At the beginning of the game, the offenses struggled; both teams punted on two consecutive drives and then turned the ball over via interception on the third. Tufts drew first blood early in the second quarter, capitalizing on an interception to the tune of six points. But the Amherst offense wouldn't remain quiet for long.
After Tufts scored, the Amherst offense gained a sense of urgency. Through the hardnosed running of tailbacks Aaron Rauh '10 and Eric NeSmith '09, Amherst finally came away with a score with 5:31 left in the second quarter. Mike Eberhart '10 put the ball through the uprights and Amherst was on the board with a field goal. Despite the wind, Eberhart was able to thread the ball through the goal posts from 23 yards.
During the first half, the Amherst defense was able to respond very well to Tufts' score in the second quarter. The defensive line was particularly effective at neutralizing the ground game. Any big gains by Tufts in the first half were immediately offset by the many tackles-for-loss the defense had. Rob Grammar '08, Greg Smith '09, Preston Puryear '09, Dakota Jones '07, Guy Matisis '09, A.J. Scola '09, Greg Muecke '07 and Mike Meola '09 all combined for nine tackles-for-a-loss, which set Tufts back 30 yards. But the stingy play of the defense and their ability to was greatly aided by leadership from senior quad-captains Brendan McKee and Mike Salerno. Salerno played tremendously for the Jeffs and recorded 17 tackles during the game. The elevated play of Salerno and others helped the offense to secure good field position on a drive late in the second quarter as defensive back Chris Mottau '08 intercepted a Tufts pass.
During the drive, which was kept alive by one costly Tufts penalty on an Amherst punt, signal caller and quad-captain Nick Kehoe '07 completed two passes. The strength of Kehoe's arm paired with the endurance of Rauh's legs made for a deadly combination as Amherst progressed to the one yard line. Kehoe then ran the ball in for a touchdown with 1:09 remaining in the first half.
After halftime, Amherst returned to the field determined. Nothing exemplified this better than a staunch defensive stand on the Amherst 30-yard line early in the third quarter. Tufts tried to gain momentum on the drive, but their passing attack was constantly thwarted by the Amherst secondary. Mottau seemed to be in the right place at an opportunistic time on Saturday and came away with two interceptions as a result; Grammar had a pass breakup, and Salerno seemed to inhabit every corner of the field. Consequently, the Tufts passing attack never got off the ground.
The Amherst offense did its part in the second half to complement the superior play of the defense. Late in the third quarter, NeSmith scored on a 28- yard touchdown run that put the Jeffs up 17-6. Amherst's potent rushing offense was the product of the dominant play of the offensive line. "The offensive and defensive linemen set the tone for the day, overpowering the Jumbos," said Salerno. Offensive lineman Matt Mascioli '07, filling in at left tackle for the injured Sam Rudman '09, played well in a new position. The rest of the offensive line, Smith, Nathaniel Riccardi '07, Dan Guariglia '08 and Justin Wiley '09 contributed mightily to the ground attack. The offensive line pass protected effectively in the fourth quarter, which allowed Kehoe to connect with receiver Mark Hannon '07 and add six more points to reach the final total of 24.
Next week, Amherst will travel into hostile territory to take on their toughest opponent yet, Trinity College. But the team is ready for the challenge. "We feel like we are playing some of our best football right now, and we know that is what it will take to beat Trinity," said Ryan Smith. Trinity has been at the top of the NESCAC in the past two years. Amherst will have to play its best game yet to beat the Trinity juggernaut.
NESCAC Notes
Williams leads the conference at 6-0, and Amherst and Trinity are tied for second with 5-1 records. Middlebury College-who gave Amherst their one loss- dropped to 4-2, and Tufts and Wesleyan University are tied at 3-3. Colby and Hamilton are 2-4, and Bates and Bowdoin are winless.