|
Pat Bailey, one of 13 Jumbos playing on Seniors Day, scored three touchdowns
|
SOMERVILLE - Junior QB Nick Kmetz (Laurel, DE) hit fellow junior Spencer Merwin (Falls Village, CT) with a one-yard touchdown pass and sophomore placekicker David Bendit (Emmaus, PA) added the point-after kick with no time on the clock to give the Colby College Mules a 42-41 come-from-behind victory over the Tufts University Jumbos in NESCAC football action Saturday afternoon at Ellis Oval/Zimman Field.
The Mules (4-3, 4-3 NESCAC) started the final drive at their own 27-yardline with 3:24 remaining. On the final drive, Kmetz led Colby down the field on 7 of 12 passing for 54 yards. Merwin caught 3 passes for 21 yards during the game-winning drive for the Mules.
Colby took an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter as senior Conor Tidgwell (Southbury, CT) scored on a four-yard rush ending a 10-play, 75-yard drive. The Jumbos (1-6, 1-6 NESCAC) answered with a six-play, 52-yard drive capped off by senior QB Anthony Fuccillo (Winthrop, MA) hitting fellow senior Greg Stewart (Wilmington, MA) on a 29-yard TD reception. On the next Colby possession, Tufts senior Matt Murray (Winthrop, MA) forced a fumble that was recovered by sophomore Sam Diss (Ridgewood, NJ) at the Colby 27-yard line. Fucillo hit senior Pat Bailey (Beverly, MA) on a three-yard pass, and after a missed PAT Tufts led 13-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Mules answered back at the start of the second quarter, as junior Ian Bortwick scored from one yard out. Colby then took a 21-13 lead as Tidgwell again scored from a yard out and after Bendit converted the PAT, the Mules led 21-13. On the next drive, the Jumbos tied the score as Fucillo found freshman WR Pat Nee (Essex Junction, VT) with a 37-yard scoring pass. Fuccillo then hit Bailey for the two-point conversion making it 21-21. Tufts took its second lead of the game as Bailey scored from two yards out and junior Adam Auerbach (Glen Rock, NJ) converted the PAT for a 28-21 advantage. Bendit tried to cut the Jumbos' lead to 28-24 at the break, but he missed wide right on a 24-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the half.
The Mules took the second half kickoff and drove 58 yards to tie the score at 28-28, as Kmetz found senior Pat Burns (Charles Town, WV) with a four-yard pass. Tufts took a 35-28 lead on its next drive as Bailey rushed in from three yards out. The Jumbos defense came up big with just over six minutes left in the third quarter, stopping Colby on four plays from inside the Jumbos 5-yard line. On a fourth and two, Kmetz tried to hit Burns in the endzone but the pass fell incomplete. On the ensuing Tufts drive, which was 17 plays and 98 yards, Fucillo hit Stewart with an 11-yard pass, but Auerbach's PAT was blocked, so the Jumbos led 41-28 with 13:19 left in the fourth quarter.
Colby took the ensuing kickoff and after eight plays, senior Alex Gresham (Milton, MA) intercepted a Kmetz pass and gave the Jumbos excellent field position at the Colby 39-yard line. However, two plays later Fucillo had a pass intercepted by Colby's Ryan Murphy (Mansfield, MA), and the Mules started their drive at their own 30-yard line. Senior Nat Carson (Winfield, IL) caught a 16-yard pass from Kmetz on the 11th play of the drive, as Colby cut the Tufts lead to 41-35 with 5:20 remaining. The Jumbos then ran three plays and had to punt to the Mules, pinning them back on their own 27 yard line.
Kmetz ended the contest going 40 for 53 for 392 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Burns caught nine of those passes for 115 yards, while junior Connor Walsh (Westwood, MA) had a team-leading 11 receptions for 87 yards. Tidgwell had 25 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while Kmetz carried the ball 17 times for 81 yards. The Mules gained 216 yards on the ground and had 608 yards of total offense in the game.
Fucillo threw for 359 yards and four touchdowns on 29 of 44 passing with an interception. Bailey caught 10 passes for 80 yards, while Nee had seven receptions for 135 yards. Bailey had 12 rushes for 38 yards and ended the day with three touchdowns overall. Tufts had 409 yards of total offense on the day.
Murphy led the defense for Colby with seven total tackles and the key interception, while fellow senior Richard Newton (Arlington, MA) followed with five total tackles. Junior Nick Falk (Riverside, IL) had 14 total tackles on the day for Tufts, while Murray and sophomore Tommy Castle (Yarrow Point, WA) followed with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively.
Tufts travels to Middlebury, VT to take on the Middlebury Panthers in a NESCAC contest on Saturday, November 13 with kick-off set for 12:00 pm. Colby will host Bowdoin on Saturday, November 13 with the opening kick-off set for 12:30 pm.
Game Statistics
#
