Box Score
SOMERVILLE – Amherst College (5-1) overcame six turnovers and scored the only points of the second half to defeat Tufts University (0-6) 17-7 in New England Small College Athletic Conference action at Ellis Oval / Zimman Field on Saturday.
After a scoreless first quarter Amherst took a 7-0 lead on the first possession of the second period as freshman quarterback Alex Berluti (Westwood, MA) ran in from a yard out to cap a 12-play, 56-yard drive. Berluti passed for 32 yards and rushed for 11 on the drive.
It appeared that Amherst would carry the 7-0 lead into halftime, but Tufts forced a fumble by Kenny Andrinka (Lynn, MA) on the Amherst 30 with 1:17 remaining in the half. Freshman quarterback Alex Snyder (Colorado Springs, CO) completed passes to Zack Trause (Carlstadt, NJ) for 10 yards and to Greg Lanzillo (Weston, MA) for 12 yards to give the Jumbos a first down on the Amherst 8. Snyder was sacked on the ensuing play, but Amherst was called for a facemask penalty that moved the ball to the Lord Jeffs' four. Trause then rushed to the two, and another facemask penalty gave the Jumbos a first down on the one. Trause carried the ball in on the next play with 16 second remaining in the stanza making it 7-7.
After the teams exchanged punts to begin the second half, Amherst went on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended with an interception by Jumbo James Brao (Hamilton, MA) at the Tufts 5. The Jumbos were unable to gain a first down and following a punt to the Amherst 46, the Lord Jeffs drove to the Tufts 16 from where Phillip Nwosu (Derwood, MD) snuck the ball inside the left upright for a 33-yard field goal and a 10-7 Amherst lead.
The Lord Jeffs gained a insurance score midway through the final quarter on an eight-play, 62-yard drive when junior quarterback Max Lippe (Los Altos, CA) took the ball in from the one with just over eight minutes to play.
Amherst dominated the game statistically running 108 plays for 515 total yards while Tufts managed just 116 yards on 61 offensive attempts. The Lord Jeffs held the Jumbos running game completely in check holding Tufts to just seven rushing yards on 30 attempts. Amherst sacked Snyder seven times for 58 yards lost. Amherst was 11 of 20 on third down conversions and held the Jumbos to three successful third down attempts on 16 tries. Amherst held the ball for over 37 minutes in the game.
Nick Kelly (Westport, CT) led the Lord Jeffs with 97 yards rushing on 21 attempts. Lippe was 16 of 30 passing for 196 yards, while Berluti completed six of seven attempts for 51. Snyder was 15 of 31 for the Jumbos for 109 yards.
Defensively Chris Tamasi (Canton, MA) led the Lord Jeffs with 10 tackles including four tackles for losses and two sacks. Ned Dean (andover, MA) had 2.5 sacks among his five tackles. Tufts' Tommy Mead (Wakefield, MA) led all tacklers in the game with 19 stops and had a forced fumble. Senior linebacker Sean Harrington (Chelmsford, MA) had a dozen tackles and two fumble recoveries.
Tufts will travel to Waterville, Maine next week to face Colby College in a 12:30 kickoff. Amherst hosts Trinity College at 1:00.
#
