For the Tufts football team, it was just one of those days.
With the opportunity to beat a conference rival and end a 14-game winless streak at Williams, the Jumbos were once again plagued by offensive struggles. Tufts was limited to just 135 total yards as it lost its second straight game on Saturday 30-7 .
Though the Ephs scored all they needed when sophomore Matt Coyne plunged in from one yard out early in the second quarter, host Williams continued to pile on the points. The Ephs also effectively stifled a stagnant Tufts offense in the process, holding the Jumbos to just 78 yards through the air and 57 on the ground.
For a Jumbos rushing attack that at one point was ranked second in the NESCAC, it has certainly been rough going lately. Just one week after averaging 0.6 yards per carry in a 10-3 home loss versus Trinity, Tufts put up 1.7 yards per attempt this weekend against the Ephs.
In their three losses thus far, the Jumbos have scored a combined 13 points, and the team is currently tied for last in the conference with an average 10.6 points per game. Ephs freshman Chris Cameron led the way on defense for his team with three tackles for a loss, including two sacks.
But it was ultimately the Williams offense which proved to be the surprise, effectively controlling the clock on lengthy drives into Jumbos territory and converting on seven of 17 third-down attempts in the process. For a Tufts unit that, entering the week, was ranked first in the conference in scoring defense, the Ephs offense proved too much to handle as the game wore on.
"They played extremely well and made plays, certainly more than we did," Tufts coach Bill Samko said. "They're always well-coached and always are near the top of the league, and that's not by accident. They always have a good scheme, and we thought they took it to us pretty hard up front."
Williams junior Ryan Lupo, who was named the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week last week, rushed for 100 yards as expected, but freshman back Tom Wohlwender stepped up down the stretch for the Ephs, adding 56 yards and the game's final score. Williams' senior punter Will Cronin also chipped in to the effort with an average of 37.2 yards per punt, good enough to be named the NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Williams got on the board first when senior Scott Sobolewski booted a 27-yard field goal in the opening quarter, in which the Ephs controlled over 10 minutes of clock time and held the Jumbos offense to a trio of three-and-outs and negative 10 total yards.
"Early on, we made a lot of mental mistakes, and there's a lot that we have to correct," junior back Pat Bailey said. "It was a tough loss for us."
From there, Williams and Coyne kicked into high gear, as the second-year quarterback found junior Bryce Bennett for a 13-yard pass shortly after Coyne rushed for his touchdown. The duo later hooked up for a 20-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Tufts' lone score came when Bailey, who rushed for just 24 yards on 13 carries and only caught one pass, found the end zone from two yards out. The third quarter was the day's bright spot for the Jumbos, who held the Williams offense to just seven plays and 12 yards and had over four minutes more of possession.
But the opening 30 minutes served as a time the offense would love to forget. The only drive Tufts had that went for over 10 yards came as the clock expired at halftime. Aside from that one-play, 13-yard series, the Jumbos punted six times on as many three-and-outs.
"We need to stay on the field longer to give our defense some time to rest; we need to produce," Bailey said. "We're not getting many first downs and sustaining drives. I have to give a lot of credit to how Williams played, but we need to step it up. Just all game long we had trouble."
In his return from a finger injury, junior wideout Steve Cusano tallied four receptions for 50 yards and was by far senior quarterback Tom McManama's favorite target. McManama completed passes to just four different receivers, only two of whom had over 10 total yards.
For an offense that had great difficulty putting together effective drives — the Jumbos tallied just seven first downs and punted eight times overall — improvement is a necessity before next weekend's home contest against Amherst, one of two undefeated squads in the NESCAC.
"I don't know what it was," Bailey said. "It just seemed like they were stopping anything we threw at them. We had a few mental mistakes but just have to go back to the drawing board in practice this week. We just need to try to be smarter and avoid penalties and those mental mistakes."
The 23-point loss left Tufts with little to smile about, especially after the defeat plunged the team to 2-3 overall in the conference, two games back from Williams, which moved to 4-1, and three back from 5-0 Trinity and Amherst.
But win or lose, the Jumbos insist that they will approach each ensuing Saturday the same way — with the utmost focus and determination, especially when facing a Lord Jeffs defense that has ceded only five touchdowns in as many games so far.
"I think that's definitely the strength of our team: coming back after a tough loss and just fighting back the next game," Bailey said. "You only get eight chances to go out there and play, so you have to have a short memory. We just have to go into each week forgetting about the past."
Still, losing to a Williams team that moved to 13-0-2 in its past 15 home games against the Jumbos should sting until Tufts gets back on the winning track.
"It was a little disappointing. Even in pregame I could tell that something was out of whack," Samko said. "It's a long ride out there. I thought that when we got out of the bus we were in a little bit of a funk. After the game, I told them that now we'll see what we're made of. But I haven't changed my overall tone in my belief in the team. I have great confidence in this group, and our performance will get better."
