Hartford, Conn. – The Trinity College Bantams closed the 2015 season with a 17-13 victory over the visiting Wesleyan University Cardinals in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football action this afternoon on Jessee/Miller Field. Trinity, ranked No. 5 in New England finishes the year at 7-1 to claim sole possession of second place in the NESCAC, while the Cardinals finish at 5-3.
Trinity got on the board first, taking advantage of a short Wesleyan punt on a windy day to start its second rive of the afternoon at the Wesleyan 45-yard line and scoring on two plays. Bantam sophomore QB Sonny Puzzo (West Caldwell, N.J.) completed a 33-yard pass to classmate Bryan Vieira (Hull, Mass.) on first down to the Cardinal 12-yard line, a Cardinal offsides penalty put the ball inside the 10-yard line, and rookie RB Max Chipouras (Longmeadow, Mass.) rumbled in from seven yards away on the next play for his 11 score of the fall with 7:31 left in the first quarter.
Trinity junior S Patrick Dorsey (Lynn, Mass.) stymied Wesleyan's best drive of the first half with an interception of a pass by Cardinal freshman QB Mark Piccirillo (Shelton, Conn.) at the Bantam 21-yard line, and Trinity senior captain Kyle Pulek (Cheshire, Conn.) accounted for the lone points of the second quarter with a 24-yard field with 4:43 on the clock. Pulek had a 38-yard attempt blocked by Wesleyan junior Jordan Stone (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 55 seconds before halftime to keep the Trinity lead at 10 after two frames.
The Cardinal scored for the first time on a three-yard run by senior tri-captain RB LaDarius Drew (Mesquite, Texas) with 8;11 remaining in the third stanza, capping off a seven-play, 65-yard drive that saw Piccirillo complete three passes for 53 yards. Puzzo was picked off by Cardinal junior Zac Cuzner (Marblehead, Mass.) on the ensuing Trinity possession, but the visitors could not capitalize, and Trinity scored its second touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a two-yard sprint and dive to the end zone around the right end by Chipouras. The Bantams marched 66 yards on 12 plays and ate up 6:14 on the scoring drive.
Trinity gave Wesleyan two chances to pull to within a field goal with fumbles in its own end in the final 5:02 of the game. Junior RB Nick Gaynor (West Hartford, Conn.) lost the ball at the Bantam 10-yard line and it was recovered by Cardinal senior Anthony Daversa-Ross (Niskayuna, N.Y.), but the Trinity defense held Wesleyan to nine yards on eight plays and stopped Piccirillo for a one-yard loss on 4th-and-goal from the Bantam two-yard line to keep score at 17-7 with 1:42 on the clock. Dorsey and first-year LB Sean Smerczynski (Topsfield, Mass.) combined on the fourth-down stop, while fellow rookie LB Dago Picon-Roura (Roslindale, Mass.) made three tackles for Trinity during the defensive stand.
Wesleyan got the ball back moments later, however, recovering a fumble by Puzzo at the Trinity one-yard line and scoring on a one-yard run by Piccirillo with 1:31 remaining in the fourth quarter. Bantam junior Yosa Nosamiefan (Boston, Mass.) made a huge block on the extra-point try to keep the home team ahead by four at 17-13, and senior Paul McCarthy (North Attleboro, Mass.) recovered Wesleyan's onsides kick to allow the Bantams to run out the clock.
Trinity outgained Wesleyan, 373 to 198, including a 216-to-52 edge on the ground, and controlled possession for 34:03 of the game. Puzzo finished 8-for-14 passing for 157 yards, while Gaynor had a game-high 88 rushing yards on 15 carries and Chipouras added 81 yards on 29 attempts. Hull led all pass catchers with 81 yards on three grabs. Piccirillo and sophomore Gernald Hawkins (West Park, Fla.) combined to complete nine passes in 19 tries for the Cardinals.
On defense, senior DE Preston Kelly (Orange, Calif.) made nine tackles (six solo), three tackles-for-loss, and a sack for Trinity, while Nosamiefan had five tackles and a pass breakup. Daversa-Russo led all defenders with 12 tackles (nine solo) and Shayne Kaminski (Hopkinton, Mass.) contributed nine tackles for Wesleyan.