match-up with Williams.
"I think we've learned a lot about ourselves from this week," he said. "We're starting to form an identity for our team. You can learn from your mistakes and get better. We can move on from this game and, hopefully, beat Williams next week. That would be huge."
