MEDFORD, MA (September 25, 2025) -- The Tufts University football squad will look to keep its unblemished start to the 2025 season going Saturday afternoon, as the Jumbos head to Amherst College for a 1 p.m. kick-off at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium in Amherst. The Jumbos are coming off an exciting home-opening 22-20 victory over defending New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champion Wesleyan University Saturday, using a superior special teams effort to pick up the win. The Jumbos are 2-0 for the first time since 2018.
Saturday's win was certainly special thanks to the third part of the game, as Tufts posted two field goals from
Vaughn Seelicke, two monster kickoff returns from
Keller Rogers and a blocked punt from
Dazer van Leeuwen for a safety which ended up being the difference in the game. Tufts led late 22-14 in the game after the second field goal of the night by Seelicke, but Wesleyan scored with just over a minute to play to pull to within two. On the two-point attempt, Tufts held the line at the goal line on a rushing attempt and then recovered the onside kick to help secure the game. In the win,
Christian Shapiro rushed for 65 yards on 13 carries with a touchdown.
Game Details
Opponent: at Amherst College (1-1, 1-1 NESCAC)
Date: Saturday, September 27, 2025
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts –
Pratt Field -
Directions
Weather: Sunny, High 70s, Chance of Rain: 10%, Wind: WNW 5-10 MPH
Live Coverage:
LIVE STATS –
LIVE VIDEO
Mammoths vs. Jumbos All-Time
The Jumbos and Amherst have a long and storied history long before 1954, but dating back to 1954 Amherst holds a 45-22-2 record against Tufts in the series. Tufts is looking for its first three-game win streak in the series since 1989 through 1992 when Tufts won four in a row including three in Amherst. The Jumbos won last year's game in Medford against Amherst 25-0 as the stingy Tufts defense held visiting Amherst College to just 119 total yards and no points while picking off three passes. Tufts forced the Mammoths into a 3-of-11 rate on third downs while surrendering only 94 passing yards and 25 yards on the ground. The 119 yards of offense against was the second-fewest allowed by a Tufts defense in the last 10 years.
Before that, the Jumbos won at Amherst in 2023 34-14 for the first win on the road against Amherst since 2016 and only the second road win in the last 20 years. Since 1954, Tufts is 12-23-2 on the road, but prior to the last two meetings the five before that were all one-score games.
A Look At The Jumbos (2-0, 2-0 NESCAC)
The Jumbos are looking to get to 3-0 for the first time since the 2018 season when they started 4-0, while the Jumbos are currently riding a seven-game win streak dating back to the 2024 season. It's the longest win streak for Tufts since a nine-game spurt over the 1986 season into the first two games of the 1987 campaign.
The Jumbos special teams this season has indeed been special in a pair of victories, as they rank at or near the top in most special teams categories. Sophomore
Keller Rogers ranks first in the NESCAC in kick return yardage per return, as he has posted 36.5 yards per return on four returns. His long of 71 yards on Saturday against Wesleyan was his career long, and also the longest of any NESCAC player this season. His 36.5 yards per return is nearly 10 yards better than the next closest player, Donte Kelly of Wesleyan, and his 27.3 yards per attempt. Rogers is sixth in Division III with his return average.
Seelicke leads the conference in field goals with four, two more than any other kicker in the NESCAC, while his long of 41 is also tops this season in the league.
Dazer van Leeuwen was also named as the NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week after blocking a punt for a safety.
Moving to the Tufts defensive unit, the Jumbos rank second in the league in scoring defense with just 10 points per game through two weeks thanks to a shutout of Bowdoin in Week 1, 13-0. The Jumbos defensive unit is allowing only 218 yards total per game, including a stellar 119 yards throwing per game. Tufts has three interceptions during the opening two weeks, highlighted by an interception return for a touchdown for
Cameron Pineda against Wesleyan last Saturday. Pineda added eight tackles, seven solo, and was named as both the NESCAC Player of the Week and D3football.com Team of the Week. The Jumbos are second in defensive efficiency with a 98.2 efficiency ranking.
