Hartford, Conn. - Freshman RB Ben Crick (Middlebury, Conn.) rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half, and senior QB Craig Drusbosky (Orange, Conn.) added 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 33-6 victory over the visiting Colby College Mules in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football season opener for both teams this afternoon at Jessee/Miller Field. Trinity, ranked No. 6 in New England, wins its 15th consecutive season opener and its 36th consecutive triumph at home. The Bantams remain flawless in their 36 games played on the artificial turf at Jessee/Miller Field and have won seven straight games against the Mules.
After each team drove into enemy territory only to turn the ball over on downs on the first two drives of the game, Trinity went 65 yards on 15 plays over the final six minutes of the first quarter, finishing with a one-yard touchdown run by junior RB Nana Appah-Sampong (Lake Mary, Fla.) with two seconds left in the period. Trinity senior captain Ben Sherry (Wayland, Mass.) kept the drive alive with a two-yard run on 4th-and-1, after taking the snap as the up-back on a fake punt from the Colby 44-yard line. Trinity completed a 10-play, 93-yard drive on its next possession, highlighted by a 34-yard run by Crick and a 26-yard pass from Drusbosky to senior TE Chris Hunt (Westford, Mass.) on 4th-and-1 that brought the ball from the Colby 29-yard line to three yards from the end zone. Crick gave the Bantams a 14-0 lead from the one-yard line for his first career score. The Bantams added a third score just before the break, as Drusbosky completed four passes to senior WR Michael Galligan (Shoreham, N.Y.) for 35 yards and hit Hunt for a 15-yard scoring toss with 1:32 remaining in the half. A bad snap on the PAT try put the score at 20-0 after two quarters.
Trinity took advantage of a Colby fumble to set up its next score, as junior ILB Walter Fallas jarred the ball loose from senior WR Andrew Graham (Dracut, Mass.) and junior CB Matt Paskalides (Scarsdale, N.Y.) returned the ball 27 yards to the Mule nine-yard line. Bantam freshman QB Hedley Jennings (Charlotte, N.C.) darted and dodged his way in for his first career touchdown two plays later. After a second missed PAT, Colby advanced to the Trinity 14-yard line on its next drive but was held outside the 10-yard line on four straight plays. Trinity junior NT Matt Delconte (Berlin, Conn.) stopped an early fourth-quarter Colby drive with an interception of Colby junior QB Nick Kmetz (Laurel, Del.) after the ball was knocked in the air in the Mule backfield by junior DE Herman Brito (Wayland, M ass.), but Colby finally spoiled the shutout with an eight-play, 63-yard drive that culminated with a four-yard scoring pass from Kmetz to junior TE Spencer Merwin (Falls Village, Conn.) with 9:24 left in the game. Trinity added a late score on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Drusbosky to junior WR Chike Madu (Fairfield, Conn.) on Madu's first career pass reception.
Trinity gained 201 yards on the ground with nine different ball carriers, while holding the Mules to 49 rushing yards on 29 carries. Drusbosky finished 13-for-23 and did not throw an interception, while Kmetz totaled 223 passing yards but threw two interceptions. Hunt led all pass catchers with 108 yards on five catches, while Patrick Burns (Charles Town, W.V.) had seven snares for n107 yards. Delconte paced the Trinity defense with seven tackles, including three for losses, and an interception, junior NT Tom Finnucan (Orange, Conn.) added six hits, and sophomore S Julian Brown (Philadelphia, Pa.) intercepted a Mule pass. Colby junior LB Tom Duffy (Plymouth, Mass.) led all tacklers with 12, while senior DB Richard Newton (Arlington, Mass.) made seven tackles and broke up two passes, and freshman DE Michael Jenkins (Hampden, Maine) contributed six hits and a fumble recovery.