If any sport embodies the phrase ‘the show must go on,’ it is football.
In the midst of a weekend dominated by nor’easter conditions, in which organizations as high as MLB moved their contests out of New England, NESCAC football did not waver. On Saturday afternoon, the Tufts men’s football team traveled to Middletown, Connecticut, to take on Wesleyan. Last year, the Jumbos narrowly triumphed in their matchup against the Cardinals 22–20 at Ellis Oval. While this year’s 42–7 result undoubtedly favored the Cardinals, both teams weathered the rainy conditions, a testament to their determination and grit.
“The conditions played a bit of a factor into how we were going to call the game. I think the weather [ended] up being better than we expected it to be but we were definitely aware of the conditions,” junior quarterback Hudson Weidman wrote in a message to the Daily.
Tufts came into the contest riding high after a 42–28 takedown of Hamilton on Tufts Homecoming Weekend, a contest that secured head coach Jay Civetti’s spot as the program’s all-time wins leader.
“After the Hamilton game we were happy with the result of the game but knew we didn’t play well enough for our standard. We knew Wesleyan was a great team and that we were going to have to play better to put ourselves in a position to win the game. We were confident in our abilities nonetheless,” Weidman said.
However, a muffed punt by Jumbo’s junior returner Cameron Pineda minutes into the first quarter gave Wesleyan an immediate opportunity to take the lead. The Cardinals capitalized, with running back Angelo LaRose taking a handoff 17 yards to the end zone for the score. From there, the Cardinals never relinquished their lead. They continued to build a ground attack, with quarterback Matt Fitzsimons adding a 19-yard rushing touchdown of his own with under a minute remaining in the first quarter to double the Cardinals’ lead.
Undeterred, the Jumbos found their way onto the scoreboard following a 75-yard drive that ate half of the second quarter’s clock. Balancing the air and ground games, the Jumbos capped off rushing contributions from senior running back Christian Shapiro, junior running back Reed Ramirez and Weidman with a 12-yard pass from Weidman to senior tight end Ned Righellis for their first points of the day. Weidman had led the Jumbos down the field with previous sizable passing gains to junior tight end John Getman, including one for 11 yards on fourth and 10.
“After going down early, our mindset was to play the game as if it was 0–0 and play the game possession by possession and try and chip away little by little,” Weidman wrote.
Unfortunately for the Jumbos, though, the Cardinals quickly pulled away with the contest. Running back Matt Diaz put the team on his back during the ensuing drive, posting rushes of 16, 25 and, ultimately, one yard to double the Cardinals’ lead to 21–7 with four minutes remaining in the first half.
The second half offered more of the same for both sides, with another one-yard rushing touchdown from Diaz marking the only score in the third quarter. The fourth quarter saw Fitzsimons launch a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Blake Newcomb to expand the Cardinals’ lead and a nine-yard rush from running back Ryan Villano to bring the final score to 42–7.
What was an otherwise dreary day for the Jumbos still saw some highlights in the box score. Junior linebacker Ryan Horigan totaled 11 tackles, including three solo efforts and half a tackle for loss. Senior linebacker Riley Yaker added eight tackles of his own, while sophomore defensive lineman Patrick Keeley posted the Jumbos’ only sack of the afternoon. Junior wide receiver Granville Anderson II had a strong special teams showing, taking four kickoff returns for 90 yards during the contest, including a 34-yard effort.
The standout statistical performers, though, were the Cardinals. Fitzsimons was 11-of-14 passing for 184 yards and a touchdown, while Diaz posted 98 rushing yards to go along with two touchdowns. On the defensive side, defensive lineman Quinn Seeberan and his teammate Owen McDevitt each sacked Weidman, with Seeberan also forcing a fumble.
“Personally, the start to the season just hasn’t been good enough. We haven’t played up to our standard yet. The great news is there’s a lot of season left and a lot of opportunities to get better and reach our standard. Each week brings new opportunities,” Weidman wrote.
Ultimately, the Jumbos hope that the blistering winds wipe away the memories of their afternoon at Citrin Field. A solid season is still in the cards, the next hill to climb being a trip to Lewiston, Maine, to take on the Bates Bobcats, who narrowly beat the Jumbos 35–28 last year after a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback.
“Right now our only focus is Bates. They’re a strong team and going up there to play a night game is going to bring a hostile environment. We need to have a great week of practice to be ready to go up there and win,” Weidman concluded.
