Hartford, Conn. – The Trinity College Bantams routed the visiting Hamilton College Continentals, 48-13, for their 12th straight win and their 49th consecutive victory at home in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football action this afternoon at Jessee/Miller Field. Trinity, ranked No. 1 in New England, improves to 3-0, while the Continentals remain winless at 0-3. Trinity last lost at home in 2001 to Williams, 31-10, and has never lost a home game on turf. The 2012 NESCAC Champion Bantams keep pace with Amherst and Wesleyan for first place in the league at 3-0. With its 19th win in a row over Hamilton, Trinity improves to 34-11-1 all-time against them.
Trinity forced Hamilton to punt without a first down on the first possession of the game, and put together an 11-play, 57-yard drive on its first possession that ended with a 17-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Henry Foye (Madison, Conn.) to senior WR A.J. Jones (Upper Darby, Pa.) with 8:29 left in the first quarter. Hamilton answered by marching from its 25-yard line to the Bantam 13-yard line, but a pass by Continental freshman QB Chase Rosenberg (Roswell, Ga.) went off his receiver's hands and into those of Trinity sophomore CB Paul McCarthy (North Attleboro, Mass.) for an interception.
Trinity added two second-quarter scores in a 1:57 span, as rookie QB Sonny Puzzo (West Caldwell, N.J.) threw his first career touchdown pass to junior RB Michael Budness (Belchertown, Mass.) from 21 yards out at the 11:10 mark, and senior captain RB Evan Bunker (Topsfield, Mass.) raced 68 yards to paydirt with 9:03 on the clock. The Bantams went ahead, 28-0, with 3:47 left before the break when junior S Casey Tanner (Wellesley, Mass.) picked off a pass that had been deflected near the line by junior OLB Tom Szymanski (Dracut, Mass.) and returned it 18 yards into the end zone. Rosenberg completed a 43-yard pass to Pat Donadio (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.) to key a 68-yard drive that culminated in a Hamilton touchdown on a six-yard scamper by sophomore RB Rico Gonzalez (Temple Terrace, Fla.) with 1:47 left. The extra-point missed wide, however, and Puzzo connected on four passes for 70 yards including a 14-yard toss to fellow rookie Nick Gaynor (West Hartford, Conn.) for the latter's first career touchdown with just 17 seconds remaining until halftime.
Trinity put the game well out of reach with two touchdowns in the opening 4:07 of the third quarter on a 39-yard scoring strike down the left sideline from Foye to junior WR Adrian Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and a 12-yard run by junior RB Chudi Iregbelum (Torrance, Calif.). A missed PAT by Trinity and a late Continental score on a seven-yard pass from Rosenberg to Gonzalez accounted for a 48-13 final tally. Trinity totaled 478 yards in total offense, including 271 on the ground. Bunker had 106 yards on 14 carries, while Iregbelum added 67 yards on six carries, and junior RB Jacob Rivers (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed 62 yards on five rushes not counting a 52-yard touchdown sprint in the fourth quarter that was called back due to a penalty. Foye and Puzzo finished 12-for-16 passing for 195 yards and four scores, while Rosenberg was 16-for-25 for 158 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Budness led all pass catchers with five grabs for 78 yards. Defensively, Hamilton sophomore ILB Cade Larabee (Ahoskie, N.C.) had a game-high 10 tackles with two tackles for loss. Tanner had seven hits, one tackle for loss, and the interception return for a touchdown for the Bantam defense, and sophomore P Kyle Pulek (Cheshire, Conn.) averaged 45.5 yards on four attempts.