WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – In a matchup of two NESCAC powerhouses, the Williams Ephs (7-0) dominated the Trinity Bantams (6-1), 42-3, on the heels of a 175-yard, three-touchdown performance by running back
Joel Nicholas '23 and a fantastic defensive effort that held Trinity's explosive offense in check for the entirety of the game.
Through six games, Williams and Trinity put up similarly gaudy numbers on both offense and defense. Both teams scored at least 28 points in each of their six wins, and both defenses had allowed less than 13 points per game. All but one of the teams' twelve combined victories came by two touchdowns or more. These two teams didn't just win; they dominated. It was surprising, therefore, to see such a lopsided matchup that Williams controlled from the opening whistle.
"We wanted to make sure we got the running game going and were physical on both sides of the ball," remarked Eph head coach
Mark Raymond following the statement win. "The guys prepared so well and executed flawlessly today."
Nicholas, who ran for over ten yards per carry, paced a Williams rushing attack that racked up a whopping 313 yards on the ground against a strong Trinity front. The Bantams, on the other hand, managed just 42 rushing yards on 32 attempts. The Ephs' defense held the Bantams' offense to a paltry 3.05 yards per play and limited the superstar receiver tandem of Jonathan Girard and Devante Reid to just eight catches and 95 yards. Trinity quarterback Spencer Fetter went just 15 of 28 for 141 yards (5.0 YPA), no touchdowns, and an interception.
"We were physical at the point of attack and kept everything in front of us in the passing game," said linebacker TJ Rothmann on the defense's performance. "They have two dynamic receivers, but I thought we did a great job with them, and they couldn't really get anything going in the ground game either."
On offense, quarterback
Bobby Maimaron '22 gashed the Trinity defense with an impressive rushing effort, carrying the ball 12 times for 66 yards (5.5 YPC) and a touchdown, while also throwing a beautiful deep pass to running back
Dan Vaughn '23 for a score through the air. Though he only caught one pass, wide receiver
Frank Stola '22 still made a significant impact, drawing double teams and indirectly helping the running game.
"Having the defense key [Stola] on the outside really opens things up for me," said Nicholas following the win. "He does as much for the running game as he does for the passing game."
The game started inauspiciously for Trinity when on their opening series, a fourth-down snap went over the head of punter Nick Mangino, who corralled the loose ball but was tackled by Eph defensive back
Drew Michalek '23 at the 6-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback
Bobby Maimaron '22 scored on a quarterback draw to put the Ephs up 7-0 less than five minutes into the game.
On the Ephs' next drive, Maimaron threw his first pass attempt of the day, which went for a 33-yard touchdown to running back
Dan Vaughn '23 on a go route down the left sideline. After Trinity responded with a field goal, the two teams exchanged punts, and Williams found itself with excellent starting field position at the Trinity 39-yard line. Following a first-down incompletion, Nicholas ripped off perhaps his most impressive run of the day. After bursting through the middle and stepping over two Trinity defenders, Nicholas spun out of a tackle attempt by Trinity safety Matt McCarthy and made an explosive cut to the right, outrunning two more Trinity defenders and rumbling into the end zone to extend the Ephs' lead to 21-3.
"That safety was just sitting there, and he wasn't really pursuing me too much, so I made a move on him," said Nicholas when asked about his impressive touchdown run. "Next thing you know, I'm doing a 360, and I see daylight, and I just go for it."
Trinity made it into Williams territory after a beautiful 30-yard pass from quarterback Spencer Fetter to wide receiver Devante Reid, but
Rocco Giandomenico broke up a fourth-down pass attempt from Fetter to tight end Jack Barrett on the next set of downs to end the threat.
The Bantams caught a break to begin the second half when a 67-yard touchdown run by Maimaron was called back to an illegal formation penalty. After forcing a Williams punt, Trinity drove into Williams territory again, but faced a third-and-18 after a holding penalty erased what would have been a key third down conversion. On that third-down play, Eph defensive back
Edward Manzella jumped Fetter's pass and picked it off, swinging the momentum of the game in Williams' favor once again.
After Nicholas sprinted down the right sideline for a 30-yard touchdown to make it 28-3, the Ephs forced another Trinity punt and six plays later, Nicholas scored his third touchdown of the day to further extend the Ephs' lead. Late in the fourth quarter, Vaughn scored for the second time from 12 yards out to make the final score of 42-3.
Raymond emphasized that the coaching staff's game plans on both sides of the ball were instrumental to the team's performance today. "I give a lot of credit to our assistant coaches. They really worked hard on the plan, put a great scheme together, and prepared the guys well."
Next week, the Ephs will play Wesleyan (6-1), who fell to Amherst in triple overtime earlier today, in their annual Homecoming game at Farley-Lamb Field.
