Thousands of optimistic tailgating fans carried the smell of hot dogs and hamburgers into Ellis Oval on Saturday to watch the football team face off against Bates in its Homecoming game. Yet despite winning their past 24 games against the Bobcats, the Jumbos relinquished a fourth−quarter lead and could not manufacture a late drive, falling 21−20 in front of a crowd of 2,500 at Zimman Field.
Tufts regressed on offense after its strong season−opening win against Hamilton. Senior quarterback Anthony Fucillo threw four interceptions, including two late in the fourth quarter. In the first nine games of Fucillo's career with the Jumbos, he only threw five.
In the new, pass−happy offense that the Jumbos installed before the season, Fucillo shattered team records with 71 passing attempts — including 44 in the first half — and 35 completions. The tri−captain also finished with 341 yards, 14 short of the single−game record, and two touchdowns.
"In practice, we had three offenses set up at one time," Bates junior safety Cam Evans said of preparing for Tufts' fast−paced offense. "They'd run a play and they'd immediately come on and we'd have to get set. It was like conditioning, but it definitely paid off."
The Jumbos got off to a sloppy start offensively in a first quarter that featured three false start penalties, an intentional grounding penalty that resulted in a turnover on downs and a missed 43−yard field goal by junior kicker Adam Auerbach.
Bates took the game's first lead on a 3−yard, second−quarter run by sophomore running back Patrick George. The score came after sophomore cornerback Kenn Starr intercepted an overthrown Fucillo pass to give the Bobcats the ball on the Jumbos' 24−yard−line.
The Jumbos responded on their next possession with a 69−yard scoring drive, capped by a 9−yard connection from Fucillo to senior wideout Billy Mahler.
Senior receiver Greg Stewart was essential on the drive, converting a critical third down on a 21−yard catch−and−run after a knee−buckling fake on a Bates defender. Stewart finished with a game−high 13 catches after having just one reception in all of 2009.
But Bates responded, marching the ball 68 yards down the field on a scoring drive later in the quarter. On the possession, junior quarterback Ryan Katon found junior receiver John Squires three times, including on an 8−yard slant route for a touchdown.
The key play of the drive featured the 6−foot−7 Squires catching a high−arching Katon pass for 49 yards over 5−foot−9 sophomore cornerback Evan Parker.
"Height helps," said Squires, who frustrated the Jumbos' secondary all day and finished with nine catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. "It helps a lot. It was a big catch, and it was a good win for everybody."
The Jumbos took a 13−12 halftime lead into the locker rooms, thanks to a 41−yard field goal from Auerbach. They extended the margin just minutes into the second half, after a poor kickoff gave them the ball at the 50. Sophomore Dylan Haas then caught a sharp pass across the middle and took it down the sideline for a 24−yard score.
Another Squires touchdown in the third quarter, however, made the score 20−18 and pulled Bates within one score of the Jumbos. Tufts had resorted to playing cornerbacks 10 to 15 yards off the line in an attempt to contain Squires, but that simply allowed him to consistently gain yards through short slants or hooks.
"It's his time to shine," Bates head coach Mark Harriman said of Squires. "He played for us last year but was behind a couple of veteran receivers. It's nice to go to 6−foot−7."
Part of the problem from Tufts' standpoint was the Bobcats' new triple−option offense, which featured one or two wingbacks in the game on every play. This forced the Jumbos to have the box loaded up at all times, leaving defensive backs to match up 1−on−1 with receivers.
"That wishbone is very effective assignment football," Jumbos defensive coordinator Scott Rynne said. "[They] spread you out — you have to make sure you're disciplined in your approach, and I thought we were. We made some plays, but they made more plays."
Tufts controlled the Bobcats for much of the afternoon — Bates rushed for an average of under 3 yards per carry — but three long scoring drives of 68, 71 and 85 yards were the Jumbos' undoing.
"We had them scouted," Tufts senior linebacker Matt Murray said. "We came out, they didn't do anything differently. Just a tough game. I thought we played well on some drives, and some other drives we just fell apart."
