Six games down, two to go, and the football team refuses to let go of first place in the NESCAC standings.
After a frustrating 34-13 loss at Williams a week ago, the Jumbos bounced back with authority against the Amherst Lord Jeffs Saturday. They didn't just win - they dominated every facet of the game, out-passing the Jeffs, out-rushing them and forcing four huge turnovers. The Tufts lead was 29-3 midway through the fourth quarter, and the Jumbos held on to win 29-10, moving one step closer to a NESCAC championship.
"That's our goal," coach Bill Samko said. "We've thought about it all year. The first thing I said to them last Saturday when we didn't win was, 'Today you're disappointed, but your goal is still in place. The goal is to win the championship.' And I thought they responded very well."
Senior quarterback Matt Russo had another banner day, and was rewarded with NESCAC Player of the Week honors last night. He completed 20 of 26 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns, and hit seven different receivers on the day. The Jumbos went up 16-3 at halftime and held down the lead in the second half, picking off two passes and stifling the Jeffs' vaunted running game.
"We were upset about our game last week and we came out today with attitude," said junior linebacker Ryan Crisco, who recovered a fourth-quarter fumble. "Defensively, we knew we had to step it up a little bit, and Russo and the offense just took care of business. It was a good win for us."
Russo threw an interception two plays into the game to senior linebacker Nick Boehm, and the Jeffs took advantage of their great field position to pull ahead 3-0 with a quick field goal.
"We killed ourselves last week and turned the ball over eight times," Samko said. "That's tremendously uncharacteristic of us. But [this week], I thought it was huge that we turned the ball over and held them to a field goal."
The Jumbos' stop on the Jeffs' first drive got the ball rolling, as Tufts fired back on both sides of the ball. The defense locked down for the rest of the half and Russo came to life in a hurry. Tufts scored on its next three drives, including a touchdown pass to senior tri-captain Kevin Gleason, a one-yard sneak by Russo and a field goal from freshman Greg Stewart. The versatility of the Jumbos' offense was on display in the trio of first-half scores.
"As a group, we're opening up a little bit more," said junior David Halas, who had three catches for 54 yards. "Everyone's feeling more confident, so we're getting our rhythm down. We're on the same page - everyone's coming together now at the end of the season, and that's making a big difference."
In the second half, Russo found juniors Max Cassidy and Stephen Black in the end zone for two more scores to widen the Tufts lead to 29-3. Black had a career day, catching six passes for 52 yards, and senior tri-captain Kevin Anderson had three catches of his own. Russo had no shortage of weapons at his disposal Saturday.
"It makes things comfortable," Russo said. "When I drop back, I'm not always looking for Halas or looking for Gleas. I can just drop back and make my reads, and I'll throw to anyone on this team. It just makes it easy."
Defensively, the Jumbos' challenge was slowing down two of the league's top running backs, junior Eric NeSmith and sophomore Aaron Rauh. The pair combined to make Amherst the league's top rushing team through five weeks, but the Jumbos shut them down, holding NeSmith to 23 yards and Rauh to 21 as the Jumbos out-rushed Amherst 118-72.
"They have two really tough running backs," Crisco said. "We knew coming into today that our main goal was to stop the run, and that it was going to be a challenge. But we knew we were up to it."
With the running game slowed down, the Jeffs took to the air, and they struggled there as well. Sophomore Lucas Loeffler was 7-for-19 with an interception when coach E.J. Mills pulled him. Freshman Dan Pozner was a bit better in his place, completing seven of 13 passes but throwing one pick. The interceptions, one by senior Nathan Scott and one by junior Andy Henke, stifled a pair of Amherst drives into Tufts territory.
"That's what we're all about," said junior linebacker Tyson Reynoso, who led the Jumbos with seven tackles. "Our defense is all about turnovers. We've got to get the ball back to our offense with good field position, and it's a huge momentum boost for our offense when we can do that."
With their first-place standing intact at 5-1, the Jumbos now look ahead to their final two games, as they have a legitimate chance to win a NESCAC title. Next up for Tufts is 1-5 Colby, and after that, 5-1 Middlebury comes to town on Nov. 10. With the Jumbos and Panthers locked in a first-place tie, we could be two weeks away from a de facto NESCAC championship game in Medford.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it," Russo said. "But we've just got to keep moving. Colby's next, and we've got to go up and beat them, and then we can really focus on [Middlebury]."
