SOMERVILLE, MA (September 14, 2024) -- Sophomore corner back
Ty Richardson picked off his second pass of the night late in the fourth quarter, helping the Tufts University football team seal a 23-21 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) win over visiting Bowdoin College under the lights inside Ellis Oval on Homecoming.
The season-opening win was the first for the Jumbos since 2019, when they knocked off Trinity College 14-8 to open that campaign. It wasn't easy though, despite looking like it might be early in the game.
The Jumbos forced a three-and-out on the opening possession by Bowdoin, and then Tufts (1-0) orchestrated an eight-play, 46-yard drive over 4:55 finishing in an eight-yard touchdown scamper from sophomore
Christian Shapiro. It was the first touchdown of the sophomore's career, and first of two on the day.
Tufts upped its lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter, as
Vaughn Seelicke connected from 35 yards out to complete a 12-play, 60-yard drive. The Jumbos looked like they were going in for another score on their ensuing possession, but Ferris Collins picked off a
Michael Berluti pass off of deflection to end the threat.
Bowdoin would be forced to punt after the interception, but got some more turnover luck as they recovered a muffed punt to get the ball back at the Jumbos' 29-yard line. It would then take the Polar Bears (0-1) just six plays to get on the board as Robbie Long burst into the end zone from 16 yards out to make it 10-7.
After halftime, the Polar Bears took their first lead of the contest as Long broke out for a 38-yard touchdown run to put Bowdoin up 14-10. Seelicke would pull Tufts to within one at 14-13 on the next drive, as he converted from 31 yards out to make it 14-13.
The next drive for Bowdoin would be cut short by a turnover, as Richardson made a great play on an overthrown ball to dive and intercept a Long pass to setup Tufts with great field position at the Polar Bear 24. With the help of a offside penalty on fourth down, Tufts took the lead seven plays later with a two-yard Shapiro run to make it 20-14 with four seconds to go in the third quarter.
The Polar Bears would punt the ball away on their next possession, but a fumble gave them the ball back at the 11-yard line of Tufts. Bowdoin would capitalize two plays later with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Long to Ty Connolly to make it 21-20 visitors.
Following the score from Bowdoin, Tufts responded with an eight-play, 72-yard drive which included a huge 51-yard reception from senior
Jack Elliott. Tufts had the ball at the Bowdoin 3, but couldn't punch it in and Seelicke nailed his third field goal of the night to put Tufts ahead 23-21 with just under eight minutes left.
The teams would trade three-and-outs on their next two possessions but a 56-yard punt by
Andrew Leigh pinned Bowdoin deep in its own zone. The Polar Bears would quickly get the ball to the Jumbos 32-yard line with less than a minute to go, but Richardson read a corner route and was there waiting for his second interception of the day to end the threat.
Bowdoin was forced to use their timeouts, but another Leigh punt inside the 10-yard line made Bowdoin had to go 93 yards in 22 seconds to pull a miracle. On the last play of the game, Long hit Jed Hoggard who quickly lateraled to Luke Watson. Watson broke three tackles but was pulled down at the Tufts 37 by Jaylen Callendar to knot the win for the Jumbos.
Berluti was 22-for-38 for 321 yards through the air for the Jumbos, while senior
Cade Moore had six grabs for 82 yards. Sophomore
Matt Rios pulled in five grabs for 78 yards while senior
Henry Fleckner also corralled five catches for 66 yards. On the ground, Chapiro rushed for 61 yards and two scores on 23 carries, and
Aundre Smith added 28 yards on five carries.
Defensively,
Johnny Ferrelli and
Dom DeCrescenzo each had seven stops, while senior defensive back
Jameer Alves slo had six stops and one pass break up. Callender was solid with two break-ups and four tackles, while Richardson posted 44 return yards on his interceptions in addition to a tackle for loss and three stops.
Seelicke tied the school record for field goals in a game with three, matching his career-high for makes which he set last year against Bates College also on Homecoming. Leigh was solid punting as well, as he put three of his five punts inside the 20, averaging 38.4 per kick.
The Jumbos outgained their visitors 407-273 for the game, and also held a 32:03-27:57 edge in time of possession. Tufts also tallied 21 first downs for the game, and was able to navigate past four turnovers for the win.
Long rushed for 95 yards and two scores for Bowdoin, also throwing for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Tufts will hit the road for its first road game of the season Saturday, September 21 at 7 p.m. against Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
--JUMBOS
