Jumbos freeze Polar Bears

Brunswick, ME _ Senior running back Chuck McGraw rushed for 148 yards and the Jumbo secondary had six interceptions as Tufts pounded Bowdoin on the road on Saturday, 44-13. With the win, Tufts improved to 3-0 and stayed in a tie atop the NESCAC with Williams and Amherst.

On Bowdoin's first play from scrimmage, junior safety Drew Blewett picked off a pass from Polar Bear quarterback Justin Hardison inside Bowdoin territory. Though kicker Marcellus Rolle missed a field goal, the interception set the tone for what would be another stingy performance by the defense.

"On that first play, the defensive line applied good pressure," Blewett said. "I just read his body and stepped up."

The game was scoreless until early in the second quarter. Bowdoin began a drive at its own ten-yard line. When Hardison was again rushed from the pocket, he threw another wayward pass directly into the hands of Blewett.

"That second pick was right at me," Blewett said. "He rolled to me and threw it directly to my chest."

The Jumbo offense took over at the Bowdoin 25 and behind the running of McGraw and senior quarterback Scott Treacy put together a short touchdown drive to give the Jumbos a 7-0 lead.

The remainder of the second quarter was sloppy, with the teams trading turnovers. After Evan Zupancic intercepted his record-breaking 16th career ball, Bowdoin defensive back Ben Babcock picked Treacy as the two squads waged a messy war of offensive stagnation.

With less than ten seconds left in the half, however, Tufts received a punt, and instead of running out the clock and taking the 7-0 lead into halftime, the Jumbos decided to be aggressive. Quarterback Scott Treacy found junior receiver Tim Mack in single coverage, streaking down the left sideline. Mack made a brilliant catch, keeping one foot in bounds, and then made a cut inside around the cornerback and scampered 83 yards into the endzone as time expired.

"It was a perfect pass," Mack said." "It was right where it was supposed to be. Treacy threw a hell of a ball."

But not everyone was impressed with the team's efforts up until that point.

"I didn't think we played well in the first half at all," coach Bill Samko said. "I guess we should just the fly pattern every play."

"We had a little bit of trouble finishing our drives in the first half," Treacy said. "But we ran 45 plays in the half, which is really good. We just have to finish it off, and I think in the second half we did a better job of that."

Tufts' offense was anything but sputtering in the third quarter. The Jumbos pounded away at Bowdoin with an aggressive running game led by McGraw, who picked up over 30 yards on the drive. On a first and goal, Treacy ran right on a keeper and sprinted into the endzone to give Tufts a 20-0 lead.

Tufts seemed to put the game away after another Bowdoin turnover gave the Jumbos possession at the Polar Bear 23-yard line. After recovering his own fumble, Treacy again hit Mack, this time in the corner of endzone for a 27-0 lead.

"We knew that Bowdoin was struggling defensively coming in," Samko said. "They gave up over 40 points last week at Amherst. So when we scored twice, and it was 27-0, I think our mentality was that the game was over. Unfortunately, it wasn't."

With a big lead, a general malaise seemed to set in over the Jumbos' play. On Bowdoin's ensuing drive, Hardison threw a bomb to a Bowdoin receiver who ran all the way to the Tufts 15-yard line. Only a diving tackle from sophomore defensive back Donovan Brown saved a touchdown. But after a few short runs, Hardison's receiver was in the endzone, cutting the lead to 27-7. They were the first points surrendered by the Jumbo defense all season.

Tufts went three and out on its next possession and Bowdoin put together another solid touchdown scoring drive to end the third quarter. The Polar Bears converted two 4th and 1 opportunities. After missing the extra point, the lead was cut to 27-13.

Tufts' offense again sputtered and was forced to punt. The momentum had clearly shifted as Bowdoin took over the ball on the 48-yard line with the opportunity to get within a touchdown of Tufts. Hardison looked to complete a short pass to his receiver on the right on the first play of the drive, but Zupancic dove in front of his man and intercepted the pass, ensuring Tufts' victory.

The Jumbos would add a field goal and two more touchdowns, one of them a 43-yard run by sophomore running back Steve Cincotta, for a satisfying finish to an impressive road victory. Everyone agreed, however, that as Tufts enters the toughest part of its schedule against Trinity, Williams and Amherst, the team would need to be more consistent.

"That was by far the best team we've played this year," said junior defensive linemen Caleb Hudak, who led the team with four solo tackles before leaving with an injury. "Unfortunately we played half football again. We need to start playing entire games."

"Looking ahead to Trinity, we've just got to keep getting better," junior defensive end Reid Palmer said. "We've got to step up and make big plays against the better teams and work on never letting up."