Hartford, Conn. – Senior RB Chudi Iregbulem (Torrance, Calif.) rushed 28 timed for career-highs of 184 yards, including 145 yards in the first half, and four touchdowns to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 35-14 victory over the visiting Tufts University Jumbos in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football action this afternoon on Jessee/Miller Field. Trinity, ranked No. 4 in New England, wins its fifth straight game and its 53rd consecutive home game, a streak that goes back 13 years, and defeats the Jumbos for the seventh time in a row to improve to 4-0. Tufts fall to 2-2 with its second setback in as many weeks.
Trailing at the end of the first quarter, 7-0, after a 77-yard punt return by senior Zack Trause (Carlstadt, N.J.) set up the Jumbos for a four-yard touchdown run by sophomore RB Chance Brady (Haverhill, Mass.) late in the first, Trinity responded with touchdowns on its next three possessions to take a 21-7 lead at the half. Bantam junior Ian Dugger (West Hartford, Conn.) got things going with a 37-yard kickoff return after the Tufts touchdown to give Trinity the ball at the Jumbo 39-yard line to start its first scoring drive. Trinity junior QB Henry Foye (Madison, Conn.) completed a 17-yard pass to Dugger on 3rd-and-14 to keep the drive alive, and Iregbulem scored from five yards away to tie the game at 7-7.
After a 3-and-out by the Jumbos, Trinity used some trickery to advance into Tufts territory when senior RB Michael Budness (Belchertown, Mass.) took a short snap out of a punt formation from the middle of the field and completed a 28-yard yard pass down the right side to first-year WR Bryan Vieira (Hull, Mass.) at the Tufts 21-yard line. A Jumbo personal foul helped the Bantam cause, and Iregbulem scored on a three-yard scamper two plays later. Tufts answered with a solid drive that took the visitors to the Bantam 28-yard line, but Trinity senior OLB Tom Szymanski (Dracut, Mass.) sacked Tufts senior QB Jack Doll (Villa Park, Calif.) on 4th-and-2 to end the threat. Iregbulem broke free for a runs of 28 and 27 yards up the middle on Trinity's ensuing possession, with the 27-yarder resulting in his third touchdown of the quarter. The Jumbos responded yet again, as Doll completed a 27-yard pass to senior WR Harrison Kidd (Rolling Hills, Calif.) on 4th-and-6 to get the ball inside the Trinity 10-yard line but Bantam senior CB Joe Diaz (Monroe, Conn.) pick off a Doll pass in the left corner of the end zone.
Trinity added to its lead in the third quarter when back-to-back sacks by senior tri-captain OLB Mike Weatherby (Atlantic City, N.J.) pushed the Jumbos deep into their own territory and a short punt gave the Bantams the ball at the Tufts 45-yard line. Foye tossed a 23-yard pass to Dugger, followed by a 12-yard run by Iregbulem and an eight-yard scoring scamper by rookie QB Spencer Aukamp(North Haledon, N.J.) for the rookie's first career touchdown. Trinity senior tri-captain S Mike Mancini (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and Tufts senior DB Patrick Glose (Amherst, N.Y.) traded interceptions, Doll completed a long pass to sophomore TE Nik Dean (Windermere, Fla.) only to have Trinity sophomore CB Yosa Nosameifan (Boston, Mass.) punch the ball out to senior teammate Brian Dones(Philadelphia, Pa.), and Weatherby picked off Doll once again over the final 8:30 of the third quarter. Iregbulem tied the Trinity touchdown record and its rushing touchdown record with his fourth score of the game on a one-yard run with 14:15 remaining, giving him 11 touchdowns in four game, and Brady scored on a three-yard run with 11:36 on the clock to complete the scoring at 35-14 in the home team's favor.
Trinity rushed for 276 yards and controlled possession for 35:30 of the game, while the Jumbos had 286 passing yards but turned the ball over four times. Foye finished 12-for-23 for 100 yards passing and Doll was 15-for-30 for 176 yards before giving way to sophomore signal caller Alex Snyder (Colorado Springs, Colo.) who was 6-for-12 for 101 yards. Vieira paced the Trinity receiving corps with four catches for 55 yards, while Jumbo senior WR Greg Lanzillo (Weston, Mass.) had three grabs for 77 yards. Defensively, junior DE Lyle Baker (Andover, Mass.) had a team-high eight tackles and a sack, while Mancini contributed six tackles, an interception, and three pass breakups, and Weatherby finished with five tackles, two sacks, one pass breakup, and one interception for the Bantams. Tufts junior LB Matt McCormack (River Forest, Ill.) led all tacklers with 17 including 14 solo hits, while sophomore DB Mike Stearns (Framingham, Mass.) had 13 tackles, and Glose added nine tackles and one interception.