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| Zack Trause took back-to-back
kicks back for a touchdown for Tufts. Tufts athletics photo |
It's year 2030. A father and son are at the 99 Restaurant, the chain where kids eat free the day after a Red Sox victory. They are enjoying a meal after the Sox playoff-clinching victory over the expansion Montreal Miracles. The father tells the 10-year-old about the year 2014 when the Red Sox finished dead last a season after winning the World Series.
It makes no impression on the boy. He is sports savvy and well aware of the cyclical nature of pro sports.
Then he tells him that was also the year the Tufts football team ended a 31-game losing streak.
This does make an impression. The father and son live in Medford and root for the Jumbos. The son is incredulous. He thought the NESCAC, not Rozelle, invented parity. He finds it difficult to believe his beloved Jumbos could ever have lost that many games in a row.
"No, it's true," the father says. "I was there for the first game of the season when they beat Hamilton to end the nation's longest losing streak. It was wild. The fans stormed the field to celebrate."
But in 2014 they no longer talk about the losing streak. Now, it is a winning streak, The Jumbos won their second straight game this past week, toppling Bates 42-24.
Tufts coach Jay Civetti gives the seniors a lot of the credit for their leadership.
"They have been through a lot together," Civetti said.
But through all they had been through, the signs of progress were there last season.
"We had a lot of close games last year," Civetti said. "We left a lot of plays on the field. There were some games we could have won. I think that fueled us a little bit."
First, came the 24-17 win over Hamilton.
This time the Jumbos were in a fight with Bates. The Bobcats had taken a 24-23 lead.
That is when senior Zack Trause stepped up. He took the kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown.
Trause not only took the kickoff all the way, he also returned a punt 49 yards for a score. The plays were only 2;02 apart.
"Zack is not our regular return man," Civetti said. "He had been injured earlier in the game. It was a great effort by Zack."
And the winning has been intoxicating. It is so much more fun than what Tufts fans had become accustomed to the past few seasons.
"They stormed the field again. Not quite as far out this time," Civetti said.
Of course not. Winning is becoming old hat here.
And the Tufts defense is putting 11 hats on the ball. Civetti especially liked the play of his linebackers and defensive line.
Mike Stearns followed up his 18-tackle game against Hamilton with 14 this time.
"They have lived up to the expectations I had for them in the preseason," Civetti said. "It is a great thing for the community."
Senior quarterback Jack Doll threw for 267 yards and three scores and Trause had another TD besides his two returns. Ben Berey had 14 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown.
MIT feasts on home cooking
MIT has played al three games at home and is 3-0 for the first time in the modern history of its program. It took down highly-regarded Salve Regina 48-26 to get there.
""This is the best team I've had top to bottom since I been here," said Chad Martinovich who is in his sixth season as the head man.
Justin Wallace rushed for 152 yards and four touchdowns.
"He's been great for us for four years," Martinovich said. "The difference today from the first two weeks was that he got in the end zone."
The Engineers have others who can score touchdowns.
"We like to spread it around with our playmakers," Martinovich said.
Rams win the big one
Few games are as highly anticipated as the one between Framingham State and Western Connecticut, the giants of the MASCAC.
Framingham won 48-31 after battling back from deficits of 17-7 and 24-14.
The Rams found themselves down immediately as Tory Mack went 67 yards for a score 17 seconds into the game.
"We didn't lay a fingernail on him," Framingham coach Tom Kelley said.
Then the Ram defense tightened. "He scored four touchdowns but we did a pretty good job on him after that," Kelley said.
Framingham's Matt Silva threw for 228 yards and four touchdowns.
The centerpiece of the offense was Hunter Beckmann. He rushed for 125 yards and a score on 15 carries and also caught five passes for 65 yards.
"He is slick," Kelley said of the transfer from American International College. "He is more powerful than he looks. He is quick and slight of build but he has power when he needs it. And he is fearless. He is one of those fearless guys."
Safety Kevin Donahue was a key defensively. He had 10 tackles and two sacks. "They were big tackles, too," Kelley said.
Freshman linebacker Svenn Jacobson continued to play well and had an interception. "He has had two outstanding games in a row," Kelley said.
Endicott connection
Drew Frenette threw four touchdown passes and three of them went to Brett Egizzi as Endicott trimmed Curry 28-6.
The Gulls are 2-2 but, more importantly, 1-0 in the NEFC.
Victory for Coast Guard
Coast Guard quarterback Derek Victory also threw four touchdown passes as the Bears got off to a 1-0 start in the NEFC with their 28-12 win at Nichols. There was also a connection here as Jordan Groff caught eight of his passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Amherst moved to 2-0 with a 30-7 win at Bowdoin as Alex Berlutti and Jackson McGonagle hooked up for a 97-yard touchdown pass, the longest in school history.
Kyle Gibson ran for 132 yards and two scores to lead Wesleyan in a 43-21 conquest of Hamilton as the Cardinals also went to 2-0.
Trinity joined Tufts, Wesleyan and Amherst as the 2-0 NESCAC teams by whipping Williamstown 38-0.
Middlebury tripped Colby 27-7 as Matt Milano threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns.
UMass-Dartmouth stopped Plymouth 20-5 as Preston Cooper rushed for 155 yards and Abiola Aborishade had 132 yards worth of receptions.
Western New England piled up some obscene numbers in an 80-16 dismantling of Maine Maritime. The Golden Bears had 769 yards of total offense with Tyler Ward throwing for 321 yards and four touchdowns.
It is the first 3-0 start for WNE since beginning Division III football in 1981.
Worcester State cruised to a 48-14 win over Mass. Maritime with Kermani Jones rushing for 169 yards.
Falcons for real
If there was any doubt 3-1 Fitchburg State is for real it was removed with a 21-17 win on the road against a very good Bridgewater State team.
Garrett Dellechiaie threw for 409 yards and two touchdowns,. He already has 1,184 passing yards this season.
Talib Barksdale was the leader on defense. The linebacker had 10 tackles, an interception and a pass breakup. He leads the team in tackles with 30 and interceptions with two.
Castleton State ruined Alfred State's Homecoming, The Spartans won 36-23 as Tyler Higley threw four TD passes. The biggest thing was that Higley, who was picked off four times the previous week against RPI, had no picks.
Kevin Alberque did some of everything. He rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown. He had 93 receiving yards with a TD, and added 77 yards in kickoff returns and 73 more in punt returns. It was the second most total yardage in a game by a player in program history.
The big games
There is a monster game in the ECFC if a conference opener can deserve that designation. Norwich makes the trip to Bangor to play Husson. Norwich was the preseason pick to win the league, but I have heard from many who felt the choice should have been Husson. The Cadets makes the trip with a 2-1 record and two straight wins.
MIT looks to go to 4-0 but the Engineers must do it on a Friday night at Curry after playing three in the comfort of home.
"It is a different component to sort out and get used to," Martinovich said. "Curry is a hostile environment especially on a Friday night."
Top game in the MASCAC? You can't go wrong with Bridgewater's trip to Western Connecticut. Two good teams with high expectations and trying to stay in the race by avoiding a second straight loss.
Franingham's trip to UMD could be a dangerous one for the Rams.
