Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore QB Seamus Lambert (Andover, Mass.) threw his third touchdown of the game, a 10-yarder to junior WR Jonathan Girard (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) to break a 24-24 tie with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter, and lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 31-24 victory over the visiting Hamilton College Continentals in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football action this afternoon at Jessee/Miller Field. Trinity improves to 2-2 and extends its winning streaks over Hamilton to 25 games and its home winning streak to 19 games. The Continentals drop to 2-2. Trinity visits Bates next Saturday and Hamilton plays at Williams.
Trinity marched 62 yards on five plays during the game-winning drive that included a 22-yard Lambert pass to senior tri-captain WR Koby Schofer (Northbridge, Mass.) that pushed the ball ahead to the Hamilton 10-yard line. Lambert hit Girard to his back shoulder in the left corner of the end zone one play later for the clinching score. Hamilton drove into Trinity territory twice in the last eight minutes, but a sack by Bantam junior DL Jimmy Christiano (Middlebury, Conn.) one the first drive and a bad snap on the Continentals' last drive did in the visiting team.
Hamilton took a 6-0 lead on the game's first possession with an 11-play, 85-yard drive that finished with four-yard touchdown run by senior QB Kenny Gray (Montgomery, N.Y.) with 9:48 left in the first quarter. The Continentals missed the PAT, and Trinity took a 7-6 lead just 3:30 later with a 76-yard drive that ended with a 22-yard scoring pass from Lambert to Schofer. The Continentals took advantage of a Trinity turnover to take a 13-10 lead early in the second quarter. Senior DB Sam Bowen (Baltimore, Md.) picked off Lambert at the Bantam 29-yard line, and Gray found rookie TE Mark Howrigan (St. Albans, Vt.) for a 10-yard touchdown toss with 14:52 on the clock. Trinity first-year J.P. Dallazem (Gainesville, Fla.) drilled his first career field goal from 31 yards away, and Lambert connected with Schofer on a six-yard touchdown strike 2:28 before halftime to give the Bantams a 17-13 lead at the break.
The defenses forced punts on the first three possessions of the second half, before Hamilton sophomore Sam Thoreen (Worcester, Mass.) booted a 31-yard field goal with 4:03 left in the third quarter. Trinity answered with a 68-yard drive that included a 28-yard pass from Lambert to Schofer to the Continental one-yard line and the first career touchdown run on the next play for Bantam sophomore RB Tijani Harris (Hagerstown, Md.). Hamilton tied the game at 24-all with four-straight completed passes. On 2nd-and-9 from their own 16-yard line, Gray connected on consecutive passes of 10, 32, and 42 yards with the 42-yard touchdown going to senior WR Christian Donahoe (Mahopac, N.Y.). Gray threw to junior WR Will Budington (Amherst, Mass.) for the two-point conversion that tied the game with 14 minutes left.
Trinity outgained Hamilton, 419-256, and, 174-46, on the ground. Harris ran for 90 of his game-high 115 yards in the second half, while the Bantam defense held the Continentals to a 1.3-yard average on 35 carries. Lambert finished 15-for-23 for 245 yards through the air, while Gray was 16-for-34 for 210 yards. Girard and Schofer caught five passes each for 95 and 90 yards, respectively, while Budington and Donahoe had four catches apiece for 69 and 68 respective yards. Trinity sophomore LB Brian Casagrande (Madison, Conn.) had a team-high nine tackles, one tackle for loss, and a forced fumble, while senior DB Matt Patry (Medfield, Mass.) added three tackles and two pass breakups. Senior DL Alex Ganter (Lynnfield, Mass.) finished with a game-high 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5sacks, while sophomore DB Christian Snell (Alden, N.Y.) made six tackles and broke up two passes.