The Jumbos' new and inexperienced offense looked exactly that on Saturday, falling 16-7 to the visiting Wesleyan Cardinals in a shaky season opener.
The game, which saw the multi-faceted Brian Holmes start for the first time at tailback (and also saw him taken to the hospital for dehydration), marked the up-and-down debut for sophomore quarterback Todd Scalia. Scalia and his untested offense could not follow up flashes of offensive momentum with points on the scoreboard, falling victim to too many careless mistakes.
"We are young, but that's not an excuse," offensive lineman Mike Willey said after the game. "We have to stop taking the stupid penalties or the dumb plays. We'll work on that in practice this week."
The final of the fatal mistakes came in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter when Scott Treacy, who entered the game for a struggling Scalia, engineered a lengthy touchdown drive, only to follow it up by throwing an interception in the Jumbos' next possession and last chance to win.
Treacy came in for Scalia with Tufts down 10-0 and just under seven minutes remaining in the final frame. Using his mobility to avoid potential sacks on second down, Treacy got the ball to running back Chuck McGraw for 12 yards. The Jumbos then took advantage of a roughing-the-passer penalty on the Cardinals to move 15 yards upfield, giving Tufts a first and ten on the Wesleyan 31.
Treacy was not done yet, though, rushing six yards on first down, completing a three-yard pass to Bryan Pitko on second, and forcing his way through the middle on third to get a first down on the Wesleyan 18 with just over four minutes to go. A nine-yard run by the quarterback set up a touchdown pass to Cerne, who bobbled the ball in the end zone before bringing it down and tightening the Cardinals' lead to three.
But while the Jumbos' defense forced Wesleyan to punt on its next possession, with just under two minutes on the clock, Treacy's attempt to repeat the success of his first drive did not last more than a play. With a first and ten at the Jumbos' 19 and no timeouts remaining, Treacy threw a wild pass that found its way into the hands of Wesleyan cornerback Derrick Brantley, who skirted 23 yards into the end zone, cementing the 16-7 win for the Cardinals.
Treacy tacked another interception onto his record for the day before all was said and done, finishing at 5-for-9 with 53 yards passing and 19 yards running. Scalia completed six of 11 passes for 88 yards and struggled mightily when holding the ball or running the option, compiling minus-35 yards on six rushes.
But it was a poor pass that ended Treacy's seemingly heroic entrance into the game, one that was delayed three quarters because a slight injury made Scalia the winner of the quarterback controversy. Now, with Treacy seemingly healthy but neither quarterback impressive in game one, coach Samko will have his work cut out for him in deciding a game two starter.
While Treacy's play was mobile and risky, Scalia suffered the opposite problem, unable to get things going throughout most of the game. Scalia was on the field as Samko's offense maintained a conservative attack, going to the rush far more often than to the pass in the first half.
Holmes, a 1999 NESCAC All-Star on special teams and also a defensive back, took on a new role Saturday, starting at tailback in place of the scheduled starter, sophomore McGraw. The speedy senior teamed with fullback Jon Rodgers to spur a rushing attack that looked decent at times but never got anything going. Holmes rushed for 51 yards in the half while catching a 39-yard bomb from Scalia, while Rodgers wound up with 31 yards rushing for the half and 46 for the day. McGraw had eight carries for a total of just 11 yards.
One of the only successful debuts on Saturday was that of Cerne, who caught four passes for 43 yards in his first game wearing Brown and Blue, also nabbing the team's lone touchdown. Cerne and Pitko handled much of the passing duties because Saturday's other starter, Brett Cicchillo, had not practiced for two weeks with an injury. Cicchillo caught just one pass for 15 yards.
"We knew Matt Cerne had the ability to play because of how he did in practice," Cicchillo said, "but there's a difference between practice and game. He stepped up today."
"Matt Cerne played well," Samko said. "He had a couple of big plays."
While Wesleyan shut down the new-look offense in the first half, it was a 32-yard field goal at 6:44 in the first quarter from freshman kicker Vin Balsamo that put the first score on the board for either team. Tufts, meanwhile, positioned itself in field goal range twice in the game, but failed on both attempts. Treacy couldn't bring down a high snap near the end of the first half on a 21-yard Rock attempt, while Rock also missed a 47-yard attempt in the third quarter.
After scoreless second and third quarters, the Cardinals were back on the attack in the fourth, led by sophomore running back Greg Thomas. Thomas, who did not see much playing time in '99, was the offensive star of the day, getting 28 carries for a total of 137 yards.
After a 15-yard pass from Wesleyan quarterback Kevin Cornish to receiver George Thompson put the Cardinals near midfield with under nine minutes remaining in the game, Thomas busted loose for a 37-yard run that put the Cardinals on the Tufts 23 with a first down. Thomas moved his team closer to the end zone with rushes of four and eight yards and, a couple of plays later, surged his way into the endzone to put Wesleyan up 10-0 at the 6:50 mark.
"The defense definitely played well," Samko said, "except when Thomas ripped that run."
It was after Thomas' score that Samko made the call to put Treacy in, fueling some short-lived excitement at Zimman Field. "They're a good team," he said of Wesleyan. "I thought they'd be good. They're a lot like us."
Indeed, both teams displayed new offenses on Saturday, with Cornish making his debut as Wesleyan's regular starter following the graduation of Jake Fay.
But it was the failure to convert on some key opportunities that spelled disaster for the Jumbos, who statistically outdid the Cardinals on offense. Tufts rushed for a total of 100 yards (compared to Wesleyan's 97) and passed for a total of 141 yards (compared to Wesleyan's 130). The Jumbos' defense was on its game as well, sacking Cornish a total of six times for 35 lost yards.
"We've got some pretty young guys on the field, so that will happen," Samko said when asked about the team's inability to capitalize on momentum.
The team will now regroup for next week's home game against Bates, which dropped its season opener, 46-34, to Trinity on Saturday. Samko has not yet named a starting quarterback, nor does he know what to expect from an offense that clearly has a ways to go in finding its groove.
