News
October 20
As Scott Treacy's final attempt at a miracle disappeared into the arms of a Williams defensive back with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game, all that was left for the senior quarterback to do was hang his head and walk slowly off the field.
The play epitomized the game for the Jumbos, who overcame an early 14-point deficit, only to have their effort ruined by a series of costly miscues in a wild 36-28 loss on a gusty and overcast afternoon.
The anticipated matchup of the Williams' offensive juggernaut versus the lockdown Jumbo D did not live up to billing in the first quarter. The Ephs won the opening toss and chose to defend, and they controlled the wind in the first and the fourth quarter. After a quick three and out, the Jumbos were forced to punt into the blistering gust, and Williams took over at the Tufts 34 yard line. Eph quarterback Joe Reardon, last year's NESCAC player of the year, had no problem picking apart Tufts' defense on a businesslike six play drive ending in a touchdown and a 7-0 Williams lead.
After another three and out series for the Jumbos, Williams took over at the Tufts 36-yard line and Reardon again quickly led the Ephs into the endzone for a 14-0 lead only six minutes into the contest.
"Williams has a good offense and you're asking for trouble anytime you give them a short field to work with," co-captain and cornerback Evan Zupancic said. "The wind was definitely a factor, but on their first couple of possessions, we also had some mental lapses and we let them out to a nice big lead."
Tufts finally got on the board after sophomore defensive back Donovan Brown picked a deflected Reardon pass and Tufts took over at the Williams 44. After Treacy threw a 23-yard completion down field to junior wideout Matt Cerne, he found a streaking Tim Mack in the right corner of the endzone to cut the Eph lead to 14-7.
"We ran a pick," Mack said. "My defender came down on the other outside guy, so I was just wide open in the corner of the endzone, and it was a pretty easy catch."
Williams struck again as the first quarter was winding down. On the second play of the Eph's next drive, Reardon found a receiver wide open in the middle of field who ran for 50 yards before being pulled down inside the Jumbos' ten. On first and goal, Reardon found his favorite target, Ryan Friend, who made a nifty sliding catch in the endzone to stake the Ephs to a 21-7 lead.
"We didn't come out hard at the beginning," said junior cornerback Mark Tilki, who finished the day with two interceptions. "We gave them too much of a cushion."
Tufts began the second quarter with the ball. Driving downfield on the back of sophomore backup halfback Steve Cincotta, the Jumbos drove to the Eph's 31-yard line before facing a fourth and long. With the wind at his back, kicker Marcellus Rolle hit a 49-yard field goal, the longest in school history, to cut the lead to 21-10.
"Basically, the wind was pushing to the left," Rolle said. "I just aimed for the right upright. Everything went perfectly, the snap was perfect, the hold was perfect, and the blocking was perfect. I had all the time I needed. My job was easy. I basically just snapped my leg."
After Rolle's field goal, the defense seemed to settle down. The Jumbos stopped the Ephs cold on two consecutive drives, each time giving Tufts solid field position. With under four minutes remaining in the half, Treacy rolled out and hit tight end Ryan Papi in the endzone. The Jumbos, however, failed on a two-point conversion attempt, and Williams' lead going into the half was 21-16.
Williams received the ball going into the wind to start the second half. On only the third play of the drive, an errant Reardon pass struck his fullback in the shoulder and bounced high in the air and into the arms of a stumbling Evan Zupancic. With the ball at the Williams 30, Tufts marched right into the Ephs' endzone to take its first lead of the game. The Jumbos, however, missed another two-point conversion and held only a wobbly 22-21 advantage.
Tufts held the same single point lead as the fourth quarter commenced. With the wind behind him, Reardon aggressively fired a deep pass downfield, which Tilki calmly stepped in front of and intercepted.
Tilki, the Jumbos' fastest man, returned the interception all the way to the Williams seven-yard line, setting up a first and goal with the opportunity for Tufts to extend the lead. Mcgraw was thrown for a loss on first down, and after an incomplete pass, Treacy hit Cerne who was stopped at the four-yard line setting up an eleven-yard field goal attempt. But Rolle, who earlier was the beneficiary of a strong wind, was forced to kick directly into it on this attempt, and could not capitalize, barely missing the chip shot.
Williams took over at its own 20-yard line and took little time to respond. On second down, Friend outran backup safety Mike Leist and reeled in a 65-yard gem from Reardon. On a fourth and goal from the 1, Williams ran the ball in for the touchdown, but it too missed a two-point conversion, putting its lead at 27-22.
The Jumbos responded, however, on what seemed to be the game's defining drive. Starting at his own 20, Treacy led the Jumbos down the field with one accurate pass after another. The drive deflated the Ephs, as they committed one pass interference penalty and two facemasks, one of which negated an interception. On a second down from inside the Eph's 20, Treacy lobbed a ball into the hands of 6'4" tight end Chris Roy, to give the Jumbos a 28-27 lead. Tufts again attempted a conversion, and again failed, as McGraw was dragged down as he tried to sprint left on a pitchout.
Clearly frustrated, Williams failed to ignite any offense on its next drive. An amazing 65-yard punt pinned the Jumbos inside their five-yard line and set up what was the game's most important play. On first down, Treacy handed off to McGraw, who looked to get the Jumbos out of the shadows of their own endzone. Williams' junior linebacker Graham Goldwasser flooded the gap however, bursting into the Jumbo backfield, and laying an immense hit on McGraw in his own endzone, good for two points and the ball.
On the first play from scrimmage, Williams running back Tim Crawley galloped 65 yards for a touchdown and a 36-28 lead. Though Tufts gained possession of the ball twice more, it was unable to score, and Treacy's interception, his first of the day, secured the game for the now 5-0 Ephs. The loss dropped the Jumbos to 3-2 and seriously damaged any shot they had of winning the NESCAC title.
"Today was an absolutely crazy game," Zupancic said. "The things that happened _ nobody ever would have ever thought some of those things could happen. But as a team you have to be prepared for everything. We made a lot of mistakes and the mental lapses killed our chances to win.
