Box Score
WILLIAMSTOWN - The Williams College football team outscored Tufts 25-7 in the second half to earn their first win of the season, 49-35, in high-scoring NESCAC action Saturday at Weston Field.
Senior quarterback Adam Marske passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Ephs (1-4). For Tufts, freshman QB Alex Snyder made an impressive collegiate debut with 302 yards passing and four touchdowns.
With Tufts down 24-7 in the middle of the second quarter, Snyder threw three touchdown passes within a 5:22 span late in the period to vault the Jumbos to a 28-24 halftime lead.
That score would hold until late in the third. Following a Tufts punt, Williams drove 57 yards on 10 plays for a go-ahead score. A 22-yard pass from Marske to Jeff Brewington was the big play, setting the Ephs up first and 10 on the Tufts 14. After a 12-yard pass to Steven Kiesel, Williams took a 31-28 lead on a one-yard score by Marco Hernandez at 2:15 of the third.
With the Tufts offense stalling, Williams would score on its next possession as well. A 14-yard Marske to Kiesel pass converted a third and four around midfield as the third quarter ended. A 15-yard run by Eph running back Alex Scyocurka put them at the Tufts 15. However, the Jumbo defense held the Ephs to a 23-yard field goal by Joe Mallock making it 34-28.
The Jumbos would then hand the ball over to the Ephs in prime scoring position after a three-and-out followed by a bad punt. It took just two plays, a 21-yard Marske to Brewington pass and then a nine-yard scoring run by Scyocurka to give Williams a 42-28 advantage at 11:49 of the fourth.
The Jumbos would go down fighting. They went 80 yards in just three plays to cut the margin to a touchdown (42-35) with 6:12 on the clock. Snyder passed 22 yards to Trause on first down and then threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to junior Greg Lanzillo.
However, Williams answered with a 67-yard scoring drive finished by a three-yard touchdown run by Scyocurka for his second touchdown of the day and a 49-35 advantage. A 27-yard Darrias Sime reception from Marske was the drive's biggest play.
Taking over with 2:02 remaining in the fourth, Snyder drove the Jumbos down inside the Williams 10-yard line including a 27-yard pass to Lanzillo and a 17-yard connection with senior tight end Nick Kenyon. However, an intentional grounding penalty and then an incompletion on fourth down ended the threat and Williams was able to kneel down to run out the clock.
Tufts had taken the opening kickoff and moved down the field to take a 7-0 lead on a nine-yard run by Snyder at 11:33 of the opening quarter. The drive went 12 plays for 75 yards. A 24-yard rush by junior tailback Zack Trause put the Jumbos in Williams territory. Short passes covered the rest of the distance including a eight-yard completion to Frey on third and four.
However, the Ephs would dominate the rest of the period and into the second with 24 straight points. Marske threw 27 yards for a touchdown to Alex Way at 6:14 of the first to tie the game 7-7. A 13-yard Richie Beaton run followed by a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown by Nate Saffold just 19 seconds later gave the hosts a 21-7 margin at the end of the first quarter. They added a 32-yard field goal by Mallock at 8:19 of the second quarter for a 24-7 cushion.
However, Tufts would rally impressively to close the half. On the first of three straight touchdowns, Tufts went 61 yards in six plays. Snyder passed 31 yards to sophomore tight end Xavier Frey down to the Williams 17. Two plays later, he completed a 14-yard rainbow pass to Kenyon for a touchdown that pulled Tufts within 24-14.
The Jumbos would take advantage of two Williams turnovers late in the half. On the first play of the next Williams drive, Junior Arroyo intercepted Williams QB Adam Marske at the Ephs' 22. The Jumbos took over and Snyder converted a fourth down and 11 play with a 12-yard pass to Kenyon. Two plays later, Snyder passed 11 yards to Lanzillo for a touchdown and Tufts was within 24-21.
The Ephs fumbled on their next possession with Tufts recovering at their own 40. Snyder went to work again, passing 14 yards to Frey on second down. Later in the drive, after he was sacked for a 13-yard loss, Snyder completed a 26-yard pass to Kenyon down to the Williams 3. On first and goal, Snyder hooked up with freshman Ben Berey for a three-yard touchdown and the Jumbos were in the lead 28-24.
Tufts then picked up where they left off in the second half, as sophomore linebacker Matt McCormack intercepted a pass in Williams territory at the 45. However, they were unable to capitalize and a bad snap on the punt was recovered by the Ephs at the Tufts 28.
The Jumbo defense held, with junior James Brao coming up with a third down sack, and then Mallock missed a 43-yard field goal attempt. The Ephs would have the better of the play for the remainder of the game though to win the battle of winless teams.
Marske completed 27 of 45 passes for his 342 yards. Kiesel with eight catches for 85 yards was Williams' lead receiver. Scyocurka gained 98 yards on 27 rushes. Williams finished with 473 yards of offense and had three rushing scores.
Snyder finished 22 for 46 for 302 yards and four touchdowns in his college debut. Six passes and two of the scores went to Lanzillo, who had 102 receiving yards. Frey (5-71) and Kenyon (4-69, td) also had productive receiving days. On the ground, Trause gained 79 yards on 15 carries. The Jumbos finished with 361 total yards, and their 35 points were the most by a Tufts team since November 2010.
Defensively, the Ephs sacked Snyder eight times. James Howe made eight stops for the Ephs including five for 20 yards in losses (four sacks). Mike Flynn finished with 2.5 sacks among his six tackles. John McKenna broke up three passes.
McCormack led Tufts with nine tackles to go with the interception. Brao had three tackles behind the line of scrimmage giving him seven on the season.
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