Williams Drops Week 3 Road Game at Tufts 28-10

MEDFORD, MASS. -- Ephs football fell to Tufts on Saturday by a score of 28-10, bringing their record to 1-2 after a win in the season opener against Colby and a loss last weekend at Bowdoin. Tufts moved to 2-1.

The Williams defense forced a stop on the first Tufts drive after the Jumbos received the ball to open the game. Tufts was able to respond by forcing three-and-outs on the first two Williams drives, allowing their offense an opportunity to score late in the first quarter and take the lead. The open  score came on a 28-yard touchdown run from Chartellis Reece with 2:54 to play and the PAT made it 7-0 Jumbos.  

Wlliams was able to tie the game after a 61-yard run by Mario Fischetti set up a 13-yard touchdown pass from Eph quarterback Owen McHugh to senior Paul Harshbarger. Ivan Shuran's PAT knotted scoring at 7. The touchdown catch was one of Harshbarger's two receptions on the day. Tufts marched back down on their following drive, a 65-yard campaign that ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Jaden Richardson, bringing the scoring to 14-7 with 6:10 before the half. Tufts then held the Ephs at bay going into the break. Despite the deficit, head coach Mark Raymond praised his team's play over the first thirty minutes. "I thought we played a really good first half," said Raymond, "We made some good stops and made a couple of plays on offense. Unfortunately we couldn't replicate that in the second half."

To that end, Williams opened the second half with another three-and-out, followed by another long touchdown drive led by Berluti and finished by Richardson with another beautiful pass over the middle. This moved the score to 21-7 midway through the third. On the following drive, McHugh found Brady Stahelski for a 43-yard connection that set up a 32-yard Ivan Shuran field goal to make it 21-10.

Williams was unable to capitalize on chances in the fourth, as they went without scoring in the quarter. Another long touchdown pass from Berluti to Richardson, their third of the day, put the game away for good. 

Michael Berluti finished 23-33 for 265 yards and the three scores. The Jumbos' leading receiver, Richardson, had 153 yards and three touchdowns. Berluti also added 120 yards on the ground; he was Tufts' leading rusher. 

The Williams offense sputtered for the second consecutive week. McHugh finished 5-17 for 75 yards and an interception. Mario Fischetti, the Ephs' leading rusher, earned 138 yards. Some defensive highlights for Williams included James Hemmer, who amassed 14 tackles, and Tim Landolfi, who added 12 tackles. 

The Ephs (1-2) are at home against Middlebury (2-1) next week.