Football emerges victorious in one-possession game against Williams

It was Parents Weekend on Saturday, and families visiting from near and far congregated at Ellis Oval to witness the Jumbos (5–1) battle the Williams Ephs (4–2) for a high-stakes football game that ultimately determined which team would take second place in the overall ranking of the NESCAC. The Jumbos emerged victorious with a final score of 28–21, following an outstanding performance by the Jumbo defense in the second half. With the win, the Jumbos remain tied for second place in the NESCAC, along with the Trinity Bantams, the defending NESCAC champions. The only team currently ahead of the Jumbos in the standings are the undefeated Amherst Mammoths (6–0), who the Jumbos will face on Saturday.

Following a crushing 38–24 defeat against the Bantams (5–1) on Oct. 13, the Jumbos were determined to secure a win over the Ephs. Both teams entered the contest with a 4–1 record, with the Ephs having suffered their only loss of the season to the Middlebury Panthers (4–2) also on Oct. 13. The teams both brought their maximum intensity as they held each other to a one-possession game throughout the entire competition.

On Saturday’s game, the Ephs were led by sophomore quarterback Bobby Maimaron, who completed 18 out of his 29 attempted passes on the day for 107 yards. Along with his impressive passing performance, Maimaron proved to be the biggest rushing threat for the Jumbos, leading the team with 135 yards rushing on 24 attempts and one touchdown.

Maimaron’s single touchdown came in Williams’ opening drive of the game. Following a quick Tufts three-and-out, Williams received the ball at the Tufts 44-yard line. Maimaron effectively pushed the visitors’ drive downfield to Tufts' 11-yard line. Initially, the Ephs had trouble passing the ball in the red zone against a tough Jumbo defense, with Maimaron going 0-for-2 on two passes inside the red zone. However, following an incomplete pass from Maimaron intended for sophomore wide receiver Frank Stola, Tufts received a holding penalty. This crucial penalty on the third down prompted the ball to be placed at the Tufts 6-yard line alongside an automatic first down. Following the penalty, Maimaron made four rushing attempts for the end zone. On his fourth rush, Maimaron crossed the goal line, giving Williams a 7–0 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Jumbos immediately responded. Senior quarterback and co-captain Ryan McDonald completed two chunk passes on the ensuing Jumbo drive, the first of which was a 22-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver OJ Armstrong. This was followed by a 25-yard catch by junior tight end Jack Donohue that eventually set up a 3-yard rush by senior running back Dom Borelli into the end zone to tie the game.

The teams went back and forth in scoring throughout the second quarter. Following Pedrini’s touchdown, Maimaron once again led his team to the Tufts red zone. At the 3-yard line, Maimaron elected to hand the ball off to first-year running back Carter Begel, who rushed for three yards to give the Ephs a 14–7 lead.

Tufts then received the ball at its own 14-yard line to start the next drive. In the ensuing minutes, McDonald methodically completed five out of his eight passing attempts on the drive, leading the Jumbos to work their way up to the Williams 6-yard line. McDonald threw a pass to Donohue in the left corner of the end zone, who was under heavy coverage. Donohue, standing at 6 feet and 5 inches, towered over the head of his defender, grabbing the ball before being forced to the turf. As Donohue was taken to the ground, he managed to retain possession of the football to once again level the score at 14–14. Both teams scored once more in the second quarter -- the Ephs on a 10-yard rush by Begel, and the Jumbos on a 8-yard touchdown pass from McDonald to senior wide receiver Dan de Leon -- to close out the second quarter with a score of 21–21.

Whereas the first half of the game featured spectacular plays on the offensive side of the ball for both teams, the second half of play was highlighted by a dominating defensive performance by the Tufts secondary. Junior linebacker and co-captain Greg Holt was instrumental in the Jumbos' defensive effort, leading the team with a total of 13 tackles.Additionally, with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, Holt forced a fumble from the hands of Begel at the Ephs' own 19-yard line. The fumble was recovered for the Jumbos by sophomore defensive back Nolan Ostmo at the Williams 13-yard line in what was the only turnover of the game.

“I just remember that I saw the ball and a couple blockers coming towards me. I started to sink inside and I saw it bounce out, so I just took off obviously, trying to make a play,” Holt said. “And then I remember hitting the guy. I didn’t know he fumbled it, I just remember trying to tackle him and get him to the ground. When I got up, all my teammates, including Nolan Ostmo, fell on the ball. All my teammates were celebrating, and I was just excited, especially for Nolan as a [sophomore] coming in, making a big play and getting on the ball.”

The pivotal forced fumble by Holt gave the Jumbos a chance to score the game-winning touchdown, which they did through a lovely trick play. McDonald lateraled the ball to senior running back Dom Borelli, who threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Jack Dolan, giving Tufts its first lead of the game.

Despite being held scoreless throughout the entire second half, Williams came extremely close to tying up the game with just under 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. After Tufts' senior punter/defensive back and co-captain Alex LaPiana's 30-yard punt to the Williams 22-yard line, Stola ran up the right sideline for a 39-yard punt return before being pushed out of bounds at the Tufts 39-yard line, marking a huge punt return for the visitors.

Tufts coach Jay Civetti expressed his frustration with the long punt return, emphasizing how important special teams will be for Saturday’s matchup against the Mammoths.

“I was frustrated with the big return on the punt,” Civetti said. “That’s not typically how things have been here, and that’s an area that I run. I need to do a better job coaching the guys up. We need to win the special teams battles on Saturday.”

Taking advantage of their favorable field position, the Ephs started their drive with a 17-yard rush by Maimaron to the Tufts 22-yard line. After the first down, Begel attempted a rush but was stopped seven yards short of the first down. On the ensuing second and third down attempts, Maimaron attempted two passes to Stola, both of which fell incomplete. However, as the second ball to Stola fell incomplete, officials threw a flag on the play, signaling a pass-interference penalty onto senior defensive back and co-captain Alex LaPiana, placing the ball on the Tufts 4-yard line.

Three rushing attempts yielded a collective three yards, forcing a fourth-and-goal situation on the 1-yard line for the Ephs. With just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Williams elected to go for the touchdown on fourth down. In perhaps the most important moment of the game, Maimaron snapped the ball and attempted a quarterback sneak for the touchdown. However, Holt tackled Maimaron for no gain and forced a turnover on downs with just over nine minutes remaining in the game. Following this pivotal stop at the goal line, Williams was not able to score throughout the remainder of the game, prompting Tufts to a victory with a final score of 28–21.

Holt’s incredible performance on the defensive side of the ball for the Jumbos did not go unrecognized, and he was named the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week for his contribution in stopping the Williams offense and securing the victory for the Jumbos. Holt expressed gratitude and gave credit to his teammates for helping him achieve such an honor.

“I feel just really blessed and excited,” Holt said. “I want to give a lot of [credit] to my teammates. On the field, we work as a team, and they put me in positions to help me be successful and they make a lot of the other plays out there.”

Civetti praised his star linebacker, saying that Holt’s attitude towards the game has helped him be successful.

“Greg’s a tremendous player, I think he’s one of the best players in the league,” Civetti said. “He has a great nose for the football, he’s a true student of the game, and he’s just a remarkable young man. He was NESCAC [Defensive] Player of the Week, and he did a tremendous job with that and I’m just really proud of him and the job he does ... The thing I love about Greg is that Greg isn’t going to be satisfied; he’s going to find a million different things that he could have done better, and he’ll make sure that the the rest of the team has that same mindset.”

The Jumbos will travel to Amherst, Mass. on Saturday to face the Mammoths, starting at 1 p.m.