Tufts beats Colby for fifth win

Seven seasons. A combined record of 11-45. Multiple 0-8 seasons. The Jumbos' futile and heartbreaking seasons from 2008 to last year's respectable 4-4 finish loom over each new season, threatening to invalidate the tremendous effort expended every year. These ghastly memories were exorcised on Saturday, however, when Tufts defeated Colby in dominant fashion to earn the team its first winning record since 2007's 5-3 finish.

"I think the Colby game is always a hard game," coach Jay Civetti said. "They are well coached. They are resilient kids. They are very strong. Tufts hasn’t won there since, I think, 2003. It’s an overnight experience, which also just adds a different layer of distractions. Sometimes confidence or overconfidence allows you to play to the level of your opponents, and that can be a challenge."

The final score, 28-10, belies the one-sidedness of the game. Tufts seized an early lead in the first quarter and never looked back. It was not until the waning moments of the first half that Colby managed a field goal, setting the score at 14-3 and preventing a shutout. Two third-quarter touchdowns by the Jumbos later, and the game was all but out of reach for the Mules. Colby junior running back Jabari Hurdle-Price's one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter brought the score back to respectable range.

Colby's first two possessions and Tufts' first possession ended in punts as Colby struggled to find running room against Tufts' solid defensive front.Senior co-captain linebacker Matt McCormack in particular played the run well, racking up three tackles on just two possessions. Colby senior defensive tackle Harry Nicholas sacked junior quarterback Alex Snyder to derail the Tufts' first possession.

"[McCormack’s] a special player," Civetti said. "He’s a great captain. Guys just love playing hard for him. He’s got a great demeanor. He’s worked so hard to get to this point, and I felt terrible for him when he was out with the shoulder injury. But he’s been excellent. This week I think he was [firing] on all cylinders."

Tufts looked ready to break open the game on a drive that began at 8:13 in the first quarter from its own 46-yard line.Snyder hooked up with junior wide receiver Ben Berey on the left sideline for a chain-moving gain of 18 on third down.Junior running back and All-NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week Chance Brady rushed up the middle for three yards on the ensuing first down but found room outside on the next play when Snyder pitched to the right. Brady dodged one would-be tackler before being brought down for a gain of 11. Junior wide receiver and All-NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week Mike Rando gained four yards on a quick pass, and the Jumbos were at the Mules' 14. Brady spun through Colby's defensive line, but Colby junior defensive lineman Chris Marano poked the ball loose, allowing Colby to recover.

"It’s great," Brady said of his All-NESCAC honor. "It’s the first time I’ve ever won it. I actually owe a lot of credit to Mike Rando and Ben Berey. They had two huge blocks on the perimeter that sparked both touchdowns. On the first one Ben actually blocked two guys on the perimeter and allowed [me] to go off, and, Mike -- it wasn’t even his job. He just went and found work, and both of those allowed me to get into the end-zone and get Player of the Week, so I owe those guys a lot of gratitude."

Colby junior tri-captain quarterback Gabe Harrington dropped back on third-and-9 on the possession following the fumble but had no chance when multiple Tufts pass rushers beat their blockers and closed in from all directions. Junior linebacker Mike Stearns was the first to get to Harrington, sacking him for a loss of 12 and forcing a punt from sophomore John Baron.

Rando called for a fair catch at the Mules' 35, and the Jumbos' drive began with 3:57 remaining in the first. As if atoning for his earlier fumble, Brady raced around the right edge of the defensive line and zipped up the right sideline. There was no one there to catch him as he rocketed into the end-zone in just 10 seconds.

Despite Baron's converting on a fourth-down fake punt, Colby's next drive stalled out at Tufts' 33. Sophomore linebacker Zach Thomas added to his sack total on the drive with his NESCAC-leading eighth sack of the season.

Tufts displayed its season-long commitment to the run game on its first drive of the second quarter. Brady drew a face-mask penalty on junior defensive back Justin Lamere when he cut-back to the right, outran a defender and carried two tacklers for a few yards.The play advanced the Jumbos to their own 49-yard line. Slipping through a tiny window open for only a fraction of a second, Brady ripped off another gain of 20 yards and followed that with a tough inside run for eight yards. Junior running back Max Athy spelt Brady and converted the first down with his own seven-yard run. Colby coach Jonathan Michaeles was concerned with his team's collapsing run defense and called a timeout to allow the defense a breather. Colby halted Tufts' forward progress at its 14-yard line. Junior kicker Willie Holmquist missed his field goal attempt wide left from 31 yards out.

