Box
Score
Photo
Gallery
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA-Head Coach Mike Whalen couldn't have summed it
up any better, warning a victorious Eph squad (1-2) that they had
been "very fortunate" to come up with a 31-26 win over Bates
College (0-3). Fortunate though they may have been, Williams
looked spectacular in the second half, storming back from a 14
point first half deficit to earn their first victory of the year.
Perhaps experiencing a bit of an emotional hangover from the
Trinity game last weekend, the Ephs struggled to move the ball
early in the game. The Bobcats, on the other hand, moved the
ball extremely well early. After gaining great field position
in the first quarter due to a Williams' special teams penalty,
Bates executed a play-action bootleg that caught the Eph defense
off-guard, leading to a completion within the Eph 25-yard
line. A 20 yard slant complete to Tom Beaton would bring the
Bobcats down to the Williams 5-yard line, where sophomore tight end
Sean Wirth would soon put his 6'7" frame to good use by hauling in
the Bobcats first touchdown of the day on a fade to the corner.
Lucey didn't look quite himself in the first half, ending
Williams first possession with a bad interception into double
coverage and overthrowing targets most Williams fans are used to
seeing him hit. Lucey appeared to be getting back to form
after hitting his favorite target Ryan Powell across the middle for
a 21-yard gain into Bobcat territory, however that would be
followed up by an interception in the end zone by defensive back
Bill Jennings. Jennings would return the tipped pass -
intended for Eph tri-captain Jeff Egizi - for 38 yards.
The play seemed to spark the Bobcats, as on the next play
running back Greg Thornton would snap off a 32 yard run down to the
Eph 30-yard line. Quarterback Brandon Colon would then throw
his second touchdown of the day, as receiver Matt Gregg would beat
his man to the end zone in capping off a two-play, 62 yard scoring
drive for the Bobcats.
Bates would miss the PAT, but besides that the Bobcats seemingly
could do no wrong for most of the first half. After finally
moving the chains with some consistency, a 35-yard field goal
attempt by Williams was spoiled by junior Coleman Peeke.
Peeke's block would fall right into the hands of Bobcat Graham
Raymond, who would take it into the end zone untouched for a
71-yard score.
The play highlighted some field goal difficulties that have
plagued Williams now in two straight games, as Williams also missed
two PATs.
Said Coach Whalen: "Today it didn't look like it was a snap or a
hold situation. With Sobolewski (the Eph kicker) it's a
confidence thing...you miss one and then you start to change
things."
Facing a surprising 20-0 deficit in the second quarter, Williams
would finally get off the snide on a screen pass to senior Kevin
Flynn that would go for 35-yards and a score. Flynn had a
huge first half, compiling 138 all-purpose yards.
Flynn wouldn't stop there either, opening up the second half
with a 41-yard return to the Bobcat 45. From there Williams
would put together a strong scoring drive, as Flynn and Morrissey
combined for a lot of tough yards leading to an 8-yard touchdown
strike from Lucey to senior Craig Sundberg.
The Williams defense took the field with a vengeance in the
second half, stuffing the Bobcats' first series on three straight
plays and forcing a punt. A Bates' special teams blunder a
series later would give the Eph defense another opportunity to
shine, as the Bates' return man would signal for a fair catch on
his own 3-yard line. After a great backfield tackle by Eph
tri-captain Jordan O'Reilly, Bates would be forced to punt yet
again after going three-and-out. Do-it-all Flynn would return
the punt 15 yards and run for 20 yards on consecutive plays to
bring Williams down to the Bobcat 20-yard line.
On fourth and 10 and trailing by seven, Williams would then look
to Lucey, as they have so many times in his career, to make
something out of nothing. Lucey would not disappoint,
scrambling out to his right before throwing what looked like a
prayer to Craig Sundberg in the front corner of the end zone for
the score.
"I couldn't be happier for a kid like Craig Sundberg," said
Coach Whalen. "The kid just works his tail off...he's not as
gifted as a lot of the other receivers we've had here, but he's a
great blocker, he knows his assignments, and today obviously he
made some huge plays."
Williams would've evened the score if not for their second
missed PAT of the game.
In the fourth quarter Williams would take the lead for the first
time with 10:54 to go in the game. After a 29 yard completion
to sophomore Nick Caro brought the Ephs to within striking
distance, Williams would exploit the Bobcats shaky run defense with
six straight runs ending in a Brian Morrissey score.
Even with all the momentum against them and on the wrong end of
a 25-20 score, the Bobcats would answer back. After a long
pass play brought them to the Williams 27-yard line, things started
to look glum for Bates as they were unable to move the ball for
three downs. Again though, Bates' would come up with the big
play as Colon would find Tom Beaton - who somehow got by everyone
on the field - in the end zone to give the Bobcats a 26-25 lead.
As they've done time and time again in this young season, the
Ephs refused to give up. This attitude was manifest
especially in junior Brian Egan's huge first down pickup on the
Ephs' ensuing drive. On third and five Egan caught a swing
pass out by the sideline before lowering his shoulder and barreling
through a Bates defender to keep the drive alive. It's a good
thing he did too, as on the next play Lucey found Nick Caro down
the right sideline for a 51 yard score and a 31-26 lead with 5:41
to go.
A Bates punt would give the Ephs the ball back, and they
wouldn't relinquish it for the rest of the game. As time
ticked away the Ephs' Morrissey rattled off a 33 yard run down to
the Bobcat 6-yard line, icing the game for Williams.
Morrissey finished the day with 130 yards on 24 carries and a TD.
Williams was able to withstand a great game from Bates
quarterback Brandon Colon, who threw for three touchdowns and no
interceptions.
On the other side, Pat Lucey turned in an all-too-usual 348
yards passing on 31 of 44 attempts, including four touchdown
passes. Some less familiar faces also came up with huge games
for the Ephs though, including receivers Craig Sundberg and Nick
Caro who combined for 3 touchdown catches. Senior Kevin Flynn
ended a career day with a touchdown and 276 all-purpose yards,
including four kickoff returns for a total of 123 yards.
When asked what keyed the second half charge, Coach Whalen
pointed to the teams' ability to respond to a half-time challenge
from the coaching staff.
"We felt, up in the box, that there were things open but we just
weren't making the right reads or that even if 10 guys were doing
the right thing, maybe one guy was breaking down and that's where
we were getting hurt."
"I give Pat Lucey a lot of credit; obviously he's got high
standards and really improved on his first half performance."
Coach Whalen told the team after the game that even though he
was glad they responded to his half-time challenge, "we can't
accept the type of performance we gave in the first half...the
question is how do we learn from this for next week?"
Williams will look to answer this question while practicing for
an undefeated Middlebury team which they will face in an away game
next Saturday at 1:30 pm.
