Although the football team delivered a dominating second-half effort on Saturday en route to a 24-7 season-opening victory over Hamilton, the Jumbos will be looking for a more complete performance tomorrow when they take on Bates in Lewiston, Maine.
Tufts displayed an impressive and uncharacteristic aerial attack against Hamilton. With Hamilton crowding the box and committing eight defenders to the run, senior quarterback Matt Russo took to the air, completing several long pass attempts and finishing with a career-high 205 yards. Junior wideouts David Halas and Stephen Black combined for 175 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Last season, Tufts was primarily a run-oriented team, finishing dead last in the NESCAC in passing offense but third in rushing. The Jumbos boasted two of the league's top 10 runners in then-junior Brendan Georges and then-sophomore Will Forde. Last week marked an abrupt shift in the Jumbos' game plan, one that clearly shows their effort to balance their running game with an aerial assault.
"We have to keep doing what we are doing," senior tri-captain Kevin Anderson said. "We need to have a balanced attack. [Bates has] a very good defense, and we need to do what we did last week. We just have to make plays."
The Jumbos came up with several big plays last weekend, and the offensive line gave Russo time to find his options downfield. Russo connected on 49- and 54-yard passes that set up one Tufts touchdown at the Hamilton 5-yard line and scored another.
"As long as we are sound up front and give the quarterback and running back some time to do what they are going to do, we will be successful," senior offensive lineman Thomas Ames said.
Bates is coming off a 24-0 loss to Amherst last weekend. The Bobcats struggled to keep the Amherst offense off the field and had equal difficulties moving the ball themselves on offense.
The Bates defense had trouble stopping the run, and yielded 170 yards on the ground. This will pose an interesting challenge to the Jumbos coming off Hamilton's ground-heavy defensive setup.
The Jumbos will look to take a page from the Amherst playbook tomorrow afternoon and establish their running game against the Bobcats. The Jumbos picked up just 55 rushing yards on 38 carries last week. Tomorrow, Forde and senior Chris Guild will be counted on to split the bulk of the carries and compliment Russo's impressive arm from last week.
"As long as we keep progressing on our run game and keep up our passing game, I think we should be okay," Ames said.
After a week of hard work, the Jumbos are pleased with their progress on offense and are confident heading into tomorrow's contest.
"We threw the ball really well last game," Anderson said. "I think we could run the ball a little better, but we have had a good week of practice and I think we will be all right."
Despite the sub-par rushing performance, the Jumbos were outstanding defensively, forcing four turnovers and holding the Continentals to seven points. Sophomore Tom Tassinari led the team with nine tackles and added two key interceptions to thwart Hamilton drives. Senior Tyson Reynoso added eight tackles and forced a key fumble that helped lead to a Tufts touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Still, there is room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball. The Jumbos yielded 300 total yards, including 117 on the ground. The defense made big plays, but still let up a few that almost hurt the team's chances.
But the Jumbos should have more than it takes to hold down a Bates team that struggled offensively in the season opener. The Bobcats managed only 131 total yards, with only 25 coming on the ground. Bates also had four turnovers in its opener, including three fumbles.
Senior quarterback Brandon Colon completed just 12 of 24 passes and throwing an interception. His top target, senior tight end Ross Van Horn, was one of the only bright spots on the Bates offense with four catches for 53 yards. If the Jumbos can keep an eye on Colon's favorite target tomorrow, they should be able to stifle the Bobcats.
