MEDFORD, MA – In a thrilling overtime affair that included seven lead changes, nearly 750 total yards, and several key special teams plays, the Williams Ephs (2-0) prevailed 32-29 in a gritty, resilient effort against the Tufts Jumbos (0-2), who gave Williams all they could handle despite losing starting quarterback Trevon Woodson to injury at the end of the first half.
After winning the coin toss and electing to kick, the Ephs held the Jumbos to a field goal on the first drive of overtime and then took just three plays to get into the end zone: a 17-yard pass from quarterback and reigning NESCAC Player of the Week
Bobby Maimaron '22 to wide receiver
Frank Stola '22, a 4-yard scramble to the left by Maimaron, and finally, a game-winning touchdown run straight up the middle by running back
Joel Nicholas '23, who pounded the Jumbos' defense with downhill runs to the tune of 94 yards on 22 attempts (4.3 YPC). Maimaron, who attacked through the air more often than he did last week, finished 14 of 28 for 198 yards (7.1 YPA) and a touchdown passing, and 12 attempts for 59 yards (4.9 YPC) on the ground. Though he was held without a reception in the first half, Stola made several important catches as the game wore on and ended up leading the Ephs with 5 receptions for 83 yards (16.6 YPR).
"If they kicked a field goal, we could go for a touchdown, and if we stopped them, all we'd need is a field goal," said Eph head coach
Mark Raymond on the team's decision to kick after winning the overtime coin toss. "We felt good putting the defense on, knowing what we had to get at that point."
Special teams, especially the kicking game, played a very important role in the outcome of the game. The Ephs wouldn't have made it to overtime without a clutch, game-tying, 33-yard field goal from kicker
Ivan Shuran '25, who converted all four of his kicks on the day (two field goals and two extra points). On the Jumbos' side, kicker Sal LoCoco missed two extra points, both of which were blocked, and a field goal that went wide left in the first half.
Shuran actually had to make his game-tying kick twice, as Tufts head coach Jay Civetti called a timeout right before the first attempt, icing the Williams kicker. "Ivan doesn't seem to be bothered by much," remarked Raymond. "He hammered the first one in, and after the timeout, he calmly just hammered the second one in, too. I don't think there was any doubt in his mind that he was going to make it."
Compared to each team's first game – the Ephs scored 28 against Middlebury in the first half, while the Jumbos allowed 35 to Trinity – the first two quarters were relatively low-scoring. Jumbos running back Tyler Johnson was the star of the first quarter, picking up 104 yards from scrimmage on 10 touches in the first quarter, but curiously only touched the ball twice for two net yards in the second. After Johnson broke off a 49-yard run on the Jumbos' third play from scrimmage, quarterback Trevon Woodson hit wide receiver Josh Meriweather on a pretty fade to the back-left corner of the end zone to give Tufts the lead at 6-0 (LoCoco's ensuing PAT was blocked by the Ephs).
Williams responded by forcing the Tufts offense into punting from their own 5-yard line, and then took advantage of the strong field position with a 6-play, 39-yard drive ending in a Maimaron touchdown run. Though LoCoco missed a field goal wide left on the Jumbos' next drive, Tufts got the ball back and drove methodically downfield on an 11-play, 62-yard drive, with Woodson hitting OJ Armstrong over the middle to put the Jumbos back on top, 12-7. LoCoco's extra point, however, was blocked again, this time by
Edward Manzella '22.
In the third quarter, the Ephs went on a quick 9-0 run, featuring a pretty wheel-route touchdown pass from Maimaron to running back
Dan Vaughn '23 and a 44-yard Shuran field goal that hit the crossbar but just barely passed through the uprights. But Tufts, led by backup quarterback Matt Crowley, stormed right back into the game with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Crowley to receiver Philip Lutz to take a 19-16 lead. In the fourth, the two teams traded touchdown drives, the Ephs scoring on a 2-yard run by Nicholas and the Jumbos on a 1-yard run by Johnson. The Ephs then ate most of the remaining six minutes of the clock in a drive that culminated in Shuran's game-tying field goal.
The Ephs and Jumbos each tallied 372 total yards, with the Ephs finding slightly more success on the ground and the Jumbos racking up most of their yards through the air. Tufts frequently converted third and fourth downs, going 10 for 18 (55.6%), while Williams went a still-respectable 7 for 16 (43.8%). Both teams were hamstrung by penalties, with the Ephs committing 10 for 92 yards compared to the Jumbos' 8 and 76 yards.
After rushing for over 140 yards against Middlebury last week, Maimaron was held to just 21 rushing yards in the first half. As the game went on, however, the Ephs started finding more success in the running game, especially through handoffs to Nicholas and Vaughn. Raymond highlighted the team's young offensive line as a key reason why the running game picked up towards the end of the game. "The more downs [our offensive line played], the better they got. They stepped up today."
Next Saturday, the Ephs will travel to Brunswick, Maine to face the Bowdoin Polar Bears (0-2), who lost 38-14 to Trinity earlier today.
