MIDDLETOWN, CONN. -- Eph Football lost a heartbreaking road contest against the Wesleyan Cardinals on Saturday afternoon, with a touchdown in the final seconds giving the Cardinals a 25-24 win. After a defensive stalemate in the first half, a back-and-forth second half led to a climactic ending, with the Wesleyan faithful ultimately rewarded on Homecoming Weekend.
The crowd was out in full force for the Little Three rivalry game, with thousands packing the field as the Cardinals took the ball to begin the game. The Ephs immediately set a defensive tone, forcing a quick Wesleyan punt, before the Cardinals' defense returned the favor by forcing the Ephs into a three-and-out.
On the second Wesleyan drive of the game, quarterback Niko Candido connected with receiver Chase Wilson multiple times to push forward into Williams territory. But Eph linebacker Luke Mangini made two big plays to stifle the Wesleyan drive, stuffing a first down run before steamrolling Candido in the backfield for a ten yard sack. Forced into a 3rd-and-20, Candido threw an incomplete pass, and the Cardinals were forced to punt from the Williams 39 yard line.
The ensuing Eph drive began with two negative plays, and on 3rd-and-14 from the Williams 11, quarterback Owen McHugh was strip sacked by Mike Rowan, and the fumble was recovered by Wesleyan inside the Williams 10 yard line. Two plays later, Candido capitalized on the turnover by sneaking into the end zone for a one yard touchdown to give Wesleyan a 7-0 lead with 6:07 left in the first quarter.
McHugh was sacked on third down again on the Ephs' next drive, but Leonardo Maiuolo's punt went 56 yards, bouncing all the way to the Wesleyan 3 yard line. A three-and-out forced the Cardinals to punt from within their own end zone, and a strong headwind caused the punt to go only 26 yards, giving the Ephs excellent field position from the Wesleyan 32 yard line. Three plays later, McHugh rushed up the middle untouched for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7, with 0:59 remaining in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the defenses held strong. Four successive drives ended in punts or turnovers on downs, until the Cardinals got the ball back with under two minutes left in the half. A 47-yard bomb from Candido to Wilson set Wesleyan up for a 21-yard Gage Hammond field goal, to give the Cardinals a 10-7 lead going into the break.
At the half, the Ephs had only completed two pass attempts, which was partially due to the way the game was playing out, according Eph head coach Mark Raymond. "Our defense was playing well, so we thought we could get some things going in the run game and play a close game that way," he said.
The run game continued to be important to open the second half for the Ephs. Jon Oris, Will Sheskey, and McHugh made chunk runs to push the ball past midfield on the opening drive of the second half. Then, from a wildcat formation, receiver Owen Johansen took a direct snap and followed his blocks for a 46 yard touchdown to give the Ephs a 14-10 lead with 12:15 remaining in the third quarter.
The defense maintained this momentum by stopping a 3rd-and-1 Wesleyan run, forcing the Cardinals into a punt from midfield and continuing their dominant day. "Our defense was just lights out, making big plays," Coach Raymond said.
The team's momentum ended on their next offensive drive. On 3rd-and-4, a McHugh pass along the outside intended for Luke Bobo was undercut and intercepted by Dylan Connors, who returned it 41 yards for a Wesleyan touchdown. The ensuing extra point was bobbled, but holder Chase Vaughan managed to escape the pocket and find Will Rao in the end zone on a desperation throw to give the Cardinals a two-point conversion. Suddenly, Wesleyan had an 18-14 lead with 7:26 remaining in the third quarter.
Both defenses prevailed throughout the rest of the third quarter, as the teams traded punts twice. The Ephs' first drive of the fourth quarter resulted in another punt, but this time, Wesleyan muffed the kick and Will Sheskey recovered the ball at the 14 yard line. Sacks and penalties meant that Williams initially settled for a 28 yard field goal, which kicker Ivan Shurin missed. However, Wesleyan was penalized for roughing the kicker, and the Ephs took advantage with a five-yard Will Sheskey touchdown run, to take a 21-18 lead with 9:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Wesleyan's offense finally found some success on its next drive, rolling all the way inside the Williams 15 yard line with a balanced offensive attack. But on 2nd-and-12, Candido rolled out and threw a floating pass across his body that Holden Gerig hauled in for an interception in the end zone, giving the Ephs the ball back.
With under six minutes remaining in the game, the Ephs utilized a ground attack to chew clock and march up the field. Oris ripped off a 23 yard run, and then a facemask penalty and a 13 yard Johansen run put the Ephs in position for a late field goal. Shurin nailed a 44-yard attempt to increase the Eph lead to 24-18 with 1:48 remaining. "Ivan is a money player and he came up with a big field goal," coach Raymond said.
A holding penalty on Wesleyan's kick-off return pinned them at their own 7 yard-line, meaning the Cardinals would require a 93-yard scoring drive in under two minutes to win the game. Raymond noted that the defensive mantra remained the same as it had been all game, and which had proved successful for the Eph defense.
However, Wesleyan got off to a hot start, with a 43-yard pass to Blake Newcomb bringing the Cardinals to midfield within one play. Candido then converted on a third-and-four with a seven yard completion to Devin Hardy, then hit Hardy again over the middle to bring the Cardinals to the Williams 25 with a minute remaining.
Chaos ensued after the Hardy completion. First, Candido was penalized for intentional grounding, pushing the Cardinals back to the Williams 40 yard-line and draining ten seconds from the clock. Then, Candido rushed for 16 yards, getting out of bounds, before finding Newcomb over the middle for a 12-yard gain. Poor Wesleyan clock management meant that ten seconds drained from the clock after the first-down completion to Newcomb before the Cardinals used their last timeout with nine seconds remaining.
With possibly two plays remaining in the game, the Cardinals only needed one. Candido found Luke LaSaracina over the middle for a 14-yard touchdown, sending the stadium into a frenzy and tying the game at 24. Hammond's extra point was good, giving the Cardinals a 25-24 lead with only six seconds left. When the Ephs' desperation play failed, the outcome was complete. Wesleyan 25, Williams 24.Â
While the loss undoubtedly will sting for a while, Raymond was proud of the team's display. "Hell of a game, two good football teams, unfortunately they made the play at the end that beat us," he said.
McHugh finished the game 2-for-5 with 22 yards, as the Ephs stuck to the ground attack all day. Many players contributed to the rushing effort. Oris finished with 86 yards on 19 carries, McHugh added 77 net yards on 23 attempts and a touchdown, Johansen gained 57 yards on five carries and a touchdown, and Sheskey contributed five rushes, 14 yards, and a touchdown.
Defensively, Mangini was all over the field, leading the team with eight tackles and a sack. Zakkai Moore added seven tackles and one tackle for loss, and in the secondary Wyatt Cotton was stellar, with three pass breakups.
The Ephs move on with a Homecoming Day home showdown against the Amherst Mammoths, at noon on Saturday, November 9. Amherst is coming off of a 45-20 loss to Trinity.
