The chains were on the field and the game was in the balance. Both teams thought the ball was theirs. For the Amherst players, it seemed as if the gutsy call of Coach E.J. Mills had paid off. Aaron Rauh had plowed forward on a fourth and one from Amherst’s own 29, up by seven with just over five minutes to play, and the Amherst offense was celebrating that he had eked out the all-important yard. The Tufts defense was having none of that. They were pointing towards the Jeffs’ endzone, thinking that the defensive line had stopped Rauh and turned Mills’ decision not to punt into a massive mistake. In the end, though, the game of inches turned Amherst’s way. The referee pointed in the Jeffs’ favor and Tufts’ furious comeback was put to an end.
The Family Weekend crowd was treated to quite a show this past Saturday, witnessing a first half offensive explosion by the Lord Jeffs followed by a nerve-racking finish that saw the Jeffs pull out a 24-17 victory over the Tufts Jumbos, and move to 5-1 on the season. Even without the services of senior running back Eric NeSmith, who was out with an ankle injury, the Jeffs were able to rush for 125 yards and a touchdown led by the tandem of junior Aaron Rauh and sophomore Femi Oyalowo, and to control the clock and hold on to their lead. On the opposite side of the rushing attack, Amherst held the Jumbos to 14 rushing yards total.
After a slow first quarter, with the only points coming on a 35-yard field goal by junior Matt Eberhart, the Jeffs dominated the second quarter, scoring 21 points. The first touchdown of the game came on a five-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Alex Vetras to sophomore receiver Sean Legister, only two minutes and 11 seconds into the second quarter. Just four minutes later, Rauh was able to put the ball in the endzone again for the Jeffs on a two-yard touchdown run, his fifth of the season. Amherst was able to score a third touchdown, once again led by the arm of Vetras, as he completed a 22-yard pass to first-year Andrew Reed in the back corner of the endzone with just 4 seconds left in the half, giving the Jeff’s a 24-0 lead heading into halftime.
The second half saw a reversal of fortunes. The Amherst offense managed no points while Tufts rang off 17. Amherst led 24-7 at the end of the third quarter, and was able to control the clock in the fourth to hold on for the 24-17 win. Rauh’s crucial first down pickup with five minutes left forced Tufts to take all of its timeouts while on defense and seriously hindered its comeback attempt. The Jeffs’ defense, which had been putting outstanding pressure on the Jumbos all day, stepped up when it mattered most, as senior captain Guy Matisis and junior Edwin Urey both had sacks on Tufts’ final drive of the game, forcing the Jumbos into a 4th-and-33 from their own seven yard line. The Jumbos were not able to convert, and from there the Jeffs sealed the deal.
The win sets up a season-defining showdown with undefeated Trinity College (6-0) next week in Hartford. Should Amherst win that game and then take down Williams at Homecoming, the NESCAC crown is theirs. “One of our goals was to win the Little Three and the NESCACs, and we have been in close games all season,” said Mills. “These close games will help us in the next two weeks, especially coming into the last two weeks of the season and arguably our two biggest games.”
If they’re going to win the NESCAC, their defense is going to need a performance similar to Saturday’s. They picked up eight sacks, harassing the Tufts quarterback throughout the game. “We were able to get great pressure on their quarterback all day, and we were able to keep him on his toes,” said Matisis. “The disruption of the quarterback really helped us, especially on that last drive when we were trying to put them away.”
In the passing game, Vetras finished the game 26-for-38 for 246 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. His most potent target was junior Brandon Bullock, who pulled in eight catches for 83 yards before being injured just before halftime. Bullock has been a favorite target of Vetras all season, and hopes to be able to get back healthy in time for the last two games. “One of our main goals has been winning the NESCAC Championship and of course beating Williams,” said Bullock. “I feel like the way this team is playing, we can certainly accomplish that, and I want to do whatever I can to help that … The NESCAC Championship may pretty much end up being decided next week, and we want to make sure we are the ones leaving Trinity winners.”