Nationally, the Jumbos defensive unit is 11th in first down defense with just 24 allowed all season, while ranking 21st nationally in passing yards allowed per game. The Jumbos red zone defense is also 33rd out of 241 Division III schools, and 15th in the nation in scoring defense. The Jumbos don't have anyone in the Top 15 in tackles this season in the NESCAC partly because they haven't been on the field much, as the 14 stops by
Johnny Ferrelli is 17th in the NESCAC. Tufts has only had to defend 96 plays this season, by far the fewest in the conference.
Senior
Suleiman Abuaqel ranks fifth in the conference in sacks with two total, getting in on three, while
Nate Sousa leads the conference in passes defended with three (2 BRUP, 1 INT).
Riley Yaker and
Jeff Xu are also each having strong seasons at linebacker for Tufts, while
Vince Gilchrist has four stops, a hurry and an interception on the defensive line.
Offensively, Tufts has leaned more on the running attack through a pair of games, churning out 136 yards per game rushing while adding two rushing scores. Shapiro ranks third in the conference in rushing with 74.5 yards per carry, while junior quarterback
Justin Keller has added 46 yards on the ground per game. Keller is second in the NESCAC in completion percentage at 66.7 percent. Junior
Matt Rios had eight grabs for 99 yards through a pair of games to pace the receiving core.
Head coach
Jay Civetti comes into the game with 58 career wins in his career, second all-time at Tufts University. Civetti is now just two wins shy of catching Lewis Manley (1930-1945) for the all-time mark of 60, as his win on Saturday over Wesleyan moved him out of a tie with Harry Arlanson (1954-1965) and Bill Samko (1994-2009) for the second spot.
Of other note, former Tufts University standouts have been having a fantastic run of late. Former Tufts WR and NESCAC Player of the Year Phil Lutz was recently signed by the New England Patriots and played in the final preseason game for the Pats before being released. Former teammate Jaden Richardson, also a NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year, was recently given the game ball for his play for USC in a win over Michigan State. Richardson's brother Ty, who was a NESCAC First Team performer last year, is starting and has seven tackles for the Aggies of UC-Davis.
Matthew Maiava, a standout offensive lineman for the Jumbos, also is starting at Division I Stony Brook this season.
A Look At The Mammoths (1-1, 1-1 NESCAC)
Amherst comes into Saturday's game after knocking off Hamilton College at home last weekend 23-13.
Marek Hill threw for two scores and dashed for another as the Mammoths shut out Hamilton over the first three quarters, driving the score up 23-0 before the fourth quarter. QB Hill and WR Carter Jung led the Mammoths' charge with Hill earning a 57-yard rushing touchdown early in the 1st quarter, followed by two passing touchdowns to Jung in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Hamilton mounted a late rally with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but Amherst held strong to close out the win in the its home opener.
Hill concluded the game with 226 passing yards. He completed 25 of 30 passes with two touchdowns through the air. Additionally, he accumulated 109 rushing yards and scored a touchdown on the ground. Jung had six receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns, and
Sam Gerber added eight receptions for 82 yards. Last week's win over Hamilton snapped a eight-game losing skid for Amherst over the last two seasons.
Amherst is very close to being 2-0 this season after falling in double-overtime in Week 1 at Bates College, as the Bobcats rallied from being down 23-7 in the fourth quarter to win in OT.
The Mammoths defense ranks right in the middle of the conference this year with 315.5 yards allowed per game, while its offensive unit is also fourth with 320 yards of offense per game. Hill ranks sixth in the conference in rushing with 62.5 yards on the ground per game, while ranking third with 398 passing yards as well. Hill has four passing touchdowns. Jung is fifth in the NESCAC in yards per game with 64.5, while adding a league-high three touchdown receptions on 12 grabs. Gerber is also 12th in the NESCAC with 38 yards per game through the air. Amherst's offensive line is one of three in the NESCAC without a sack allowed.
Defensively, Carson Skotak is the top tackler in the NESCAC with 12 per game with teammate Luke Harmon eighth after his eight stops per game. The Mammoths do not have an interception this season, but have recovered a pair of fumbles, and have been strong on third downs allowing only 28.1 percent success.
NESCAC Week 3 Schedule
Middlebury at Colby (1 pm)
Bowdoin at Hamilton (1 pm)
Wesleyan at Bates (1 pm)
Tufts at Amherst (1 pm)
Trinity at Williams (1:30 pm)
--JUMBOS--
