Ephs drop heartbreaker to Trinity, 26-21
HARTFORD, CT – As is expected of the famed Trinity-Williams football rivalry, this afternoon's contest on Jessee/Miller Field was a tightly-matched, nail-biting event that came down to the very last minute of play. Unfortunately, the Ephs came out on the short end of this year's thriller, as Bantam quarterback Craig Drusbosky drove his team 60 yards down the field in under 90 seconds for the game-winning touchdown, an 11-yard pass to fellow junior Michael Galligan that gave Trinity the lead 26-21 with 14 seconds left in regulation.
This drive came after the Ephs prevented the Bantams from tying the game at 21 on a 2-point conversion preceded by a separate Drusbosky-Galligan touchdown reception, that one for 16 yards. With 1:48 to go, it looked as if Williams was going to break Trinity's 31-game home winning streak and take a 2-0 record into their home opener next week, but a fumbled onside kick allowed the Bantams to regain possession on their own 40-yard line. The ensuing Trinity touchdown and the drive before that one compiled a combine 15 plays for 106 yards, despite gaining just 143 combine yards on the nine drives before that.
“We competed very well today, and the effort and the desire was definitely there,” said Eph head coach Mike Whalen, “but the execution was lacking in the last fifteen minutes.... You can't just knock a champion like Trinity down. You've gotta knock them out. We didn't play at the level we needed to for the full sixty minutes and that's what allowed them to take that victory from us.”
The Ephs came right out of the locker room with an intensity and an urgency that was noticeably absent from their game in last week's matchup with Colby. Sophomore returner Bryce Bennett, who had a nice day in last week's game, received the opening kickoff and broke off a 47-yard return into Bantam territory. The advantageous field position set up a 31-yard touchdown catch by senior wide-out Nick Caro, Eph junior quarterback Pat Moffitt's favorite target, giving Williams an early 7-0 lead. The momentum of the quick score carried over to the defensive side of the ball for Williams, as they stymied the Bantam offense on their first two drives, giving up just 9 total yards.
“Defensively, we held them in check for three quarters,” remarked Whalen, “and we played well and did some good things on both sides of the football for the majority of this game. We had the one turnover on offense, but I feel we rebound nicely from that.”
This turnover came after a 59-yard drive by the Bantams late in the opening quarter that resulted in a field goal by sophomore Tim Costello. On the ensuing Williams possession, junior cornerback Harry Melendez stepped in front of a Moffitt pass attempt and ran it into the Eph endzone for a 47-yard defensive touchdown that put Trinity in front, 10-7.
The Ephs would respond midway through the second quarter, as Caro capped off another Williams drive that began in Bantam territory with his second touchdown reception of the afternoon. This six-point strike was delivered from 24 yards out by sophomore quarterback Matt Coyne, who had the game-winning touchdown run in the season opener. The defenses of both teams tightened up after that score, allowing a combine total of just 48 yards for the remainder of the half, and the Ephs entered the locker rooms at halftime with a 14-10 edge.
Trintiy began the second half with the ball near midfield, and the tandem ground attack of senior tailback Oliver Starnes and sophomore rusher Nana Appah-Sampong headed a 43-yard drive. Costello ended the offensive series with another field goal, pulling Trinity within a point of Williams. But once again, the Ephs responded in timely fashion, constructing a 12-play, 72-yard drive punctuated by Bennett's 6-yard touchdown run. Junior running back Ryan Lupo gained 31 yards in that string of plays, and Caro hauled in a second 31-yard reception to set up the score. The tri-captain finshed with 99 receiving yards on 6 catches, while the first-year starter Lupo gained 128 yards on the ground over 29 carries.
“Ryan Lupo struggled last week in the first start of his career,” admitted Whalen. “We really wanted to challenge him in this game to see how he would respond, and he responded tremendously.... We knew he was capable of this kind of performance and I'm very proud of the way he competed today.”
With an 8-point advantage, the Williams defense held their ground, forcing two turnovers on downs and two punts over the next four Trinity offensive series. But at 2:43 in the final quarter, the tables began to turn in the Bantams' favor. Drusbosky hooked up with Starnes for a 24-yard gain to the Williams 22-yard line. On the next set of downs, Drusbosky found Galligan in the endzone on a 4th-and-4 play to give Trinity hope of an improbable upset, but a huge stop by Williams on the subsequent 2-point conversion put a serious damper on the crowd's excitement. The Ephs seemed to be in good shape for a 21-19 victory, as there was a mere 1:48 remaining in the contest.
The onside kick was the only option for the Bantams, who had no timeouts left, and thanks to some random stroke of luck or maybe a slippery football, Williams botched the kick. Trinity scrambled to the ball and sophomore Walter Fallas collapsed on it at the Bantams' 40-yard line. Working from the no-huddle, Drusbosky marched Trinity towards the goal line with a series of short, quick strikes to the sidelines, and Galligan capped off the dramatic comeback with a game-winning touchdown reception. With just 14 seconds left to play, Moffitt could only heave up a pass into a swarm of Trinity defenders that was picked off Melendez to end the game 26-21 in favor of the Bantams.
“You can't even compare last week's game and last week''s practice's to this week,” commented Whalen. “Our preparation and our level of play were significantly improved...and it would obviously be a different story if we had come out here today and got beaten by 50 points. Seventy-five players and ten coaches lost this game today....
“Obviously, it's a tough one to put behind us, but we are going to have to because we have a lot more football ahead of us and a lot more goals to accomplish this season.”
The Ephs will host Bates College next week for their home opener at Weston Field in Williamstown Massachusetts. Kickoff is set for 1:00PM.
