Box Score
MIDDLETOWN, CT - The Williams Football team (5-2) continued
their dominance of late at Wesleyan on Saturday, defeating the
Cardinals (4-3) by a score of 33-13. It was the eighth win in
a row for the Ephs over Wesleyan, and it was done convincingly, as
the Williams defense smothered the Cardinals all game.
With 9:48 to go in the first quarter, Williams struck first, as
senior running back Kevin Flynn scored on a 12 yard TD run.
Flynn had a huge day for Williams, going for 117 yards on only six
carries. His performance complimented junior running back
Brian Morrissey's, who went for 145 yards on 30 carries, all but
sealing his NESCAC rushing crown.
"I'm sure it's happened, but since I've been here, even as an
assistant, I can't remember the last time we've had two backs both
go for over 100 yards in a game," said Eph head coach Mike Whalen.
After Flynn's run, Wesleyan's defense did an admirable job for
most of the first half. But with time winding down in the
second quarter, the Ephs found the offensive firepower they've been
known for so far this season. Senior QB and tri-captain Pat
Lucey stepped up in the pocket and threw a strike to Ryan Powell
'09 to get within the Wesleyan 25. This would set up a
beautifully executed misdirection play resulting in a 20 yard gain,
as Kevin Flynn '08 - who had a huge game - received a screen pass
and took it down to the Wesleyan six yard line. A couple
plays later, Brian Morrissey '09 would punch it into the end zone
for his 12th touchdown of the year.
While not being able to get anything going offensively, Wesleyan
was still within reach at this point only down 13-0. That
would all change though on the next Williams possession. A
late fair catch call by Williams punt return man Flynn would result
in a Wesleyan penalty giving the Ephs great field position.
This would set up a play taking everyone by surprise, as on third
and six Pat Lucey let loose with a long pass down the left sideline
to a wide open Ryan Powell, who after catching the ball at the
Wesleyan 40 yard line was able to beat the only two remaining
Cardinals between him and the end zone, giving the Ephs a 19-0 lead
with just 34 seconds remaining in the half.
Desperately needing to regain some momentum in the second half,
a curious move by the Wesleyan coaching staff would provide
Williams with a huge edge out of the gate. Despite kicking
off to start the game, the Cardinals would elect to kick again to
start the second half, apparently in an effort to get the stiff
wind that had been blowing all game to be at their backs to start
the half. However, the move would backfire as Williams would
drive the ball 80 yards in about four minutes, resulting in a
fourth down TD pass to freshman tight end John Carroll. The
catch was Carroll's first collegiate score, and gave Williams a
26-0 lead with eleven minutes to go in the quarter.
On the very next series, Williams would force a three-and-out, a
seemingly huge momentum killer at the time. After taking over
on offense though, a Lucey pass to a wide open Jeff Egizi '08 would
bounce off his pads and result in an interception returned for a TD
by Cardinal Drew Dominguez.
Wesleyan would stop Williams on their next drive, and seemed to
finally have an edge in momentum, driving the ball into Williams
territory. Unfortunately a Zach Librizzi fumble would come at
the worst time, as Williams would recover and take over on
offense.
Adding insult to injury, Williams' do-it-all back Flynn would
snap off a 65-yard TD run just a play later to give Williams a 33-7
lead with 2:17 to go in the third quarter. The score would be
all Williams would need, as Williams forced a Wesleyan turnover on
downs to end the third, essentially icing the game given the
Cardinals inability to move the ball on offense.
Wesleyan running back Lane Kirsche would score on a 1-yard run
during garbage time in the fourth, but that would be all for the
Cardinals.
Eph QB Pat Lucey again triumphed through harsh conditions,
throwing for 217 yards and two touchdowns amidst wind and rain
remnants of Hurricane Noel.
"The last two weeks with the weather being the way it's been,
we've just been able to execute the passing game better than our
opponents because of Pat Lucey," said Coach Whalen. "We get
kind of spoiled with a guy like Pat Lucey: the wind doesn't affect
him, the rain doesn't affect him, he just goes out there and
performs."
After challenging his players during the week to shore up the
pass defense, Whalen lauded the team's response:
"We played a lot of zone, which we haven't done a lot of this
year, and did a great job of stopping what I think is a very, very
good passing team...defensively, we basically shut them out."
Senior Eph Jon Pritchard led Williams' impressive defensive
effort with 11 tackles.
Regarding the team's dominance of late, Coach Whalen had this to
say:
"After we started out 0-2, I think there was a lot of
speculation over what this team could achieve this year, and we
just kept telling the guys we can't control what everybody else
does, we can only control what we do. All we can do is focus
on taking it one game at a time and working hard in practice; and I
think we've done that and we've gotten a lot better on both sides
of the ball."
"I'm not worried about being in close games, we've been in close
games and I think our kids are confident. Amherst is a good
team and they're going to come to play...we're just going to work
hard and hopefully come away with a win and get back into the
championship hunt."
With a Middlebury loss next week against Tufts and a Williams
win, the championship scenario Whalen envisions would be entirely
possible. Williams will look to cap off an incredible
comeback season next week at homecoming. The Ephs will take
on the rival Lord Jeffs of Amherst at 12:00 pm on Weston Field.
