Jumbos Celebrate Football Brotherhood In Senior Day Game Saturday

MEDFORD - The Tufts University football team finishes its 2022 campaign Saturday against the Middlebury College Panthers on Senior Day at Ellis Oval. Twenty-three members of the Class of 2022-23 and five Jumbos who used an extra season of eligibility to return to the team this fall will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.

The 28 Jumbos who will be recognized are OJ Armstrong, Gio Arquilla, David Barrios, Jackson Butler, Michael Butler, Travis Cepalia, Phil Covil, Matty Drouillard, Billy Dunn, Gunnar Fisher, Richie Ferrelli, Dom Haley, Blair Horning, Ciaran Hourihan, Tyler Johnson, Gary Kazanjian, Izzy Lobin, Phil Lutz, Chase Mangini, Joshua Meriwether, Will McCreery, Jayshon Means, Cam O'Brien, Jonathan Oneal, Jaden Pena, Jack Racine, Nick Swift, Patrick Walsh and Trevon Woodson.

In addition to saluting these outstanding young men, Tufts has a lot to play for on Saturday. A win against Middlebury would finish the Jumbos' season at 6-3, which would be the most wins for the program since 2018. The Panthers (7-1) are also eager for a victory, which coupled with a Trinity College loss to Wesleyan University would give Middlebury a share of the conference championship. At 5-3, the Jumbos are currently in fourth place in the NESCAC standings. A win and a Wesleyan loss against Trinity would give the Jumbos a third-place finish.

The Jumbos are coming off back-to-back wins against Colby College (35-7) and Hamilton College (49-13) by a combined score of 84-20. With the two decisive victories, Tufts now possesses the second-highest scoring offense in the NESCAC as they average 30.9 points per game. They have also moved up to the #4 ranking defensively giving up 17.5 points per game.

Jumbo quarterback Michael Berluti leads the league in a majority of offensive categories, including passing yards (2455), passing touchdowns (tied at 19), efficiency rating (173.6) and completion percentage (70.1). His 306.9 passing yards per game mark is sixth-best in the nation. 

Berluti's top target, senior receiver Phil Lutz, leads the league in receiving yards with 984. Lutz is averaging 123 yards and 8.5 receptions per game, which rank sixth and fourth in the nation, respectively. Additionally, the Jumbos feature the league's leading rusher, Tyler Johnson, coming into Saturday's matchup. Johnson has 636 yards on 136 carries, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. He also leads the league with his eight rushing touchdowns on the season. Behind all this production, the Jumbos lead NESCAC with 450.9 yards per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Jumbos are led in tackles by linebackers EJ Comerford, Matty Drouillard, and Shane Reiner, who each have 46, 43, and 34 stops, respectively. The Jumbos are tied for second in the league with nine interceptions, with sophomore Lou Timmins continuing to hold the league-lead with his four picks.

Last Saturday on the road against a Colby team which entered the week with the same record as the Jumbos, Tufts scored a decisive 28-point win. A strong defensive effort featured seven sacks including two each by Comerford and Javier Rios. The Jumbos also had a special teams play lead to their first touchdown as freshman Jeff Xu recovered a fumbled punt return at the Mules' nine-yard line. Punter Patrick Walsh was also strong on special teams, averaging 45.3 yards on four kicks to get his season average to up 41.0 yards.

The Middlebury Panthers, much improved over last year's 3-6 finish, feature the fourth-ranked NESCAC scoring offense as they average 27.5 points per game. Their 294.3 passing yards per game is third in the NESCAC, while they sit last in rushing yards with 75.3 yards per game.

Quarterback Cole Kennon was the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week following Middlebury's 48-34 win over Hamilton last Saturday. He completed 29 of 42 passes for 425 yards and six touchdowns. Receiver Donovan Wood, who caught eight passes for 131 yards and two scores versus the Continentals, leads the NESCAC with 10 receiving touchdowns. Wood's 17.4 yards per reception are also tops in the league. LeeCharles McNeil is the leading rusher on the Panthers with 477 yards.

Tufts' high-powered passing attack will face a Panther defense whose 10 interceptions are tops in the NESCAC. Seven different Panthers have recorded INTs, including two each by Finn Muldoon, Nolan Tibball and Rocco Stola. Kwesi Adu-Diawuo also has nine pass break-ups. Muldoon is third in the league with 69 tackles. The Middlebury defense is ranked second in the NESCAC allowing 17.4 points per game. 

Middlebury is also playing in the final game of head coach Bob Ritter's career with the team. A former Tufts assistant coach in football and head coach of Jumbo Men's Lacrosse, Ritter has guided Middlebury to a 112-60 record and three conference titles in 22 seasons.

The series between the Jumbos and Panthers has gone back and forth over the years. Tufts won 34-27 in Vermont last year behind 120 rushing yards and two scores from Tyler Johnson. Wood had six catches for 84 yards and a score on the Middlebury side.

TUFTS VS. MIDDLEBURY SERIES
Series Record: Middlebury 32-31
First Game: 1915, Tufts 34-0
Last Tufts Win: 2021, 34-27
Last Middlebury Win: 2019, 31-24
Current Streak: Tufts, 1 game
Large Margins: Tufts 47-6 in 1953; Middlebury College 52-10 in 2013