Box Score
LEWISTON, MAINE -- After two big wins in the comfort of their
own backyard, the Williams College Ephs (3-0) faced their first
road challenge of the year this afternoon against the Bates College
Bobcats (1-2) at the newly-renovated Garcelon Field. It
appeared that the lack of a home crowd and the long bus ride to
Maine did little to affect their determination, however, as they
exploded for 6 touchdowns and 485 yards of total offense in a 41-0
shutout of Bates.
Senior quaterback Pat Moffitt lead the offensive barrage,
completing 21 of his 29 passes and throwing for three touchdowns
and 280 yards in his most impressive performance of the young
season. Junior linebacker Dylan Schultz was
the focal point of the Eph defensive lockdown, as he recorded a
sack, 2 tackles for a loss, and 10 solo tackles, all of which were
team-highs.
When asked if last week's triumphant win over Trinity might have
diminished the importance of the Bates game, Williams head coach
Aaron Kelton was quick in offering his answer.
"I told the guys all week that the Trinity game means nothing if
we didn't come out and win this one," said the rookie coach.
"We did a good job of deemphasizing that victory over the course of
the week and just focusing on getting ready for Bates. Some
solid gameplans were drawn up on offense and defense and our guys
did a great job executing them. Overall, we looked very
sharp."
The efficient execution of the offensive scheme enabled Moffitt
to distribute the football quite democratically, passing to nine
different Eph receivers on the day. The most productive of
these targets was junior receiver J.C. Stickney, who
caught 5 passes for 119 yards, including a 32-yard reception in the
first quarter that set-up the Ephs' opening score. Stickney
and Moffitt would connect deep again in the final fifteen minutes
on a 31-yard touchdown hookup that put Williams ahead 34-0.
"J.C. Stickney gave us a tremendous effort today," praised
Kelton. "It was really a breakout game for him and we hope it
can be a kind of confidence builder going forward. Pat
Moffitt played a really great game. He directed our offense
very well and made several key throws on third down to keep us on
the field. We had a lot of guys step up in the passing game
to make big plays."
Among those who got in on the airborne act were sophomore Darren
Hartwell, who followed up a monster game last week with 4 catches
for 37 yards, including a second quarter touchdown grab, the first
of Moffitt's three touchdown throws. Senior tight end Jon
Carroll was the recipient of the second, and he lead the receiving
unit in receptions with 5 for 57 yards. Junior B.J. Griffin
contributed 3 catches for 48 yards, and classmate Thomas Kearney
made a splash with a long 38-yard snag in the second quarter in
what Kelton acknowledged as an "outstanding effort."
The Williams ground game was operated by committee as well, with
6 different players carrying for positive yardage. Senior Ryan Lupo broke
the plain from 5 yards out for the Ephs first score in the opening
quarter, and freshman runningback Alex Scyocukra tacked on another
touchdown rush two Eph possessions later to put the team ahead
14-0.
On the other side of the football, the Eph defense was
suffocating, allowing just 82 total yards. Bobcat
quarterbacks combined for 19 passing yards on 2 completions, while
the runningbacks gained 63 yards on 38 carries. While the
unit did not force any turnovers, they did register 7 tackles for a
loss (2 of which were attributed to senior Dan Canina) and 2
sacks (awarded to Schultz and senior Tim Kiely).
"Our defense established the line of scrimmage in this game and
that was a huge key to our success," commented Kelton. "The
secondary didn't give up any big plays and our whole team tackled
well.
Next week, the Middlebury Panthers will travel to Williamstown
to try and derail the Ephs. The Panthers, who usually
rely on a prolific passing game, should be another tough challenge
for the Williams defense.
"[Bates] played a tough, physical game, and they tried to keep
us off balance with some blitzes, but we did a good job of picking
those up...and, other than a couple untimely penalties, we limited
our mistakes and looked very sharp in all facets of the game" noted
Kelton. "We're going to have to work hard this week and
strive to get even better. Middlebury is a team that's going
to throw the ball around and use all parts of the field, so we'll
have to be ready for their aggressive attack."
The Panthers-Ephs showdown will take place next Saturday at
Weston Field in Williamstown, with kickoff scheduled for
1:30PM.
