If there were any doubts about the Tufts offense heading into the football team's second game of the season Saturday, they were dispelled quickly.
After punting on their first seven possessions in their season opener against Hamilton, the Jumbos were a whole new team this week, running all over the Bates defense on Saturday en route to a 35-20 win. Tufts improved its record to 2-0 and dropped the Bobcats to 0-2 on the season.
A Jumbo running game that was a disappointment a week ago carried the team to the win. The Jumbos had 236 yards on the ground, with a plethora of tailbacks having big days. Junior Brad Ricketson led the way with 111 yards on the day, highlighted by a 62-yard scamper for a touchdown in the second quarter. Classmate Will Forde added 47 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Chris Guild had 79 yards and a score.
"I think that the running backs, Guild, Forde and Ricketson, all had a great week of practice," said senior tri-captain Kevin Gleason, who scored his first touchdown of the season. "Obviously, there needs to be blocking for them to get the yardage, and I thought the line had a great day opening up holes for them so they could run like they did."
The Jumbos got off to a great start when sophomore safety Tom Tassinari picked off senior quarterback Brandon Colon. It was Tassinari's third interception of the season. With the ball on the Bobcats 40-yard line, the Jumbos needed just four plays to score the game's first points. Guild ran the ball in from the 24-yard line to put his team up 7-0.
"It was a good coaching scheme, and Coach put us in the right position to make big plays," Tassinari said. "We have some really good athletes on defense, and I feel like we have been about making big plays this year. Teams have moved the ball against us, but players have stepped up and made big plays."
However, the Bobcats would answer with a flurry of big plays of their own to knot the score at seven apiece. With 7:13 left in the first quarter, the Bobcats took over on their own 31-yard line. Colon drove Bates down the field, hitting sophomore wideout Matt Gregg for 36 yards before connecting for a long 40-yard touchdown strike to sophomore Tom Beaton.
The Jumbos' defense clamped down in response to the Bates' TD, while the offense exploded for 21 straight points. Senior quarterback Matt Russo led his team down the field, hitting junior wide receiver Stephen Black for a 15-yard completion on a key third down before the Jumbos turned it over to the running game. Guild had another long run, this time for 22 yards, before Forde punched it in from one yard out.
The Jumbos added to their lead before halftime with another touchdown. After Bates drove down to the Tufts 26-yard line, Colon failed to complete a pass on fourth-and-11 to Beaton. Ricketson broke a 62-yard run for another Tufts touchdown to make the lead 21-7.
The Jumbos weren't done yet. With 3:32 left in the half, Russo led an impressive drive that started with a 19-yard pass to junior receiver David Halas, followed by a completion junior Ryan Gendron for 15 yards. Tight end Gleason then capped off the drive with his first touchdown grab of the season, hauling in a 13-yard pass with just 58 seconds left to give Tufts a 28-7 halftime lead and total control of the game.
"I think we are mixing up the playcalling very well," Gleason said. "They didn't know if we were going to run or pass, and I thought that worked to our advantage. I thought the team had a great week of practice because we knew they were going to be a tough, physical team."
The second half featured far less action than the first. Though the Bobcats capitalized on a Tufts turnover, with sophomore safety Kyle McAllister picking off a pass from Tufts' sophomore backup quarterback Tom McManama, and returning it for a touchdown, Bates was too far down to climb back into the game. The Jumbos answered with a second touchdown from Forde before Bates added a touchdown with 2:50 to go, running the final score to 35-20.
The Jumbos' defense dominated from the line of scrimmage, holding Bates to only 46 total yards on the ground and only five in the first half. Though Colon had a decent day statistically, completing just 16 of 38 passes but gaining 224 yards, the senior also threw two costly interceptions. His top receiver on the day was Gregg, who had five catches for 82 yards.
"We played good team defense," Tassinari said. "Everyone controlled their gaps and did their job. If everyone does their job, no one can run on us."
Though the Jumbos struggled somewhat against the pass, there were still a couple of strong defensive performances. Junior defensive back Andy Henke led the Jumbos with seven tackles on the day, while Tassinari had six tackles to go with his interception. Junior linebacker Ryan Crisco also added an interception.
The undefeated Jumbos will now prepare for next weekend's Homecoming game with Bowdoin. The Polar Bears followed up their surprising victory over reigning NESCAC champion Williams with a 30-6 loss to Amherst to drop to 1-1 on the season.
