79th Meeting

Williams College Ephs (3-1)

vs.

Tufts University Jumbos (2-2)

1:30 pm

Saturday, October 24th

Weston Field

Williamstown, MA

SERIES: Began in 1885. Williams holds the advantage 49-22-7. In last season’s contest, the Ephs held a 7-3 lead going into halftime, but they failed to score for the remainder of the game, as the Jumbos countered for two scores and a 17-14 victory. The win in Medford marked the first series victory for the Jumbos since 1986, when they topped Williams 33-3 at Ellis Oval. Williams would rebound to sweep their last three games of the season and to finish 6-2, while the Jumbos dropped two out their last three to end with an even 4-4 record.

In the twenty-five matchups prior, Williams has a 20-2-3 lead over Tufts. The last Jumbo victory at Weston Field was in 1981, a low-scoring 9-6 affair.

COACHES: Mike Whalen (35-9) is in his sixth year as Eph head coach this season. During his stint, Williams has never finished worse than 6-2. Whalen was the head coach of the Williams wrestling program from 1996 to 2003, during which time he also served as the Ephs offensive line coach. He held the title of offensive coordinator in his last three years as an assistant coach.

Whalen led the 2006 Ephs to the sixth perfect season in Williams history, extending the Eph win streak at the time to 14 and earning NESCAC Coach of the Year honors. He was also the only New England coach to finish in the top 25 in Liberty Mutual's Coach of the Year program among coaches in all divisions.

Whalen graduated from Little Three rival Wesleyan in 1983, where he was captain of both the football and wrestling squads. He earned All-New England and All-American honors three times in his athletic career, and has coached football at Springfield, Penn, Lafayette, and Colgate.

Whalen has led Williams to four consecutive Little Three titles. He is 4-1 in his head coaching career against Tufts.

Bill Samko (56-68) is in his 16th year as head coach of Tufts. He arrived in Medford in 1994 and began his tenure at the helm immediately. Previously, Samko coached at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he led a rebuilding program to 35-26-1 record over his six year stay, including a 23-5-1 from 1990-2 and two Southern College Conference Coach of the Year awards. He also led the Jumbos to a 7-1 season in 1998, winning Coach of the Year recognition from multiple organizations.

Samko is 1-14 in his head coaching career against the Ephs.

RADIO - INTERNET: The Williams College student station, WCFM (91.9 FM) will air the game live locally and on the Internet. To hear the game on the Internet on WCFM go to wcfm.williams.edu and click on the Listen Live link.

W-A-T-C-H or LISTEN on TEAMLINE: TEAMLINE is a pay-to-view and a pay-to-listen service for this contest. You can access TEAMLINE on the Internet by clicking here.

TELEPHONE: Dial TEAMLINE at 1-800-846-4700 and follow the prompts. The Eph access code is 0126.

***** Click here for LIVE STATS *****

STREAKS: Williams is riding the momentum of back-to-back victories over Bates and Middlebury, in which they combined for 68 points on 938 yards of total offense. Tufts had a two-game streak of their own snapped at home last week in a 10-3 loss to undefeated Trinity.

Williams has a 14-game home unbeaten streak (12-0-2) against the Jumbos on the line this Saturday.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: At halftime the Ephs will receive their 13th Directors’ Cup emblematic of athletic supremacy in NCAA Division III. The 2008-09 academic year marked the 11th consecutive year the Ephs won the Directors’ Cup and the 13th time in the 14 years it has been presented.

AWARDS: Eph junior runningback Ryan Lupo’s 136 yards-37 carry performance against Middlebury last week earned him the award for NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week. The first-year starter also caught a key pass for 19 yards in an early touchdown drive, and his 3-yard touchdown carry with 2:12 left in regulation solidified the victory for Williams.

Additionally, Eph senior kicker Scott Sobolewski was perfect from 36, 29 and 28 this past Saturday to garner NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Sobolewski, who has been battling injuries this season, also averaged 45 yards per kickoff and was 4-for-4 in PAT attempts.

BY THE NUMBERS…

28.0/11.5… Points per game for Ephs (2nd in NESCAC)/Jumbos (last in NESCAC)

19.8/11.5… Points allowed per game for Ephs/Jumbos (Tied for 1st in NESCAC)

199.5/132.5… Passing yards per game for Ephs/Jumbos (last in NESCAC)

184.2/137.8… Rushing yards per game for Ephs (1st in NESCAC)/Jumbos (3rd in NESCAC)

216.2/148.8… Passing yards allowed per game for Ephs/Jumbos (1st in NESCAC)

77.0/141.5… Rushing yards allowed per game for Ephs/Jumbos

106.2… Yards per game for Ephs’ Ryan Lupo (leads NESCAC)

38.8… Yards per punt for Ephs’ Will Cronin (leads NESCAC)

47/31… Total/Solo tackles for Jumbos’ Tom Tassinari

12/10… Total/Solo tackles last week for Eph freshman Chirs Cameron

8/8… Total tackles in last year’s matchup for Ephs’ Pat Barren/Jumbos’ Alex Perry

120/139… Rushing yards in last year’s matchup for Ephs/Jumbos

474… Combined total yardage in last year’s matchup

383.8/290.2… Total yards per game for Ephs offense/allowed by Tufts (both 3rd in NESCAC)

STARTING LINEUPS

Williams College Ephs


Offense

TE -- Jon Carroll -- #86
T -- Steve Denza -- #58
G -- Simon Kloeckner -- #65
C -- Tim Bishop -- #54
G -- Kevin Rose -- #73
T – Graham McCulloch -- #72
RB -- Ryan Lupo -- #23
QB -- Patrick Moffitt -- #5
WR – Nick Caro -- #22
WR – Bryce Bennett -- #8
WR – J.C. Stickney -- #11


Defense

DE -- Tim Kiely -- #30
DT -- Colin Curzi -- #97
DT -- Ben Halbower -- #99
DE -- Dan Canina -- #92
LB -- Chris Cameron -- #42
LB -- Dylan Schultz -- #55
LB -- Eric Anderson -- #43
DB -- Ben Oliva -- #12
DB -- Dan O'Mara -- #21
DB -- Will Cronin -- #9
DB -- Matt Zanedis -- #27

K -- Chris Cleary -- #14
PK -- Scott Sobolewski -- #94
P -- Will Cronin -- #9


Tufts University Jumbos


Offense

QB -- Tom McManama -- #7
TB -- Darren Ferguson -- #22
FB -- Noah Hatfield-Biondo -- #48
WR -- Billy Mahler -- #2
WR -- Tim Puopolo -- #8
TE -- Nick Croteau -- #83 / Oliver Gray -- #3
LT -- A.J. Carreiro -- #78
LG -- Tom Didio -- #71
C -- Ralph Faia -- #55
RG -- Andrew Daley -- #50
RT -- Adam Wueger -- #56
PK -- Adam Auerbach -- #49


Defense

DE -- Dan Stebbins -- #75
DT -- Mike Cunningham -- #86
DT -- Alex Gresham -- #84
DE -- Donnie Simmons -- #91
LB -- Brian Danshaw -- #6
LB -- Ferras Albitar -- #44
LB -- Matthew Murray -- #34
CB -- Will Miller -- #25
SS -- Alex Perry -- #5
FS -- Tom Tassinari -- #21
CB -- Andrew Elfman -- #30
P -- Tim Puopolo -- #8