WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Making his first collegiate start, first-year quarterback Drew Weiler led the Williams Ephs to a 34-0 victory over visiting Bates on Saturday afternoon at Farley-Lamb Field. The rookie threw for 219 yards and ran for a touchdown as Williams (3-1) racked up a season-high 404 yards of offense while the Eph defense held the Bobcats to 111in winning for the ninth straight meeting between the two teams.
Heading into the second quarter in a scoreless tie, Williams catapulted into a commanding lead. The Ephs outgained Bates by 147 yards and scored three touchdowns, entering the locker room up 21-0 at the half. Perhaps the biggest play of the Ephs' second-quarter surge came with the Ephs holding a 7-0 lead as the offense faced a 3rd-and-28 dilemma on its own 27.
After Williams Head Coach Mark Raymond called a timeout, the Ephs trotted back out to try and pull off a first down. Weiler took the snap and unloaded a perfect throw down the middle to streaking senior Brady Stahelski, who hauled in the catch for a gain of 55 yards.
After a holding penalty backed the team up on its ensuing play, Williams struck gold when Stahelski scored on a reverse untouched down the left sideline for a touchdown to put Williams ahead, 14-0.
The big throw to Stahelski was one of several on the day for Weiler as the first-year quarterback proved to be versatile in his debut, adding several chunk plays with his legs as he finished with 37 rushing yards and the first of four Eph rushing touchdowns as well.
"I thought [Weiler] had the skill set we were looking for to get this offense going," Coach Raymond said. "We felt like he was ready to go, and he did a really nice job today."
Although the Ephs didn't score in the first quarter, Weiler looked comfortable. During the Ephs' opening drive, he seemed ready to take off on a designed run play before spotting senior tight end Jimmy Montesano wide open on the left sideline for a 37-yard catch-and-run. That play previewed a big game, as Montesano finished with five catches for 84 yards.
The Ephs' first scoring drive began with 4:36 to go in the first quarter from their own 5-yard line. After the Ephs methodically worked the ball downfield, Weiler scored his first career touchdown on a 13-yard scramble, ducking around two defenders and lunging for the goal line. The score capped a 13-play drive that bled into the second quarter.
Bates continued to struggle to find running room offensively throughout the second quarter, as swarming pressure from the Ephs' interior forced the Bobcats into multiple punts. The Bobcats finished the game with 59 total rushing yards and just 2.0 yards per carry, in contrast to the Ephs' 185 yards on the ground.
"I'm very proud of the defense," Raymond said. "I thought we covered well, which enabled us to create some pass rush and be really good against the run."
Late in the second quarter, Weiler put together another highlight. With the Ephs at midfield, he stood tall in the pocket and delivered a high-arching, 42-yard strike to Montesano deep over the middle right before the two minute warning.
One play later, first-year running back Aidan Clark powered into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Ephs a commanding 21-0 lead. Clark and senior Matt Bott each had 11 carries and 52 rushing yards to lead a balanced rushing attack for Williams.
In the second half, the Ephs held firm. Although Weiler threw an early interception to the Bobcats' Jack Morrison, the Ephs' defense forced a turnover of their own when senior Brady Carroll leapt on the sideline to pick off Bates quarterback Jack Gilmore.
Carroll's interception set up senior Leonardo Mauiolo for a 34-yard field goal to make the score 24-0. Then, after forcing a Bates punt, the Ephs took over with just under five minutes left in the third and went on a long drive that culminated in another Mauiolo field goal, this time from 21 yards, to put the Ephs ahead 27-0 with 13:02 to play.
As the game wound down in the fourth quarter, senior Holden Gering added an interception, the first of his season. With under two minutes left, first-year Quinn Rucker put the cherry on top of a commanding victory with a 4-yard rushing touchdown, the first of his career.
Senior defensive tackle Will Gale made a huge impact inside, finishing with two sacks and making Gilmore's life difficult all day.
Next week, the Ephs hope to pick up where they left off on the road against Middlebury (2-2), which suffered a 23-22 loss to Amherst today. Kickoff is at 2 pm.
