SOMERVILLE, MA (September 20, 2025) -- Special teams was the key for the Tufts University football squad on Saturday night, as senior kicker
Vaughn Seelicke nailed two field goals and sophomore Dazer van Leeuwan blocked a punt for a safety to put the Jumbos ahead, as Tufts topped defending New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champ Wesleyan University 22-20 under the lights in front of a large crowd at Ellis Oval Saturday night.
The Jumbos (2-0, 2-0 NESCAC) also saw stellar return play from sophomore
Keller Rogers all night, as he finished with 146 yards of return yardage on kick-offs on four returns including an electric 71-yard return in the third quarter after Wesleyan tied the game at 14.
The contest was slow to get going in the opening stanza, as the defenses were strong through the opening stanza. Late in the first quarter, Wesleyan marched 63 yards over seven plays and 4:26 before getting on the board with a one-yard touchdown score from Matt Fitzsimons at 52 seconds of the opening frame.
The Jumbos responded with a great drive on their next possession, as sophomore
Christian Shapiro pushed in from three yards out to complete a nine-play, 45-yard drive to make it 7-7. The score would stay deadlocked at seven through the first half, as Wesleyan missed a late field goal attempt just before the intermission.
Things picked up in the second half, as sophomore
Cameron Pineda made the biggest play of his young career as he stepped in front of a quarterback throwback pass and shook into the clear for a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown to make it 14-7 early in the third quarter.
The Cardinals (1-1, 1-1 NESCAC) came right back with over a six-minute drive to tie the game at 14 as Fitzsimons hit Blake Newcomb for a one-yard touchdown pass at 4:37 of the third quarter.
Rogers' big return came on the ensuing kick-off, and three plays later Seelicke drilled a 41-yard field goal to put the Jumbos on top 17-14 with 1:25 to go in the third. On the next possession, Tufts forced a three-and-out and the punt by Gage Hammond was blocked out of the back of the end zone by van Leeuwan to make it 19-14. It was Tufts' first blocked punt since blocking a Bates' punt last October.
The Jumbos took the ensuing free kick and went on a long drive, going 43 yards over 13 plays lasting 7:47 before Seelicke connected on a 36-yard field goal to put the Jumbos up by eight at 22-14.
Wesleyan went three-and-out on their next possession, but an interception by the Cardinals gave them the ball right back with 5:39 to play. Wesleyan would use the turnover and cash in with a one-yard touchdown run by Fitzsimons to make it 22-20. On the two-point conversion, Fitzsimons looked like his rush was going to hit pay dirt but he was hit by
Riley Yaker and
Johnny Ferrelli at the goal line to deny the two-point attempt.
Tufts would recover the onside kick by Wesleyan, and a 42-yard run by Shapiro on third down sealed the victory.
Shapiro finished with 65 yards on the ground on 13 attempts, adding a touchdown and two catches for 16 yards, while junior quarterback
Justin Keller was 12-for-17 for 96 yards passing. Keller also had 57 yards on the ground on eight attempts.
Junior
Matt Rios pulled in four balls for 48 yards while senior
Chartellis Reece had five grabs for 24 yards.
Defensively, Ferrelli had another stellar game with eight stops for the Jumbos while Pineda had seven solo tackles (eight total) to go with his pick six. Yaker had six stops and a half-sack, while
Jeff Xu finished with five tackles as well.
Tufts accumulated just 219 yards on the night, but the defense made big stop after big stop as it held Wesleyan to 4-for-11 on third downs. Tufts was 7-for-13 on third down on the other side of the ball.
Fitzsimons was 14-for-24 for 137 yards and three total touchdowns (two rushing), and Donte Kelly had five receptions for 67 yards.
Tufts heads back on the road next weekend, heading to Amherst College September 27 at 1 p.m. for more NESCAC action in Amherst, MA.
--JUMBOS--