The offense came up empty-handed on their prior possession, but Rando's 41-yard punt return started Tufts off with excellent field position at Colby's 49-yard line. Rando originally made as if he were going to return to the left but instead bolted up the right side, maximizing his gain with his blistering speed. Usually an inside runner, Brady followed Rando's lead. Brady again rounded the right edge and sprinted past the too-late defenders into the end zone. Brady's 49-yard touchdown run was his longest run of the season and his NESCAC-leading 11th score.

"[I felt] a lot of [discomfort] outside," Brady said. "Both of those plays were designed inside, but that’s just not where the look was. I’m still saying I’m an inside guy. I must have had extra burners that day. We did have a good dinner the night before."

Hurdle-Price, second in the NESCAC in rushing yards after Brady, appeared poised to put Colby on the scoreboard. Colby's offensive line gifted Hurdle-Price his first clean look of the day on second-and-7 from its own 31, and the play should have resulted in a long Colby gain. However, sophomore defensive back J.P. Garcia committed a heads up play, running full tilt from the secondary and bringing down Hurdle-Price just as he hit the gap. Colby earned a couple of first downs before its drive petered out. Garcia's big play-saving stop is representative of the way Tufts' defense played as a whole.

"It feels great," Garcia said. "It’s really a result of everyone else doing their job. I just get lucky to make a run and get the tackle, but if it [weren't] for the 10 guys in front of me taking up blocks [and] making sure the fit is right, I wouldn’t be there making the play. So it is really a testament to the whole defense working together."

At the end of the first half, Harrington managed to scramble out of bounds after a 17-yard gain to set up a field-goal try. Civetti's strategy of calling two timeouts to ice opposing kickers failed twice, and Baron's 37-yard try was good. The Jumbos led 14-3 at halftime.

"Part of my focus at halftime with the guys was saying, ‘Hey, look, this game isn’t over -- we’ve got to put 30 minutes together,'" Civetti said. "'We’ve been in this situation before, [I said.] 'We’ve got to stay focused.' And I was so impressed by our seniors and by our team. They were so focused on playing one play at a time and weren’t looking at the scoreboard."

The Jumbos did not take kindly to the Mules' getting points on the board. Rando, a perennial threat as a punt- and kick-returner, received Baron's kick to begin the second half. Rando faked a counter handoff and blazed past the confused, recovering Colby kick return squad. Once he had crossed midfield, it became clear no one could catch Tufts' speedy return man. Rando earned his second touchdown of the season on an 85-yard kick return. Only one other player in the NESCAC has returned a kickoff for a touchdown this season.

"It felt great, especially coming right out of the half," Rando said. "We needed a big play, something to spark us. It felt good to be the kid to get in the end zone and get us going in the second half there. I’ve been returning kicks since [my first] year and haven’t found the end zone so it was nice to finally get in there off a kickoff return."

Just over a minute and a half later, Tufts started a drive at midfield. Snyder picked up a first down after escaping pressure to the right and turning a scramble into a 17-yard gain on third down.On fourth-and-1 at Colby's 24, Tufts elected to go for it rather than attempt the field goal. Brady not only picked up the first down, but also somehow slipped through a dog-pile of players for a 20-yard gain. 

"[The] bad week against Amherst...left a sour taste in my mouth," Brady said. "To try and promote myself as a premier back in the league and then go off for 40 yards is not good, and against Colby, I just wanted to get back to the roots. We are a team that can run the football, so I can open up routes for Snyder to pass it [and] bring all the dimensions of our offense back. I just really want to re-establish the run game."

Brady finished with 212 yards and leads the NESCAC in rushing touchdowns and yards.

"Chance carries a lot more than just the football on Saturdays," Civetti said. "His toughness, his work ethic, his resilience -- he gives everything he’s got for this team. When he’s on and he’s having a great day, people feed off of him. He gives you that extra inch, and you know that it’s because it’s so important to him that he [give] that to you."

On third-and-goal from Colby's 6, Snyder dropped back to pass. Rapidly running out of time with pass rushers closing in, Snyder calmly delivered a strike to sophomore wide receiver Mike Miller, who was streaking right in the middle of the end zone. Miller leapt over the cornerback and pinned the ball against his chest with one arm.

On Colby's lone score, Harrington connected with four different receivers before Hurdle-Price converted his one-yard try. It was the last score of the game, as Harrington was intercepted to end Colby's last two possessions.First-year defensive back Tim Preston intercepted Harrington first, tying him with two other players for most interceptions in the NESCAC at five. Senior linebacker Patrick Williams effectively ended the game when he intercepted Harrington with just over a minute to go.

Tufts plays the final game of the season at home against Middlebury with a chance to finish 6-2 for the first time since 2001.