Senior quarterback Jason Casey bounced back from one of the worst games of his career to lead Tufts to a 14-12 win against the Bates Bobcats on Saturday. Casey, who was intercepted three times in the Jumbos' season opening loss to Wesleyan a week ago, threw and ran for 239 of the Jumbos' 248 yards.
"It was important for me to play well," Casey said. "It gives us a little more confidence. Coming off of a loss, and especially because the offense didn't play well, we needed to move the ball."
After neither team scored in the first quarter, Tufts took a 7-0 lead early in the second when Casey found sophomore Brian VonAncken for a 31-yard touchdown pass. The play was set up by sophomore John Chappell's recovery of a Bates fumble at the Bobcat 34-yard line.
As the Tufts running game stalled - senior running back Steve Cincotta gained just nine yards on 12 carries - Casey's passing game became even more important.
"Bates showed a lot of different looks," Casey said. "They almost always put eight in the box. Not just against us, against everybody they really focus on taking away the run. I knew that meant we were going to have to rely on the passing game."
The Jumbos struck again later in the quarter, with senior Kevin Holland scoring on a 20-yard pass from Casey to cap a 53-yard drive. Holland took the short pass over the middle and got into the end zone with a brilliant display of running. He twisted his way in for the score after being met by two defenders at the five-yard line.
The Bobcats threatened on the ensuing possession, but sophomore safety Brett Holm picked off a pass by Bates quarterback Brandon Colon to end the drive. It was one of three interceptions by Tufts on the day.
The lead stayed at 14-0 into the fourth quarter, when Bates staged a late comeback. Early in the quarter the Bobcats scored on an eight play, 50-yard drive. Eric Obeng, a defensive lineman who comes in for Bates in short yardage situations, capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run. Kicker Tyler Schmels missed the extra point, a play that would prove costly for Bates.
Tufts drove into Bobcat territory on its next possession, but junior Phil Scialdoni - who converted the extra point on both Jumbo touchdowns earlier in the game - missed a 42-yard field goal. Bates took over at its own 25-yard line and drove 75 yards on 10 plays. The Jumbos forced the Bobcats into a fourth and one on the 30-yard line, but Obeng broke through the Tufts defense for a long touchdown run.
Bates went for the two point conversion to try to tie the score, but Colon's pass was broken up in the end zone by junior Patrick Magoon. The Bobcats got the ball back with a little under seven minutes to go in the game and moved deep into Tufts territory. On fourth and one on the 29-yard line, Bates elected not to attempt the field goal, but instead ran the ball with Obeng again. This time, however, he was stuffed by sophomore Chris Decembrele and junior Sean Mullin.
Casey finished 14 of 28 for 185 yards and the two scores. He also ran 14 times for 54 yards. One of the Jumbos' most effective plays on the day was a quarterback keeper out of the shotgun.
"Most of the time those were designed plays, a designed quarterback draw," Casey said. "Sometimes I just took off though. I like running, if it's there. Coach always tells me not to force the ball, just to take off running."
Holland had six catches for 78 yards and VonAncken added 73 yards on four receptions. Senior quad-captain Chris Lawrence had 12 tackles to lead Tufts defensively.
After the game Casey talked about how important it was to earn a win early in the NESCAC season.
"It was extremely important for us to win this game," Casey said. "The league has a lot of parity. Trinity, Williams, and Amherst are supposed to be good teams, but I think they can all be beat. So one loss is a big deal. And I think this win gives us a lot of confidence going into the Bowdoin game next week."
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