Box Score 
MEDFORD – Junior running back Tyler Johnson ran for 120 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns as the Jumbo football team earned a 34-27 victory at Middlebury College in the 2021 season finale on Saturday.
Tufts closed its season with four consecutive victories. After taking the lead in third quarter, the Jumbos presevered it by stopping three Panther drives in the fourth quarter. That includes the first career interception by senior Jason Ndansi (pictured).
The high-scoring game was tied 20-20 at the half. After the Jumbo defense forced a punt on Middlebury's opening possession of the second half, Tufts took a 27-20 lead on Johnson's nine-yard TD run at 9:36 of the third quarter. Freshman quarterback Michael Berluti and senior back Mike Pedrini started the drive by connecting on a 39-yard pass play to the Panther 28. Pedrini ran the next three times for 17 yards and two plays later Johnson scored.
After Middlebury had moved to the Tufts 26 in the next series, the Jumbo defensie turned them over on downs. When Tufts took over, Berluti and junior Philip Lutz soon hooked up for a 39-yard completion to the Middlebury 23. A 10-yard Berluti to Chase Mangini pass on fourth down set up first and goal at the 6, and Johnson took it from there for a 34-20 Jumbo advantage with 3:12 to go in the third.
The hosts answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive resulting in a Will Jernigan nine-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Wood. That pulled the Panthers within 34-27 five seconds into the fourth quarter.
Both teams punted on their next possessions, including a 60-yarder by Berluti for Tufts. The Jumbos drove to the Middlebury 7 later in the quarter, but missed a field goal. Ndansi had his interception two plays into the ensuing Panther drive. Tufts punted again though, and Middlebury took over on their own 25 with 1:37 on the clock. The Jumbo defense got a fourth down stop and Tufts went into the victory formation.
The game had started slowly with punts on the first four possessions until Tufts put together a 10-play, 82-yard scoring drive late in the first to lead 6-0. Johnson had a 50-yard run to the Middlebury 7 and three plays later Pedrini scored from a yard out.
Jumbo senior Brandyn Jones had his second interception in as many weeks at 13:24 of the second quarter giving Tufts the ball at the Panther 24. On the first play of the drive, Berluti passed for a 24-yard touchdown to Jackson Butler and the Jumbos led 13-0.
Middlebury got going and scored on three straight possessions to take a 20-13 lead. Jernigan rushed for a 13-yard score at 11:27 of the second quarter, Peter Scibilia scored from two yards out at 7:19 and Jernigan again brought it in from six yards with 3:45 on the second-quarter clock.
Tufts took the ball and converted two fourth downs - Berluti on a fourth and seven with an eight-yard run and Johnson with a four-yard gain on fourth and two from the Panther 30. Berluti then threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Billy Dunn – his eighth TD catch of the year – with just 31 seconds to go until halftime tying the score 20-20.
The Jumbos rushed for 240 yards on the day, helping them accumulate 457 yards overall. They finished the year as NESCAC's top offense with 427.7 yards per game. In addition to Johnson's 120 on the ground, Pedrini had 81 yards on 15 carries. Johnson's two touchdowns gave him 11 for the season (one receiving).
Lutz became the first 1,000-yard receiver in team history with his seven catches for 70 yards today. His 74 receptions and 1,047 yards in nine games are both single-season records at Tufts. Berluti threw for 217 yards (18 for 31), rushed for 39 and ended the season leading NESCAC with 310.1 yards of total offense per game. Tufts went five for five on fourth-down tries.
Matty Drouillard led Tufts defensively with 12 tackles. Jones had three PBUs in addition to his interception.
Middlebury's Jernigan rushed 20 times for 132 yards, but was just 13 for 34 passing for 149 yards. Wood caught six of those passes for 84 yards. Jack Pistorius with 11 tackles and a blocked field goal led the Panthers defensively.
