Box Score
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Senior Marty Finnegan caught seven passes for 91 yards and a touchdown
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SOMERVILLE – Williams College used several big passing plays and took advantage of five Tufts turnovers to earn a 25-7 victory in New England Small College Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Ellis Oval/Zimman Field.
Williams drew first blood with just under five minutes remaining in the opening stanza on a 43-yard field goal by junior Joe Mallock (West Orange, NJ) following a fumbled punt by the Jumbos. The field goal was the 12th in a row by Mallock.
Tufts answered the three-pointer with one of their best drives of the season covering 75 yards in 12 plays. Senior QB John Dodds (Mount Pleasant, SC) hit classmate Marty Finnegan (Oak Park, IL) with a 13-yard pass for the score at 13:49 of the second quarter. The Jumbos converted a fourth and one from the Williams 38 with a four-yard rush by junior Marcel Pitre (Chula Vista, CA) to keep the drive alive.
Williams responded on the next drive with a touchdown of its own. Senior Darren Hartwell (North Reading, MA) set the Ephs up in good field position with a 31-yard return from the end zone. Two long passes from sophomore QB Tom Murphy (Whitinsville, MA) ate up 48 yards. On a third and four from the Williams 37, Murphy hit junior Greg Payton (Williamstown, MA) for 18 yards, and five plays later found Hartwell for 30 yards to the Jumbo six. Two three-yard rushes, the second by senior Tom Wohlwender (Fort Lauderdale, FL) resulted in a 9-7 Eph lead with 8:20 on the clock. The extra point was wide left.
Following a Tufts three-and-out, Williams took possession on its own 20. After a two-yard loss, Murphy found Payton streaking down the middle of the field behind the Jumbo secondary for an 82-yard catch and run for a score. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the teams would enter halftime with Williams leading 15-7.
After winning the opening toss and electing to defer to the second half, Williams used the possession to its advantage, driving 74 yards in seven plays to take a 21-7 lead. A 58-yard pass from Murphy to Payton took the ball to the Tufts 16. Junior Richie Beaton (Indianapolis, IN) rushed 13 yards to the three, where after a loss of one, Wohlwender banged the ball in at 12:21 of the third. Mallock's kick split the uprights for a 22-7 lead.
Tufts came back with a 20-play drive that yielded no points as a 27-yard field goal attempt was wide left.
Neither team could sustain a drive for the remainder of the third quarter, with Williams missing a 38-yard field goal attempt on the first play of the fourth. Mallock's streak had ended with a 44-yard miss in the second. However, the game's final score came off his foot from 19 yards out with 11:14 remaining.
The teams were evenly matched in passing yards with Williams throwing for 223 and the Jumbos gaining 240 through the air. Williams had a 97-30 advantage in rushing yards. Payton had 158 receiving yards for the Ephs on just three catches. Finnegan had seven receptions for 91 yards for Tufts, and also averaged 40.8 yards on five punts. Dodds threw for 215 yards on 25 completions, while Murphy completed just 10 passes, but accumulated 223 yards.
Freshman linebacker Wes Hartmann (Trabuco Canyon, CA) led the Jumbos with 10 tackles. Senior cornerback Austin Crittenden (Deerfield, IL) intercepted a pass and freshman Evan Anthony (Malibu, CA) recorded a sack. For Williams, senior Emmanuel Whyte (Bennington, VT) led the Ephs with eight tackles while also recovering a fumble and breaking up a pass. Senior Chris Cameron (Walpole, MA) intercepted two passes to go with six tackles.
Tufts (0-5) travels to Amherst next weekend for a 1:00 start. Williams (2-3) will travel to Clinton, NY to face Hamilton College, also a 1:00 kickoff.
Game statistics
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