Trinity Football Heads To Tufts Saturday
Hartford, Conn., Oct. 16 -- The Trinity College football team, which won, 38-8, against Hamilton last weekend to keep pace in a first-place in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) with Amherst at 3-0, will visit the Tufts University Jumbos on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1:30 p.m. The Bantams, coached by Jeff Devanney (4th Season), own the second-longest winning streak in NCAA Division III at 13 games, and have a 33-18-1 all-time record against the Jumbos. Tufts defeated the Bantams the last time the schools played in Medford, Mass., 16-10, but the Bantams exacted revenge with a 28-27 triumph in overtime last fall in Hartford.
Trinity and Amherst have a one-game lead over 2-1 squads Tufts and Williams. In last fall's win against Tufts, 2008 New England Player of the Year Eric McGrath threw for a College-record 470 yards and four touchdowns, including a game-tying toss to current Bantam junior WR Michael Galligan (Shoreham, N.Y.) with 25 seconds remaining in regulation and the game-winning touchdown pass to Galligan in the overtime. Trinity is currently ranked No. 1 in the New England Division III Poll, while Tufts received 16 votes that just miss the No. 10 spot. This week's New England Division III Poll: 1. Trinity (Conn.) (3-0), 2. Springfield (4-1), 3. Plymouth State (5-1), 4. Amherst (3-0), 5. Williams (2-1), 6. Curry (4-2), 7. Maine Maritime (4-1), 8. Bridgewater State (4-2), 9. Fitchburg State (4-2), 10. WPI (3-3).
Senior tri-captain RB Oliver Starnes (Ledgewood, N.J.) racked up 166 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns, as the Bantams extended their home winning streak to 33 games against Hamilton. The Bantam defense allowed just 16 rushing yards, racked up five interceptions, and forced a fumble. Senior S John Marinelli (New Canaan, Conn.) intercepted the first two Continental passes of the game and added twp breakups and five tackles, while senior tri-captain NT Chris Doval (Miami, Fla.) finished with six tackles, four for losses, and three sacks, and junior ILB Francois Auzerais (Westport, Conn.) added a team-high 10 tackles.
Trinity junior QB Craig Drusbosky (Orange, Conn.) threw touchdown passes of 25 and 40 yards to senior WR Winston Tuggle (Canton, Mass.), and sophomore RB Nana Appah-Sampong (Lake Mary, Fla.) added a five-yard touchdown run late for the Bantams. Drusbosky finished 12-for-30 for 177 yards and Tuggle totaled 102 yards on four pass receptions. Junior Harry Melendez (Holyoke, Mass.) starred on special teams with 49 yards on four punt returns.
Trinity leads the NESCAC in scoring offense (33.0 ppg), rushing defense (57.7 ypg), and pass efficiency defense (86.1 opponent qb rating), while Auzerais and sophomore ILB Walter Fallas (Everett, Mass.) top the league rankings together in tackles with 35 apiece, and Melendez has twice the interceptions as any other NESCAC player with four. Starnes ranks second among individual rushers with 90.7 ypg and eighth in all-purpose yards with 110 ypg, while Drusbosky ranks third in pass efficiency (117.4) and fourth in passing yards with 214.7 ypg. Tuggle is second in the league with 279 receiving yards on just 11 catches and ninth in all-purpose yards with 271, while Galligan is tied for seventh in receptions with 20 and seventh in receiving yards with 231. Sophomore DL Herman Brito (Wayland, Mass.), Doval, and senior OLB Kyle Williams (Bethesda, Md.) are second, third, and fifth in the NESCAC in sacks with 3.5, 3.0 and 2.5, respectively. Kunkel is the league's top punter with a 39.8 average per attempt.
The Tufts football squad, under the direction of Head Coach Bill Samko (16th season), edged Bowdoin, 25-22, in overtime last Saturday, after losing its opener at Wesleyan, 7-3, and winning at Bates, 15-7, two weeks ago. Tufts sits atop the NESCAC statistically in both rushing offense (178.3 ypg) and pass defense (147.0 ypg), while junior Pat Bailey (Beverly, Mass.) is second in the conference in all-purpose yards with 169.0 ypg and third in rushing with 73.7 ypg. Senior DB Tom Tassinari (Andover, Mass.) is one of the most talented players in the league and ranks seventh in tackles with 32.
