Coming off a steamrolling 41–20 win against Williams last week, Tufts football looked like it had settled into its groove against its fellow NESCAC opponents. However, Tufts came up short against Colby on Saturday.
“We don’t go into games with expectations of winning or losing, I would say just executing and doing our jobs to the best of our ability,” sophomore defensive lineman Mario Crocitto wrote in a message to the Daily.
In pregame evaluations, JumboCast hosts junior Marcus Sapuppo and first-year Max Roche both agreed they anticipated a low-scoring Tufts victory, factoring in a battle against high wind speeds and a statistically strong performance by Tufts this season. While not expected to be an easy game, the slow-dragging morale-crusher it turned out to be shocked the crowds.
Tufts started off stable with a relatively successful first drive that incrementally gained yardage against the meat-grinder of Colby’s defense, until a false start by Tufts knocked them back, followed by a sack on sophomore quarterback Hudson Weidman.
For the next few drives, Tufts’ defense held its own with big stops, but on the turnover, miscommunication and stress began to show. The Jumbos incurred a second false start, and the Mules continued to find holes in the defense, preventing significant gains.
Further failures to connect with receivers, repeat false starts and offside penalties plagued both Tufts’ and Colby’s offense, leaving most of the first quarter scoreless. Weidman and junior running back Christian Shapiro made successful passes on a third down to gain more yardage, which was promptly lost by a false start that forced the punting unit to move back. As the punter kicked, the ball ricocheted between a Colby player’s helmet and his own, leaving players scrambling to recover it and adding to the chaos of the game. Colby chose to kick on their fourth down, succeeding and bringing the score to 3–0 in Colby’s favor. A steely return was made by Tufts, with Weidman firing the ball to junior wide receiver Matt Rios, who made a heroic push for the end zone, dragging a Colby player along around his waist for close to 30 yards.
At the top of the second quarter, Colby handed it off to running back Antone Moreis, who ripped through the Tufts defense for a 45-yard rushing touchdown, with Colby securing the field goal afterwards. The score then stood at 10–0. The valiant attempts by Tufts’ offense to brush off the injury fell short of conquering Colby’s towering defensive linemen.
On the turnover, the Jumbos’ defense tried to lock up the Mules on the line of scrimmage, but Moreis broke through the scuffle and made a rushing touchdown of close to 80 yards, forcing the Jumbos into a 16-point deficit. Fortune favored the Jumbos on the field goal as the ball bounced off the goal posts, but further plays by the Jumbos’ offense failed to mark the scoreboard.
At the end of the quarter, Colby went for the kick, taking the score to 19–0 with 49 seconds on the clock.
At the top of the second half, Colby’s decisive plays and big rushing carries were cornered by the Tufts, with the defense pushing Moreis to the outside, staying on their toes on fake hand-offs, and getting up in Colby quarterback Patrick Miller’s grill in order to pressure him to throw away.
Tufts had a relatively successful drive, with Weidman making a heartfelt rush towards the end zone, hightailing out of the grip of Colby players. With the gains he made, Shapiro was able to shove through the pig pile to gain the first Jumbo touchdown, alleviating pressure on the Jumbos, even though the 2-point conversion was unsuccessful.
The Tufts defense succeeded in blocking the next Colby drive, but a brutal punt turnover left the Tufts offense fighting on their 1-yard line, a feat that was repeated after Colby’s offensive drive. The morale in Ellis Oval matched that of the announcer’s voice when Colby’s Eli Soren’s second punt return left Tufts starting at the 1-yard line again.
On Colby’s possession with 12:35 left on the clock, the Mules threw a trick play to Moreis, who was able to run it deep and score a touchdown. The successful field goal afterwards left the Jumbos 26–6, and the Tufts offensive drive was unable to respond.
Despite good blocks by Tufts, rushing attacks proved effective, and on Colby’s second and five, Colby linebacker Quinton Delorey skirted past Tufts’ defense and made a straightaway for the end zone, with Tufts falling at his ankles. This touchdown rubbed salt in the wound as Colby secured their highest scoring game of the season.
Despite certain defeat and low morale in the stadium, Tufts continued to play with heart: Senior wide receiver CJ Burton hauled a catch into the 45-yard line, Weidman kept chucking deep and junior wide receiver Matt Greco and graduate student wide receiver Henry Fleckner continued to gain yardage. Yet, the Tufts team was still visibly frustrated with some chippy shoves occurring after the whistle. No significant gains were made as the clock dwindled down, and ultimately, Colby went home with the victory, 33–6.
Despite Tufts using up all of their time outs throughout the game, the team failed to bring together a coordinated effort against Colby the way they had against Williams last week. Tufts refused to take the loss lying down, but was ultimately unable to come back from mistakes that haunted them throughout the game.
Tufts has a game this Saturday against Middlebury. “[Middlebury] is a great program but we’re just focused on ourselves and playing for our seniors,” Crocitto wrote.
