Wesleyan's homecoming victory put an abrupt end to Amherst's aspirations of a perfect season and an outright Little III Championship, and marked Head Coach E.J. Mills' first loss to the Cardinals-Wesleyan last defeated Amherst in 1993. Amherst, which shutout Colby 14-0 last week, now joins Wesleyan and Trinity College in second position in the NESCAC standings with a 4-1 record, one game behind still unbeaten Williams College.
Amherst's loss to Wesleyan was disappointing not only given the Jeffs' past success against their Little III rival but also considering Amherst's defensive domination of the game. Mills' crack unit forced five turnovers from Wesleyan, held the NESCAC's most prolific receiver without a catch and registered Amherst's only touchdown of the afternoon. However, an anemic offense and two special teams breakdowns conspired to deprive Amherst of victory. "Our offense didn't execute in the red zone and in the second half we were one for eight on third down," said J.P. Zito '03. "We need to be more efficient in red zone and third down situations if we want to score more points."
The loss also marred the extraordinary performance of free safety Jeremy Carroll '03, who had three interceptions, one of which he returned all the way to the end zone.
Up only 13-7 midway through the third quarter, Amherst nonetheless seemed to have the contest firmly in hand as the Cardinals' offense was unable to crack the opportunistic Jeff defense. Indeed, Wesleyan's first two possessions of the second half ended with turnovers. But Amherst's offense was unable to capitalize on the defense's good work, and the game's complexion changed drastically as a missed blocking assignment allowed a Wesleyan player to block the punt of Geoff Bough '03. The heretofore dismal offense of Wesleyan took on new life as seasoned signal-caller Brennan Carney and company took possession of the ball at the Jeff 20-yard line. Four plays later, the homecoming crowd was celebrating tailback Young Douglas's second touchdown of the day. Amherst suddenly found itself trailing 14-13 in a game it had previously controlled.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Jeffs had two opportunities to salvage their perfect record. After a huge fourth-down stop by the defense ended a threatening Wesleyan drive, Amherst took possession of the ball at their own 20-yard line with just over four minutes remaining. A 20-yard run by standout tailback Fletcher Ladd '04 followed a few plays later by a clutch 29-yard reception by Zito on a third-and-nine put the Jeffs within striking distance of a game-winning score. After three consecutive rushes by Ladd, the Jeffs were faced with fourth-and-inches on the Wesleyan 21-yardline. Rather than attempt the go-ahead 38-yard field goal, Mills elected to go for the first down as the Jeffs ran a hurry-up quarterback sneak in an attempt to pick up the yardage. But the offensive line was unable to push Wesleyan back and Marsh Moseley '05 could not generate enough momentum on his own to pick up the necessary yardage. A jubilant Wesleyan team promptly took possession with just over one minute to play.
Amherst used a tough defensive stand and all its timeouts to recover the ball following a Wesleyan punt at their own 35-yardline with 46 seconds to play. Two consecutive Moseley completions followed by a 13-yard scramble by the Amherst quarterback put the team on Wesleyan's 32-yardline with nine seconds to play. Mills sent the field goal unit on the field, but Bodner, who had connected on his two previous attempts, had his 49-yard effort blocked as time expired.
Mills commented on his controversial decision to go for the first down rather than kick a relatively short field goal. "Could Bodner have made that kick? Absolutely," said Mills. "But a lot of things can go wrong on field goals. I just wanted to make [the attempt] easier for him." But unfortunately for Mills and the Jeffs the gamble failed and cost Amherst the game.
"It's easy when you're winning," said Mills. "The challenge is how you deal with a setback. The Wesleyan game is over and we are getting ready for Tufts now."
Amherst took a 7-0 lead when Carroll stepped in front of a Carney delivery early in the first quarter and returned the interception 33 yards to pay dirt. Wesleyan answered their guests on their next drive, as a long kickoff return allowed the Cardinals to start their drive just inside Amherst territory. Douglas capped the 9-play 47 yard touchdown drive with his first rushing touchdown of the day from three yards out. The Jeffs got two more Carroll picks in the first half as well as an onside kick by Mike Proman '03, but managed only a 13-7 lead going into the half.
Carroll was recognized as the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week for his outstanding performance. He leads the conference with seven picks this season. Ladd led the Jeffs offensively with 173 yards rushing on 38 carries, even more impressive considering that Wesleyan routinely had their linebackers and safeties inch up towards the line of scrimmage in anticipation of Amherst handing the ball to their workhorse. Ladd now has 824 rushing yards on the season which puts him on pace to surpass the College's single-season rushing record of 1,220 set by Josh Mason '97 in 1994.
On Oct. 12, the Jeffs blanked the White Mules of Colby College, 14-0, at home. The game was marked by cold and rainy conditions which limited the flexibility of each team's offense. Indeed neither team even attempted to throw a pass in the first quarter. Mills' defense earned its second shutout of the season, highlighted by a goal line stand late in the first quarter.
Offensively, Amherst was led again by Ladd. The Jeffs' stalwart tailback carried the ball 35 times for a career-high of 208 yards rushing and a touchdown, earning him co-Offensive Player of the Week in the NESCAC.
Zito continued to showcase his big-play abilities as he connected with Moseley on a 67-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
This Saturday, Amherst hosts 3-2 Tufts University. Tufts was defeated by Williams 36-28 this past week despite leading late in the fourth. Amherst will look to regain its momentum against last season's third best team in the conference. Mills and company know that they can assure themselves of at least a share of the NESCAC crown if they win out, but if they are to do that they must strengthen their passing game to give the struggling offense a boost.