Ephs Suffer Hard-Fought 27-24 Defeat Against Tufts

WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. -- Eph Football battled on Saturday afternoon against a strong Tufts Jumbos team, ultimately coming up just short in a 27-24 defeat. Despite clawing back from a 14-0 deficit to tie the game in the second half, the Ephs couldn't overcome some mistakes down the stretch. With the loss, Williams falls to 4-3 on the season, while the Jumbos advance to 5-2.

On a brisk and beautiful fall day, the home atmosphere was electric. Parents' Weekend meant that many families were in attendance, creating some extra energy from the Williams crowd as the Ephs received the opening kickoff.

The first Eph drive of the day unfortunately did not match this momentum, as a deep pass to sophomore receiver Brady Stahelski fell incomplete on second down and the Ephs were forced to punt. 

Tufts, on the other hand, started with a spark. Thanks to some key third-and-long conversions from quarterback Michael Berluti, the Jumbos marched down the field on their opening drive. After a 25-yard Berluti touchdown scramble was nullified by a holding penalty, Tufts scored two plays later, with a 15-yard designed touchdown run for backup quarterback Justin Keller putting the Jumbos ahead 7-0 with 9:49 remaining in the first quarter. 

The rest of the first quarter saw both defenses assert themselves. On the drive after Tufts' touchdown, Williams punted after three plays, and then the Eph defense forced a turnover on downs as Anthony Scala sacked Berluti on 4th-and-6 from the Williams 29 yard line. 



On the play after the sack, quarterback Owen McHugh found Brady Stahelski deep over the middle for a 44-yard gain to bring the Ephs to the Tufts 21 yard line. Suddenly, the Ephs had momentum. However, three plays later, on 4th-and-2, Williams failed to convert as McHugh's pass to senior Luke Bobo fell incomplete, giving the ball back to the Jumbos with 0:12 left in the first quarter. 

On the final play of the first quarter, the Jumbos snatched the momentum back as running back Christian Shapiro burst through a hole for 34 yards. After another big play, this time a 41-yard pass to receiver Cade Moore, Shapiro plowed in for a 2-yard touchdown to put Tufts ahead 14-0, with 13:12 remaining in the second quarter.

The Eph offense responded with a positive drive. After a first down, senior Mario Fischetti flashed some fancy footwork to evade multiple defenders, rushing for 46 yards down to the Tufts' 9 yard line. Unfortunately, on the tackle, Fischetti injured his ankle, and would miss the rest of the game. After his run, three straight incompletions meant that Ivan Shuran made a 26-yard field goal to cut the Eph deficit to 14-3 with 10:25 remaining in the second quarter.

The Eph defense then forced a three-and-out, and the ensuing Williams offensive drive crossed midfield before Tufts defender Henry Ferrelli intercepted a pass thrown by Owen Johansen at the Tufts 18. Johansen's interception came on a trick play, in which he caught a lateral before throwing back across the field. With this, the Jumbos took over with 5:12 remaining in the half.

The Eph defense was able to force another punt, giving the ball back to Williams with over three minutes left in the second quarter. The Eph offense capitalized on its ensuing drive, marching 61 yards in ten plays to score. On the drive, Williams converted on a fourth down and, two plays later, took advantage of a heads-up play by Johansen to gain 20 yards off of a deflected pass. Then, McHugh scrambled for an eight yard touchdown with 0:38 left in the half. 

Serious drama unfolded in those final 38 seconds. First, sophomore cornerback Brady Carroll undercut a Tufts pass over the middle on the first play of the Jumbos' drive, returning the interception to the Tufts 26 yard line and positioning the Ephs for additional points to end the half. However, after the Ephs moved to the Tufts 15 yard line, with only four seconds left, McHugh took a final shot to the end zone and was picked off by Tufts' Ty Richardson for a touch back. With that whirlwind complete, the Ephs entered the half down 14-10. 

The Jumbos opened the second half with a strong drive, marching 14 plays in over seven minutes. But the Eph defense refused to break in the red zone, forcing Tufts to settle for a 22-yard Vaughan Seelicke field goal to make the score 17-10 with 7:45 remaining in the third quarter. 

After the field goal, the Ephs and Jumbos traded punts. Williams then punted again, but the Jumbos' Louis Timmins muffed the kick and the Ephs recovered it. Nate Rosner actually ran the ball back for what seemed to be a touchdown, but by college rules, a muffed kick cannot be advanced, and so the Ephs took over again at the Tufts' 37 yard line. After two completions advanced the Ephs into the red zone, Timmins intercepted a McHugh pass in the end zone for a touch back, giving Tufts the ball back with 1:12 remaining in the third quarter. 

The Eph defense held strong again, forcing another three-and-out as the third quarter ended. During the majority of the second and third quarter, the defense kept the team alive with stop after stop. Linebacker Ethan Scott noted how his group adapted after the tough start to stymie Tufts. "We made some adjustments to how we were playing some of their gap-scheme stuff, and we had some success with those changes, we really slowed them down," he said. 

The Eph offense backed up its defense to start the fourth quarter. A 27-yard connection from McHugh to Johansen was followed by an incredible lunging grab by Cameron Lee in the back of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown that tied the game 17-17, with 13:44 to go. 

Tufts punted back to the Ephs again on its next drive, but Williams had a three-and-out, giving the Jumbos the ball back with 8:47 left in the fourth. Finally, the Jumbos were able to flex some offensive muscle, with strong running by Shapiro leading Tufts downfield and chewing serious clock. With 3:14 remaining, Moore caught a 17-yard touchdown pass to put the Jumbos back in front, 24-17. 

Williams took over with the chance to tie the score, but on the drive's second play, McHugh's pass to Lee was intercepted by Jeff Xu, who returned the ball 23 yards to the Williams 13. Tufts then ran the ball three times in succession, forcing the Ephs to burn all three of their timeouts before Seelicke converted a 32-yard field goal to increase the Jumbos' lead to 27-17 with 2:21 left. 

The Ephs refused to quit, with McHugh engineering a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive in just 55 seconds that was capped by a 22-yard touchdown pass to Luke Bobo. But Shurin's onside kick was recovered by Tufts, who would run out the clock to hold on for a 27-24 victory. 

The loss stung for the Ephs, given their valiant comeback effort was ultimately undone by a few key plays. "We just didn't execute when we had to, and just too many mistakes, so we've gotta clean it up," said Scott.

For the Eph offense, McHugh went 15-of-34 passing for 212 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also led the team in rushing yards with 68 and a touchdown. Jon Oris added 60 yards on 14 carries, providing a steady presence in the backfield. Fischetti had compiled 50 yards on his two rushing attempts before his injury.

Johansen led a balanced receiving attack with 71 yards on four catches, with Stahelski chipping in 59 yards on three receptions and Lee contributing 46 yards, four catches, and a touchdown. 

On defense, senior linebacker Tim Landolfi led the team with nine tackles, including one sack. First-year corner back Andrew Kreakie added eight tackles and a pass breakup. 

The Ephs' next test is against Wesleyan on the road next Saturday at 1 p.m. Wesleyan enters the contest fresh off of a 31-14 victory at Amherst and has won four consecutive games.