WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Allowing 466 yards of total offense, including 321 on the ground, the Williams College Ephs (1-1) fell to the Trinity College Bantams (2-0) by a score of 38-0 this Saturday on Farley-Lamb Field.
The game was especially disappointing since the Ephs were coming off an energizing shutout victory in the home opener against Bowdoin. Now, unfortunately, they feel what it's like to be on the other side of a shutout.
Trinity jumped ahead early with touchdowns on their first two drives, receiving little resistance from the Williams defense; the Bantams faced only one third down on their first two drives. The Ephs, meanwhile, were held to three-and-outs in the first quarter
Trinity utilized lots of play action, with several hand-offs to wide receivers and even quarterback sneaks to keep the Williams defense guessing, a strategy that paid dividends in the first half. Reigning NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week Chudi Iregbulem found great success, scoring both of their touchdowns, one on the ground and one with a long 24-yard pass from QB Henry Foye, and totaling 53 yards rushing in the first quarter.
On their third drive, the Bantams marched 78 yards down the field before Ephs LB Andre Lafontant stuffed Iregbulem on the goal line, forcing a field goal by Ben Rosenblatt at the beginning of the second quarter to bring the score to 17-0.
The ensuing Williams drive saw them cross into Trinity territory for the first time, reaching all the way to the Bantams' 32-yard line, but they failed to convert a 4th and 5, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Trinity took advantage and resumed their offensive blitzkrieg against the Ephs defense. After a 24-yard pass from Foye to Chris Ragone on 3rd down put the Bantams within the Ephs 5-yard line, Iregbulem punched it in for his second rushing TD of the game, extending their lead to 24.
After a promising Williams drive was cut short by an interception by Trinity S Spencer Donahue, neither team was able to score, and the score at halftime was 24-0.
The Williams defense allowed more first downs in the first quarter of this game (12) than they had in the entire game against Bowdoin (11). The Bantams racked up 280 offensive yards on 43 plays in the first half for an impressive average of 6.5 yards per play, while Williams was only able to garner 114 yards of offense in the first half.
The second half was more of the same. Chudi Iregbulem capped a quick 5-play, 53-yard drive with a 13-yard TD run, his third of the game, to make the score 31-0 with 12:17 left in the 3rd quarter. Williams was able to force the Bantams to punt for the first time in the game on their next drive, and the Ephs once again looked primed to score until Joe Diaz broke up a pass from Ephs QB Austin Lommen to Steven Kiesel on 4th down to force another turnover on downs. Neither team scored for the rest of the third quarter.
Trinity opened the fourth quarter on the Williams 7-yard line, and two plays later Ethan Suraci found his way to the end zone to set the eventual final score of 38-0.
Neither team played with any urgency in the 4th quarter, giving significant playing time to their backups, and time expired with the score 38-0 in favor of the Bantams.
Trinity put up very impressive numbers on offense: 480 total yards, with 321 on the ground. The Bantams had 8 rushers with over 20 yards, led by Iregbulem, who finished the game with 83 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns. QB Henry Foye finished the game 11-17 for 145 yards and 1 touchdown. Ian Dugger led the Bantams in receiving with 49 yards on 4 catches. Tom Szymanski led Trinity in tackles with 7, while Spencer Donahue and Patrick Dorsey both came up with interceptions.
Alex Scyocurka led the Ephs in rushing, registering 36 yards on 11 carries, and Austin Lommen completed 15 of his 28 passes for 85 yards and 2 interceptions. Adam Regensburg led the receiving corps with 22 yards on 3 catches, and James O'Grady led the Ephs on defense with 8 tackles, including one for a loss.
After the game, Ephs head coach Aaron Kelton spoke about how Trinity had beaten his team, "in all aspects of the game." He said: "We didn't play well. We weren't playing physical or fast." However, he qualified his criticism saying, "This team is still learning, they're still young, still getting it, and I think we still have a chance to be a good club." He added, "There were some good parts, some good plays made, some good things, and we'll build off of that. I thought our offensive line did a good job protecting."
With the win, Trinity has won 4 straight games against the Ephs and 10 of the last 14. Williams' record against Trinity is tighter than against all other NESCAC opponents, and with this loss, it's almost dead even: 36-35-2, still in favor of the Ephs.
Williams will travel to Lewiston, ME to tackle Bates next Saturday, while Trinity will head to Clinton, NY to face Hamilton.