MEDFORD, MA (October 11, 2024) -- The Tufts University football team, coming off a 42-24 loss to undefeated Trinity College last Saturday, will be right back into action this weekend as it travels North to Lewiston, Maine for a night contest with Bates College in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action Saturday. The Jumbos passed for 278 yards and three touchdowns last weekend against the Bantams, and
Cade Moore went a season-high 116 yards receiving and two scores but it wasn't quite enough. Bates is coming off a tough 28-26 loss to rival Colby College last Saturday in Waterville, as a two-point conversion to tie the game up with 1:54 left was unsuccessful as the Mules earned the win. Bates rushed for 288 yards and four touchdowns in the loss.
Game Details
Opponent: at Bates College (1-3, 1-3 NESCAC)
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Lewiston, Maine –
Garcelon Field -
Directions
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Mid 40s, Chance of Rain: 10%, Wind: WSW 5-10 MPH
Live Coverage:
LIVE STATS –
LIVE VIDEO
Bobcats vs. Jumbos All-Time
The Jumbos have held a big advantage over the Bobcats in the series dating back to 1958, as Tufts has gone 46-9-1 against their rival in Maine. Tufts has won eight of the last nine in the series, with the lone win coming back in 2021 when Bates knocked off Tufts 33-10. Last season the Jumbos rolled to a 44-16 win in Somerville, as Tufts rushed for 329 yards in the game and four touchdowns.
Chartellis Reece has 178 yards, while
Michael Berluti also carried the ball four times for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Tufts has won the last four meetings up in Lewiston, and the series has been a high scoring affair as one team in the game has scored 30 or more points in seven straight games. Also, only one of the last six games has been a decided by seven or fewer points, a 33-28 road win for Tufts back in 2019. The longest win streak in the series came for Tufts when it won 24 straight from 1986 to 2009, before Bates won four straight from 2010 to 2013.
A Look at the Jumbos (2-2, 2-2 NESCAC)
Tufts will look to pick up its first road win of the season Saturday evening, as the Jumbos try to shake off a 42-24 loss to conference-leading Trinity College at Ellis Oval last Saturday. Tufts was leading the game 16-14 after the first half as
Michael Berluti hit
Cade Moore for a pair of opening half scores. Unfortunately though for the home faithful, Trinity tallied four second-half touchdowns and the Jumbos couldn't keep up offensively as the Bantams moved to 4-0 on the season. Berluti had a strong game with 278 yards and three touchdowns, going 21-for-33, while Moore caught six balls for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
Christian Shapiro also rushed for 47 yards on 10 carries, but Trinity used an 8-of-10 conversion rate on third down to wear down the Jumbos defense late.
Through four games, Tufts ranks No. 3 in the NESCAC In total offense with 388.8 yards per game while its passing attack is second in the league with 1075 yards on the season. Tufts rushing attack currently sits at No. 6 in the NESCAC, averaging 120.0 yards per game. Junior kicker
Vaughn Seelicke leads the NESCAC in field goals on the season with eight, as no other team in the conference has made more than four on the campaign. The Tufts kickoff team has also been strong, as sophomore kicker
Caden Lawlor has helped the Jumbos to the second-best net kick yardage at 39.4 yards per kickoff. Defensively, the Jumbos rank fifth in the NESCAC in points allowed per game at 20.8 but rank first overall in yards allowed per game at just 278.3 a contest. No team has allowed fewer air yards than the Jumbos with 668 this season, while Tufts has allowing only 3.5 yards per carry on the season.
Individually,
Christian Shapiro ranks No. 5 in the NESCAC in rushing with his 230 yards through four games, as he has scored twice on the season. Berluti is second in the NESCAC in passing yardage with 1075 on the season, though he's only thrown four touchdowns which ranks tied for sixth in the league. Moore is fifth in the conference in yards per game with 73.8, scoring three times, and
Matt Rios ranks 11th with 57.5 yards a contest. Senior tight end
Jack Elliott is also Top 20 in the NESCAC, as he has averaged 39 yards per game, being a big play threat for the Jumbos. Moore ranks first in the NESCAC as well in punt returns, as the senior is averaging 12.3 yards per return on his four so far this year.
Defensively,
Jameer Alves is tops on the team in tackles with 26 on the season, while junior linebacker
Jeff Xu is also 17th in the conference in stops with his 24. Tufts has six sacks on the season, but they have been spread out to nine different players, while 13 different Jumbos have made a tackle for a loss.
Jaylen Callender has three pass break-ups on the season, and
Ty Richardson has picked off three passes to tie for the NESCAC lead.
A Look At The Bobcats (1-3, 1-3 NESCAC)
Bates comes into the weekend winners in just one of their four games, but the one victory was a road win at Wesleyan, which some are calling the upset of the young season. Last week,
The Bobcats (1-3 NESCAC) enter the game with the number two rushing offense in the NESCAC, led by sophomore Ryan Lynskey, who averages 92.3 rushing yards per game, tops in the conference. As a team, the Bobcats average 170.8 rushing yards per game. Lynskey has already found the end zone five times this year, and the Bobcats had by far their best game on the ground last week thanks to the addition of junior
Sergio Beltran to the mix. Utilizing a combination of Lynskey, Beltran, and quarterbacks
Colton Bosselait and
Seneca Moore, Bates ran the ball for a season-high 277 yards against the Mules, their most rushing yards in one game since 2019.
Defensively, the Bobcats are hoping to bounce back from a rough performance against Colby that set them back to seventh in the NESCAC in scoring defense (22 points allowed per game) and ninth in rushing defense (137.5 yards allowed per game). Prior to the Colby game, the Bates rushing defense ranked second in the NESCAC, but the Mules ran for 274 yards last Saturday. The run defense will be crucial against the Jumbos, as Tufts ran the ball for 329 yards and four touchdowns a year ago against the Bobcats.
Sophomore linebacker
Ryan Rozich and sophomore safety
Michael Spencer lead the way for Bates, with Rozich tied for fourth in the NESCAC with 30 tackles on the season and Spencer right behind him with 29 tackles this year.
NESCAC Week 5 Schedule
Colby at Wesleyan - 1 p.m.
Bowdoin at Amherst - 1 p.m.
Hamilton at Trinity - 1:30 p.m.
Williams at Middlebury - 2:00 p.m.
Up Next
The Jumbos return to Ellis Oval on October 19 for Parents and Family Weekend, taking on Hamilton College at 1 p.m. in more NESCAC play.
--JUMBOS--
