Trinity Football Tries To Keep NESCAC Title Hopes Alive At Amherst Saturday
Hartford, Conn., Nov. 3 - The Trinity College football team, which lost its first game in two years, 31-24, at Middlebury last weekend to fall a game behind first-place in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), will visit the undefeated (6-0) Amherst College Lord Jeffs on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 12:30 p.m. The Bantams, coached by Jeff Devanney (5th Season, 26-4), had the second-longest winning streak in NCAA Division III at 15 games, but lost at Middlebury for the second time in a row. Amherst won, 13-3, at Tufts on Saturday to take over the top spot in the NESCAC Standings, and the Lord Jeffs are the lone remaining New England Division III team without a loss. Trinity will earn at least a share of the NESCAC Championship crown for the sixth time in the last eight years with a win at Amherst and in the season finale at home on November 14 against Wesleyan.
Trinity trails the all-time series against Amherst, 54-41-9, but owns a seven-game winning streak against them including a 30-13 triumph at home last fall. Trinity's last loss to the Lord Jeffs came by a 28-10 score in 2001 in Amherst. In 2008, current Bantam senior tri-captain RB Oliver Starnes (Ledgewood, N.J.) scored on touchdown runs of one, 69, and 12 yards and the Trinity defense held Amherst to 48 rushing yards on 24 carries. Trinity is currently tied for No. 3 in the New England Division III Poll, while the Lord Jeffs are No. 2 in New England. This week's New England Division III Poll: 1. Springfield (7-1), 2. Amherst (6-0), T3. Trinity (Conn.) (5-1), T3. Curry (7-2), 5. Williams (5-1), 6. Maine Maritime (7-1), 7. Plymouth State (7-2), 8. Westfield State (6-3), 9. Bridgewater State (6-3), 10. Norwich (6-3).
Trinity trailed the entire contest at Middlebury, but the Bantams had one last chance with the ball on their own nine-yard line in the final minute before a sack and a fumble ended the comeback bid before it started. Trinity junior QB Craig Drusbosky (Orange, Conn.) was 28-for-54 for 239 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions, while Starnes gained 81 yards on the ground with a pair of touchdowns. Junior WR Michael Galligan (Shoreham, N.Y.) and senior WR Winston Tuggle (Canton, Mass.) caught 10 passes for 74 yards and six passes for 72 yards, respectively for Trinity. Junior tri-captain S Ben Sherry (Wayland, Mass.) paced the Bantam defense with a game-high 15 tackles), while sophomore ILB Walter Fallas (Everett, Mass.) added 13 hits, and senior S John Marinelli (New Canaan, Conn.) made 10 tackles. Trinity sophomore DE Matt Walker (Middlebury, Conn.) added a pair of sacks.
Trinity ranks second in the NESCAC in scoring offense (29.7 ppg) and rushing offense (132.2 ypg), while Starnes is second among individual rushers with 97.3 ypg (584 yards), and Drusbosky ranks third in the conference in passing offense with 1,418 yards, and fourth in pass efficiency (112.8). Galligan is third in the league in both receiving and receiving yards with 46 catches for 568 yards and Tuggle adds 24 receptions for 462 yards (6th in NESCAC. Drusbosky has 11 touchdown passes against eight interceptions, while Starnes has seven scores, and Galligan, the NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week for his play in a 45-31 win against Bowdoin on Oct. 17, has scored six times. Junior CB Harry Melendez (Holyoke, Mass.) has four interceptions to ranks second in the conference, while sophomore DE Herman Brito (Wayland, Mass.) is second in the NESCAC in sacks with 6.5. Fallas and junior ILB Francois Auzerais (Westport, Conn.) are fourth and sixth, respectively, in tackles with 11.2 per game (67) and 9.7 per game (58), respectively, while senior OLB Kyle Williams (Bethesda, Md.) has six sacks for third in the league, and senior tri-captain DT Chris Doval (Miami, Fla.), and sophomore DE Gary Williams (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) are ninth with 4.5 apiece. Senior Grant Kunkel (New Canaan, Conn.) is the league's second-leading punter with a 39.0 average per attempt.
The Amherst College football squad, under the direction of Head Coach E.J. Mills (13th Season), are 6-0 for the first time since 2001 as the Lord Jeff defense, which has allowed a league-low 8.3 ppg, held Tufts to 93 yards of total offense last weekend. Amherst boasts the league's top tackler, its top sacker, and its top thief, as senior ILB Mike Taylor (Evanston, Ill.) has 71 tackles, senior DL Edwin Urey (Quincy, Mass.) has seven sacks, and senior DB Fred Argir (Lakeville, Minn.) has five picks to top the league rankings. Junior OLB Jeff Katz (Cheshire, Conn.) and sophomore DL Kevin Ferber (Mahwah, N.J.) add six sacks apiece for the Lord Jeff defense. Junior QB Alex Vetras (Clyde Hill, Wash.) averages 178.5 ypg with nine touchdown tosses.
