Trinity Football Heads To Hamilton Saturday
Bantams Quinn and Starnes Garner League Awards
Hartford, Conn., Sept. 29 -- The Trinity College football team, which upended Williams College, 20-17, on the road to improve to 2-0 last weekend, will visit the Hamilton College Continentals on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 1:30 p.m. The Bantams, coached by Jeff Devanney (3rd Season, 15-3), leads the all-time series against Hamilton, 28-11-1, and has won the last 14 meetings including a 42-7 drubbing last fall in Hartford. Trinity's win at Williams snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Ephs and a 16-game home winning streak for them at home. Trinity had been the last team to defeat Williams overall and at home prior to Saturday as well.
Trinity is currently tied with Amherst and Tufts for first place in the NESCAC at 2-0, while Hamilton is knotted up with Colby, Middlebury, and Williams in second place at 1-1. Trinity is currently ranked No. 2 in the New England Division III Poll. This week's New England Division III Poll: 1. Curry (4-0), 2. Trinity, Conn. (2-0), 3. Amherst (2-0), 4. Tufts (2-0), 4. Worcester Tech (3-1), 6. Plymouth State (3-1), 7. Williams (1-1), 8. MIT (3-1), 9. Middlebury (1-1), 10. Mount Ida (2-1).
Junior RB Oliver Starnes (Ledgewood, N.J.) rushed 24 times for 111 yards and had touchdown runs of one yard and 30 yards, while senior tri-captain FS Conor Quinn (Milford, Mass.) stymied a pair of Eph drives with interceptions at Williams. Sophomore LB Ben Sherry (Wayland, Mass.) led all tacklers with 13 hits and 11 solo tackles and added three tackles for loss and a sack, while senior tri-captain ILB Tyler Berry (East Lyme, Conn.) added seven tackles. Trinity held Williams to 3.2 yards per carry on the ground and forced the Eph quarterbacks into 17 incompletions. Junior RB Bobby Jackson (Atlanta, Ga.) complemented Starnes in the Trinity backfield with 51 rushing yards, while senior tri-captain QB Eric McGrath (Lynn, Mass.) finished with 17 completions in 29 attempts for 204 yards, two scores and two picks. Sophomore WR Michael Galligan (Shoreham, N.Y.) caught eight passes for 93 yards and a 27-yard touchdown and senior WR Connor Wells (Haddam, Conn.) made seven snares for 96 yards. Starnes and Quinn were selected as the NESCAC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for their outstanding performances.
Trinity ranks second in the NESCAC in rushing defense (75.0 yds. per game) and Quinn is tied with several others for league lead in interceptions with two. Starnes is second in the NESCAC with 212 rushing yards, followed by Jackson in sixth with 131 yards on the ground. Wells is fifth in the league in receptions with 12 for 151 yards (7th in NESCAC) and Galligan ranks seventh in catches with 11 for 149 yards (8th in NESCAC). McGrath has completed 30 passes in 53 attempts for 371 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Berry sits in eighth place the conference in tackles with 16, while Sherry adds 14 tackles, and sophomore ILB Francois Auzerais (Westport, Conn.) has 10 hits.
The Hamilton College football squad, under the direction of Head Coach Steve Stetson (6th season), is 1-1 after a 17-7 win at Wesleyan on Saturday. Jordan Eck (Rye, N.Y.) is third in the league with a 149.4 pass efficiency rating, while Max Foster (Sherborn, Mass.) ranks second in the NESCAC with 220 receiving yards on 10 catches, and Mark Snickenberger (Wellesley, Mass.) is seventh in the league with 127 rushing yards. Ted Finan (New Canaan, Conn.) has two interceptions and Trevor Pedrick (Wallkill, N.Y.) boasts a team-high 17 tackles for the Continental defense.
