Tufts remains undefeated at home

Tufts opened its season with two impressive home victories over Hamilton and Bates, but after back-to-back road losses the team was in danger of falling below .500 in its Week 5 matchup against the Williams Ephs.

After the first quarter of this weekend's game the visiting team was ahead 13-7, but Tufts outplayed Williams over the final three quarters, earning a hard-fought 27-20 victory.

Tufts’ offense stumbled out of the gate, with its opening drive ending in an interception thrown by sophomore quarterback Alex Snyder, and the following two drives ended in punts.

Williams began the game with a three and out, but on its second drive of the day, junior quarterback Austin Lommen rolled out left and found senior wide receiver Steven Kiesel for a 16-yard touchdown. Lommen was brilliant on the drive, completing all five of his attempts for 63 yards.

After Tufts first-year punter Joe Nault’s second punt of the afternoon, the Ephs were leading and had the ball on their own 30. On 3rd and 6, Lommen, who had been nearly perfect up to this point, could not handle the snap out of the shotgun. The ball hit off his hands, bounced up in the air and Tufts senior defensive end James Brao caught it and returned it for a 31-yard touchdown.

Despite the mishap, the unfazed Lommen was able to easily move his offense down the field for Williams’ second touchdown drive of the game. The quarterback completed all four of his passes for 41 yards, including a six-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Darrias Sime. The Ephs had 2nd and goal at the Jumbos’ six, when Lommen looked to his right and found Sime completely wide open in the back right corner of the end zone.

Williams missed the extra point, but a quick turnover on downs for Tufts gave back the ball to Williams, which still held a six-point lead.

But just as the first quarter was coming to a close, Lommen made his second big mistake: He threw a dart across the middle, which bounced off his receiver’s fingertips and landed in the hands of a diving strong safety senior Michael DeFeo.

Tufts’ offense was able to capitalize on Williams’ blunder. Senior quarterback Jack Doll hit junior wide receiver Jack Cooleen twice on the subsequent drive for a total of 28 yards. Then, on 2nd and 7 at the Ephs’ 25, Snyder tossed a short pass to senior running back Zack Trause, who evaded several tackles before reaching paydirt.

Tufts was leading 14-13 with just under five minutes to play in the half, when Doll threw the ball to Cooleen cutting across the middle. He then sprinted up field before he was finally taken down at the Eph's 5-yard line for a 68-yard gain. Doll then found Trause on a quick 5-yard out route. After a botched snap on the extra point, the Jumbos went into the half with a 20-13 lead.

Both teams’ passing attacks were very strong in the first half. Lommen threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns, while Doll was 13-14 for 159 yards and a touchdown. The teams’ rushing attacks were both mediocre at the half, but a run by Trause blew the game wide-open early in the 3rd quarter.

The Jumbos' first drive of the second half started off slowly. The team was looking at a 3rd and 2 on its own 28 when Doll then handed the ball off to Trause, who gashed the Williams defense for a 60-yard run. He was finally brought down at the Ephs 12-yard line, where a quick slant from Doll to senior wide receiver Greg Lanzillo gave Tufts a 27-13 lead.

The Jumbos defense looked very strong in the second half, and the Ephs could not muster a single point until there was just 5:22 left in the 4th quarter. At that point Lommen threw his third touchdown pass of the game, but Tufts’ offense was able to kill the clock, giving the home team the seven-point win.

The biggest discrepancy between Saturday's win over Williams and Tufts’ two previous losses was the Jumbos ability to stop the run. They had allowed over 200 rushing yards in consecutive weeks entering the game against the Ephs, but Williams only managed to rush for 46 yards on 29 carries.

"The last two weeks, we didn’t stop the run,” senior linebacker Tommy Meade said. "It was a point of emphasis this week in practice. We just made sure that we got it done. We really harped on flying into the ball in practice, and it translated onto the field. Jimmy Brao’s 'scoop-n-score' or pick six, I’m not sure what it was, but his touchdown was big time."

It was truly a complete win for Tufts. The team had 409 total yards on offense, allowed just 303, only committed three penalties and had its first defensive touchdown of the season.

“I thought the front seven took it upon themselves, took some ownership the last couple weeks. They really wanted to make a difference, and that started back on Tuesday in practice,” head coach Jay Civetti said. "All week long they’ve really been doing a great job. I think [assistant] coach [Frank] Hauser called a great game. I think he and Jack [Doll] were just on a great page. The whole offensive staff really worked tirelessly to put us in the best position possible to be successful. I think Landon Davis at center, just battling, got us headed in the right direction. He kept guys off Jack [Doll] all day. We were able to get Snyder in the game, here and there. We can really create some issues with the talent we have."

After their win over the Ephs, the 3-2 Jumbos are still undefeated at home and winless on the road. Tufts will look to record its first win away from Medford on Saturday against the undefeated Amherst Lord Jeffs.