Ephs run past Colby, 38-0, in home opener

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Williams used a dominant run game, led by quarterback Owen Johansen, and a shutdown defense to earn a 38-0 win over Colby College in the home opener on Saturday afternoon.

Johansen, making his home debut at quarterback, finished the game with a whopping 223 rushing yards on 11 carries. 

"We knew Colby is a very difficult team to run against, they always have been for us," Head Coach Mark Raymond said after the game. "But our guys were up to the challenge today, they just came out and physically got after them, and our backs broke several tackles and ran hard and created several big runs for us." 

The fireworks started early for Williams. On the second play of the Ephs' second drive, Johansen faked a pitch to Jon Oris and kept the ball himself, cutting up the middle and turning on the jets down the left side to score a 71-yard touchdown with 9:10 to go in the first quarter.

After Johansen's touchdown, the Williams defense held strong on a 14-play Colby drive, stopping the Mules on a key fourth-and-one to give the ball back to the offense. Johansen then found success through the air, hitting Zach Falls for nine yards, Justice McGrail on a play-action pass over the middle for 24, and Falls again for a 13 yard pick-up that set up a 28-yard Leonardo Maiuolo field goal for a 10-0 lead with 11:07 to go in the half.

The Eph defense continued to make big plays, this time when Ben Yedid bulldozed Colby quarterback Miles Drake, causing a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Luke Mangini to set the offense up with good field position at the Colby 35. 

The Ephs offense quickly capitalized, with Johansen finding Jimmy Montesano on a fade in the back left corner of the end zone to give Williams a 17-0 lead with 7:43 to go in the second quarter. The defense would force two more Colby turnovers in the first half – first, a Wyatt Cotton interception on a deflected pass over the middle, then a strip sack by Jack Barber that he recovered himself – to preserve the scoreline heading into halftime.

On the Ephs' first drive of the second half, Oris, Johansen and Jon Marvan each ripped off chunk yardage on runs and Holden Gering got involved with a sliding 17-yard grab to set the Ephs up at the eleven-yard line. Johansen capped the nine-play drive with a ten yard touchdown run, getting around the left edge to make the score 24-0 with 7:52 to go in the third. 

Johansen continued to electrify the home crowd as the game tilted further in the Ephs' direction. On the next Williams offensive drive, he broke off a huge run on 3rd-and-1, eluding multiple defenders and following blockers down the sideline for 58 yards. Three plays later, he darted into the endzone for a four-yard score – his third rushing TD of the game – to give Wiliams a 31-0 lead.

The rushing attack kept hammering away to begin the fourth quarter. After another Colby punt, Marvan and Oris put together a steady drive, combining for ten rushes and moving the Ephs into the red zone. On 3rd-and-7, Montesano made a leaping one-handed grab on another end-zone fade to cap a stellar offensive day and make the score 38-0 with 5:56 left in the game.

The victory represents the third straight win for the Ephs against Colby, though the past two came in one-score games. This performance was notable given how solid Colby's defense looked during the Mules' 13-6 win over Trinity last weekend.

Next up, the Ephs will take on the Trinity, who are coming off a 30-13 win against Bates. Kickoff is slated for 1:30pm next Saturday, September 27, at home on Farley-Lamb Field.