WILIAMSTOWN, MASS. -- Eph Football ended the season on a triumphant note with a decisive 21-0 victory over the Amherst Mammoths. A dominant defensive performance and steady rushing attack gave the Ephs an early lead, which the team never relinquished.
Prior to kickoff, the stadium environment was off the charts, as alums and students packed the stands to celebrate Homecoming against the rival Mammoths.
The Eph offense received the opening kickoff and immediately harnessed this atmosphere. Senior Jack Dickinson was inserted into the starting lineup at quarterback, and on 3rd-and-6 from the Williams 31, he found Luke Bobo over the middle for an 18 yard gain. After the completion to Bobo, the offense sprinkled in a variety of running packages, as Cameron Lee, Jon Oris, and Owen Johansen each had decent gains to move the Ephs downfield. Then, on 2nd-and-6 from the 13, Johansen took a direct snap and bounced outside, outrunning multiple Mammoths defenders down the left sideline for a touchdown. After Ivan Shurin's successful extra point, the Ephs had an early 7-0 lead, with 9:35 remaining in the first quarter.
Amherst responded with a solid kickoff return, but the Williams defense forced a three-and-out. Settling in, the Mammoths also forced an Eph punt. On the next Amherst drive, quarterback Marek Hill maneuvered the Mammoths into Eph territory, but a key nine-yard sack on third down by Uyi Osayimwen pushed Amherst out of field goal range and into another punt.
On the ensuing Eph drive, the offense was initially stymied for a three-and-out. However, on the first play of the second quarter, Leonardo Maiuol sent a booming 51-yard punt into the air, which caused Mammoths returner Sam Gerber to run backwards in an effort to field it. Gerber couldn't handle the ball cleanly and Cameron Lee recovered the fumble on the Amherst 15 to give the Eph offense new life.
Three plays later, the Ephs capitalized on the Mammoths' mistake. Johansen took another direct snap and eluded defenders to the outside, steaming into the end zone for an eight yard score, which put Williams ahead 14-0 with 13:17 remaining in the second quarter.
The score was Johansen's second rushing touchdown of the game, and he finished with 55 rushing yards on ten carries. Eph head coach Mark Raymond noted that Johansen, who played primarily receiver for the Ephs this season, threw a wrinkle into the Eph offense with his ability to run the ball on direct snaps. "He's a good player, a good athlete, and we've been trying to build that package up and he was awesome today," Raymond said.
After the Williams touchdown, Amherst put together a steady drive. Hill made plays in the air and on the ground to drive the Mammoths offense inside the Williams 25 yard line. But on 3rd-and-5, Hill was sacked by senior linebacker Tim Landolfi to push the Mammoths ten yards back, another critical situational sack by the Eph defense. Rather than attempting a long field goal, Amherst went for it on 4th-and-15, but Hill's 11-yard scramble was not enough for a first down, and the Williams offense took over with 7:09 remaining in the second quarter, as the long Amherst drive resulted in no points.
The next Eph offensive drive ended in a punt, but Amherst could not build any offensive momentum. New quarterback Jack Cox threw deep into double coverage on third down, and the ball was picked off by first year cornerback Andrew Kreakie with 2:13 remaining in the half. After the interception, neither team made offensive headway, and the Ephs went into the break ahead 14-0.
To open the third quarter, Amherst received the kickoff and drove down the field, with Hill repeatedly connecting with receiver Carter Jung to push the Mammoths inside the Williams 30. But the Eph defensive line came up strong again, stonewalling two Amherst rushes on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-2 to force a turnover on downs.
Both defenses imposed their will throughout the rest of the third quarter. Williams punted, then Amherst punted, and the Ephs punted again. On the next Mammoths drive, Hill was sacked on a 3rd-and-10 by first year defensive lineman Will Gale, as the Eph defensive line continued to wreak havoc.
Gale's sack prompted another Amherst punt, and the ensuing Eph drive moved into Amherst territory as Johansen picked up more rushing yards. But, as the fourth quarter began, the Ephs were forced to punt again to Amherst.
Amherst's offense finally found a spark on the ensuing drive. On 3rd-and-10, Hill threw under pressure deep down the right sideline, with his jump-ball pass caught by a leaping Christian Moore for a 38-yard gain to the Williams 42. On the next play, however, Hill felt pressure and forced a dangerous pass, which was intercepted by Holden Gering at the Williams 40, halting the brief Amherst offensive momentum.
The Ephs took over with 12:09 left in the fourth quarter and got to work. First, Johansen completed a 16-yard pass to tight end William Baker to move the Ephs into Amherst territory. Then, Dickinson took the top off the defense, finding Brady Stahelski deep over the middle for a 39-yard touchdown to give the Ephs a commanding 21-0 advantage with 10:08 left in the game.
Dickinson made his first start of the season in this game. "I thought that it was time to make a change," said Raymond, when describing the quarterback decision. Despite his lack of game reps this year, Dickinson led the offense with poise, finishing the game with 70 passing yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers.
On Amherst's drive following the touchdown, the Eph defense forced yet another turnover. A second-down pass from Hill was intercepted by Gering for his second takeaway of the game and his fifth interception of the season, giving the Ephs the ball back with 8:26 left in the game and effectively sealing the outcome.
From there, the Ephs chewed up over six minutes of clock with hard running from Sheskey and Oris, before turning the ball over on downs inside the Amherst 25.
With under two minutes left, a final Amherst drive ended fittingly, with senior linebacker Ethan Scott sacking Hill to put the game on ice. The team then knelt to chew the rest of the clock and cement a 21-0 shutout victory.
The complete team victory was exactly what the Ephs were looking for to conclude the season. "It means everything," said Raymond. "I'm really proud of the guys."
Offensively, in addition to Johansen, Oris gained 79 yards on 20 rushes, with Sheskey adding 20 yards on seven carries. Stahelski led the team with 39 receiving yards, all coming on his touchdown catch.
The team's defense played brilliantly all day, holding Amherst to under 60 rushing yards and forcing three interceptions. Gering was all over the field with ten tackles and his two interceptions. First year linebacker Luke Mangini added five tackles and one tackle for loss.
The Ephs close out the season with a 5-4 record, while Amherst ends the year with a 2-7 record. With the win in "The Biggest Little Game in America, the most played game in NCAA DIII and fourth most played game in all of NCAA Football the team embarked on "The Walk."
"The Walk" features the Eh team walking out of Farley-Lamb Field to walk through the center of town on Spring Street celebrating the win with the townsfolk before returning to Farley-Lamb Field. Sports Illustrated magazine has dubbed "The Walk, "The Best Post-Game Tradition in America."
