The football team will certainly have a hard act to follow when it travels to Amherst to take on the 4-1 Lord Jeffs tomorrow.
The Jumbos recorded their first win over the Williams Ephs in 21 years on Saturday, as the defense turned in one of its best performances of the season, holding a Williams team that had scored 50 points against Middlebury the week before to a mere seven points. Senior Will Forde broke the 100-yard mark for the fifth consecutive time this season, junior Anthony Fucillo threw for a score and protected the football, and senior David Halas continued to smash Tufts' receiving records, this time tying the record for most receiving touchdowns in a season with his sixth.
With Trinity sitting atop the NESCAC at 5-0, a Jumbo loss this weekend would all but knock the team out of the running for the NESCAC Championship. Currently, Tufts (3-2) is tied for third in the conference with Colby, Middlebury and Williams, and if there's a time to break away from the pack, it's this weekend. The Jumbos are hoping the defense can carry the momentum from last week's contest into tomorrow's duel with Amherst.
"It seems like guys have a little extra pep in their step this week," junior defensive back Tom Tassinari said. "We don't want to get overconfident, but we're going to definitely try and use the momentum to make sure our defense gets up again."
While the pressure was on Tufts' defense in Saturday's game against the Ephs, the offense will have to turn in an impressive performance if Tufts wishes to come out on top tomorrow. Amherst boasts the No. 1 scoring defense in the NESCAC, allowing just 14.6 points-per-game. But perhaps the most impressive attribute of the Lord Jeff defense is its ability to stop the run; Amherst has yet to give up 100 yards on the ground in a single game.
"Their front seven is very physical and athletic, more so than any I've seen thus far," Forde said.
If anyone is up to the task of breaking Amherst's strong-run defense, it's Forde, who won the New England Football Writers' Association Gold Helmet Award earlier this week for his efforts against the Ephs. Through the first five games of the season, he leads the NESCAC with 655 total yards on the ground and is second with six rushing touchdowns.
While he would love to keep the streak alive, Forde is more concerned with nailing down a win this weekend on the road.
"I'm not really worried about that streak," Forde said. "I'm more concerned about running well and making sure that our offense executes the game plan."
If Forde can't get things going on the ground, Fucillo and the offense will have to hunt for success through the air. Amherst's defense has allowed over 200 yards passing in four of their five games, so tomorrow could be a big day for Fucillo and wide receivers Halas and senior Steve Black.
Defensively, Tufts will have to be wary of sophomore Lord Jeff quarterback Alex Vetras, who has thrown for over 1,000 yards and eight scores this fall. With a 64.6 completion percentage, Vetras is an extremely accurate quarterback who likes to get all of his receivers involved in the passing game.
Amherst does not have a true No. 1 receiver, but its top three threats, junior Brendan Bullock and sophomores Brian Murphy and Ben Kettering, have 25, 22 and 20 receptions, respectively. As a result, the players on Tufts' secondary will have their work cut out for them as they try to keep track of Amherst's deep receiving corps.
Both Forde and Tassinari believe this weekend is a must-win game in terms of postseason implications.
"I think there is a sense of urgency," Forde said. "If we want to be as successful as we planned at the beginning of the year, we realize that we have to get a win against Amherst."
"We know that if we do lose we are out of contention," Tassinari said. "Right now everyone is focused on Amherst."
