#5 Football wins at Homecoming
Football makes one of two appearances in the top 10 here at number five. This year's Homecoming game on Oct. 20, against the Cardinals of Wesleyan University, turned out to be a blowout win for the Lord Jeffs. In front of a large crowd, they showed why this year's team was something special.
The 23-0 rout of Wesleyan was the result of a team that saw both the offense and defense fire on all cylinders. The offense was sparked by QB Marsh Moseley '05, who came off the bench in the second quarter to go 8-16 for 129 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut.
The running and passing games were also key in the big win. Okey Ugwonali '02 rushed for 138 yards on 28 carries and quad-captain Derrell Wright '02 had 109 receiving yards on eight catches during the day.
The Jeff offense started out sluggishly in the first half, but the entry of Moseley into the game seemed to inspire the team to play an impassioned second half. The Jeff defense limited the Cardinals to just 51 yards of total offense in the second half, while the offensive line overpowered the Wesleyan defense, opening up what had been a somewhat stagnant running attack.
The duo of Ugwonali and Fletcher Ladd '04 led the ground attack in the second half with 159 of their 245 total rushing yards in the second half alone.
The success of the ground game created opportunities for Moseley, who took almost all of the snaps for Amherst during the second half and went on to throw two touchdown passes. Prior to the game, the Jeffs had been held without a touchdown pass for three weeks. For his efforts, Moseley earned co-NESCAC Rookie of the Week honors.
While the offense's strong performance was a pleasant and welcome surprise, the Jeff defense continued their impenetrable play, recording its third shutout of the year. The Cardinals managed just 165 yards of total offense, including losing 10 yards in the third quarter, versus the Jeff offense which produced 413 yards. The defense shut out a Cardinal team that had averaged 27.5 points per game entering the contest.
But Head Coach E.J. Mills credited an unlikely source as being most responsible for his defense's impressive effort against Wesleyan. "The defense was really great," said Mills.
"But the key to the shutout was the punting game. [Geoff] Bough ['03] continues to do a great job of pinning the opposition deep inside their own territory."
#4 Basketball beats Fisher
The men's basketball team had what can only be called a dream season, breezing through the NESCAC Tournament and making the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many years. Their 22-6 record tied them for the most wins in Amherst history.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Amherst defeated St. John Fisher College, 89-76 on March 1 at their home court. The Jeffs took a five-point lead into the half and would never relinquish that lead in the second half.
With 11:41 remaining in the game, St. John Fisher was able to close the lead to 54-52, but an Adam Harper '04 steal and layup sparked Amherst to a 10-2 run that put the game out of reach for St. John Fisher.
In front of a large home crowd, the Jeffs ended the game with seven straight free throws and a breakaway dunk by Pat Taverna '02. Tri-captain Brian Daoust '01 paced the Jeffs with 16 points in the game. He also scored his 1000th career point in the game.
Other notable players include Harper, who added 13 points and a career high seven steals, and Taverna, who added a career high 12 points on five-for-five shooting.
The Jeffs next took on the Cougars of Clark University in the second round of the tournament on March 3. In a strange coincidence, they lost the game 89-76, the same score with which they defeated St. John Fisher.
The game marked the second time that season that Amherst had faced Clark. The first time they met in the regular season resulted in a 118-111 thriller that saw the Jeffs fall in three overtimes.
Like the first game, this one would also be close throughout and went down to the last 10 minutes of the game.
The Jeffs trailed by four points at the halftime buzzer and came out of the locker room with a sense of urgency. With 11:40 left in the game the Jeffs took a five-point lead. Unfortunately, Clark responded to the challenge and made a 16-2 run that would finally put Amherst away.
The loss notwithstanding, the Jeffs can reflect on what they had accomplished in their Cinderella season and can take solace in their hard work ethic and intense play.
"We gave it our best shot and everyone played as hard as they could," said Ryan Faulkner '03. "A couple of things just didn't go our way and Clark played an excellent game."