Spirited defensive play from both teams, but particularly the Lord Jeffs, dominated the contest. In the second half, the Bantams could manage only two first downs against the Lord Jeffs, who were paced by their linebacking crew: junior Brandon Quinn, with 15 tackles and a quarterback sack, the ever-present Mike Taylor ’10, who chalked up 11 tackles and Jeff Katz ‘11, who finished with seven tackles and a pair of sacks.
On the offensive side of the ball, junior quarterback Alex Vetras had an overall respectable outing. Despite suffering two interceptions, his numbers were strong, with 21 pass completions out of 38 attempts for 252 passing yards and three touchdowns. Senior running back Aaron Rauh led Amherst rushers with 51 yards on 17 carries. Meanwhile, on the Bantams’ side of the ledger, Trinity senior running back Oliver Starnes rushed for over 100 yards in the first half alone, but was thoroughly shut down after intermission. Senior Bantam quarterback Craig Drusbosky also had a decent afternoon, completing 17 out of 29 attempts, with no touchdowns.
Trinity scored first on a Tim Costello field goal barely three minutes into the game, before adding a touchdown and a blocked extra point, courtesy of Amherst’s Brady Beneli ’11. Amherst closed the gap to 9-7 early in the second quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Vetras to sophomore receiver Will Reed, but a second field goal from Costello increased the Bantams’ lead to 12-7, a score which held until halftime.
The second half was all Amherst. While the defense throttled Trinity’s running attack, the offense found just enough to win, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a thrilling 37-yard strike from Vetras to sophomore Andrew Reed with some five minutes left in the third quarter. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving Amherst with a narrow 13-12 lead — but one the Lord Jeffs would not relinquish. Early in the fourth quarter, Bantam kick returner Harry Melendez fumbled a Matt Eberhart ’10 punt at the Trinity 15-yard line, and sophomore Gordie Lockbaum was there to recover for the Lord Jeffs. Two plays later, Vetras found junior wide receiver Brian Murphy for a nine-yard touchdown toss, followed by a Rawson point after, increasing Amherst’s lead to 20-12. Rawson would follow with a field goal in the closing two minutes of the game to make the final score 23-12.
The Lord Jeffs travel to Williamstown this week for the “Biggest Little Game in America.” At stake is nothing less than the championship of the NESCAC, as well as the Little Three title. An Amherst win would seal the Lord Jeffs’ sixth undefeated season and the third 8-0 record in the entire history of the school’s storied football program.