Tufts football dominates Bowdoin in Homecoming game

The Tufts football team (3–1) bulldozed the Bowdoin Polar Bears (0–4) in Saturday’s Homecoming game, winning by a score of 31–3.

Under a clear October sky, the Jumbos’ offense began the game unsteadily. After winning the toss and electing to receive the opening kickoff, Tufts gained two first downs before junior quarterback Ryan McDonald suffered a sack on third-and-15. A punt by junior defensive back Alexander LaPiana pinned the Polar Bears at their own 11-yard line.

Bowdoin flashed dangerous potential early on. First-year quarterback Griff Stalcup found senior wide receiver Nick Vailas for a 16-yard third-down conversion. On the very next play, sophomore running back Nate Richam bounced off multiple Tufts linebackers on a 28-yard run. After reaching the Jumbos’ 35-yard line, the Polar Bears appeared poised to post the first points of the game. However, Tufts’ junior defensive lineman Jared Ahsler stuffed Richam for no gain on third down, and sophomore linebacker Tylor Scales sacked Stalcup on fourth down to snuff out the threat.

On their next drive, the Jumbos had to punt after their second series. Fortuitously for the hosts, Bowdoin’s junior wide receiver Ejaaz Jiu muffed the punt, allowing Tufts’ senior linebacker Zach Thomas to recover the football at the Polar Bears’ 22-yard line. The Jumbos subsequently went three-and-out, settling for a 31-yard field goal by first-year kicker Matthew Alswanger with 4:04 left in the first quarter.

According to coach Jay Civetti, a variety of factors might explain the offense’s slow start to the game, which included two false starts and an ineligible man downfield.

“We just had penalties that we typically don’t make,” he said. “I don’t know if it was just being back home [after two road games] or the excitement of the Homecoming game. We had a great week of practice, and guys were just eager more than anything else.”

After getting the ball back, the Bowdoin offensive assembled its only scoring drive of the afternoon. Stalcup marshalled the Polar Bears up the field, using a combination of short passes to his wideouts and handoffs to Richam and first-year running back Owen Gideon-Murphy. Bowdoin progressed all the way to Tufts’ 13-yard line before the hosts thwarted a Stalcup pass intended for Vailas. Senior Polar Bear kicker Andrew Sisti knocked a 30-yard field goal through the uprights to tie the game with 10:14 remaining in the second quarter.

From that point onward, Tufts dominated on both sides of the football. The Jumbos strode up the field on the first drive of the second quarter, bolstered by a 17-yard reception by senior wide receiver Joe Nault and a 22-yard carry by sophomore running back Andrew Sanders. McDonald found the end zone on a 14-yard run to give the Jumbos a 10–3 advantage at the 6:22 mark.

Junior wide receiver Dan de Leon stated that Tufts’ continued faith in its game plan enabled the team’s offensive turnaround.

“Nothing really changed that much that I noticed,” he said. “Things just started to click. We had a few key plays where Ryan would complete a pass for 10 or 12 yards, and then we’d break a big run. Those plays kept the drive going.”

During the second series of the subsequent Bowdoin drive, Thomas sacked Stalcup on first down. Two plays later, senior wide receiver Bryan Porter dropped a pass, forcing the Polar Bears to punt.

Taking over at his own 38 yard line with 3:15 on the clock, McDonald wasted no time in laying waste to the Bowdoin secondary. The signal caller took the Jumbos across midfield with a seven-yard scurry and a 21-yard completion to sophomore wide receiver Winton Blount. Three plays and a first down later, McDonald connected with de Leon for a 22-yard touchdown. The Polar Bears ran out the remaining 1:38 on the clock, and the Jumbos entered halftime with a 21–3 lead.

Civetti described how reducing mental mistakes expanded the options available to the Jumbos’ offense.

“You go in with a certain game plan, and you’ve got to find out what works and what doesn’t,” he explained. “The hard part is that when you have penalties [which] put you in long-distance situations, your play sheet shrinks.”

Civetti added that although building a significant lead increases tactical and formational flexibility, changes to the game plan are not always warranted.

“The more comfortable you are in the game,” he said, “[the more you can] can make certain adjustments. But at the same time, when you have success, you usually stick to what you’ve been doing.”

De Leon emphasized the mental benefits associated with building a lead.

“When you do jump out [to a lead] like that, it allows you to play a little bit more relaxed, which is especially good in an offensive mindset,” he explained. “You don’t want to have to feel like you’re playing and coming back from behind, where you need to make [a certain] play… [When you’re winning,] while you still like to make every play, it’s not like it’s do-or-die. It’s a little bit of a pressure relief and allows you to play more freely.”

Even as clouds began to vaguely curtain the sun, the Tufts defense remained hot. On Bowdoin's first drive of the third quarter, senior quad-captain linebacker Steve DiCienzo leveled Stalcup on second down for a three-yard loss; two plays later, the Polar Bears were forced to punt. Once the Jumbo offense retook the field, the one-two punch of de Leon and first-year running back Mike Pedrini pummeled the Polar Bear defense. Pedrini ripped off back-to-back runs of 15 and 17 yards, while de Leon followed up a seven-yard reception with a 25-yard grab that brought the Jumbos to the five yard line. On second and goal with 9:31 left in the third quarter, Pedrini took McDonald's handoff into the end zone for his first Tufts touchdown.

Meanwhile, the Jumbo defense continued to suffocate the Polar Bears. Tufts’ senior quad-captain defensive lineman Doug Harrison played a major role in ending two of Bowdoin’s next three drives. The Lincoln, R.I. native’s third-down sack of Stalcup around the six-minute mark of the third quarter forced Bowdoin out of field goal range. Later, in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Harrison batted a pass at the line and picked off Stalcup for his first career interception.

The Jumbos concluded their scoring with 1:41 left in the game, when sophomore running back Jay Tyler punched the ball in from the one-yard line for his first score as a Jumbo.

Throughout the game, the Tufts pass rush imposed its will on Stalcup. The Jumbos’ fifth and final quarterback takedown came near the end of the third quarter, courtesy of senior linebacker Chuck Calabrese.The five sacks are the most the team has recorded since last year’s 44–12 win over Colby.

Up next for the Jumbos are the defending NESCAC champions, the Trinity Bantams (4–0).