Middletown, Conn. - The visiting Trinity College Bantams scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter but were stopped on a two-point conversion try late in the fourth quarter and lost, 20-19, against the Wesleyan University Cardinals this afternoon at Corwin Football Stadium. Trinity finishes the year with three defeats in a row after a 5-0 start, and sees its 13-game winning streak against Wesleyan come to an end. The Cardinals close the year at 7-1 and can share the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) title with Amherst if the Lord Jeffs lose tonight against Williams.
Trinity trailed, 20-6, after three quarters, but back-to-back tackles for losses by senior tri-captain S Mike Mancini (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and senior NT Kyle McGuire (Mansfield, Mass.) helped the Bantams secure the ball in Wesleyan territory after a short punt, and first-year QB Spencer Aukamp (North Haledon, N.J.) connected with senior TE Brendan Oliver (Danvers, Mass.) for a 28-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 20-13 after the PAT by junior Kyle Pulek (Cheshire, Conn.) with 12:09 remaining.
With just under five minutes on the clock, Wesleyan DB Jake Bussani picked off an Aukamp pass, but the Bantam defense rallied to force a three-and-out, as McGuire recorded 1.5 more tackles for loss in the series. Trinity sophomore KR Darrien Myers (North Andover, Mass.) caught the ensuing Wesleyan punt at his own 43-yard line, and juked his way through the middle for a few yards before escaping down the right side to the Cardinal seven-yard line. On 4th-and-goal from the two-yard line, Aukamp snuck through the middle of the line for his second rushing touchdown of the game to make the score, 20-19, with 1:15 left in the game, but Wesleyan sophomore Justin Sanchez tackled Trinity senior RB Chudi Iregbulem (Torrance, Calif.) on a swing pass to the left side to spoil the go-ahead conversion try. After Wesleyan senior Josh Hurwitz recovered the ensuing onside kick, the Trinity defense made one final stand to get the ball back but an incomplete pass and a sack by Cardinal senior Dee Simon ended the game.
Aukamp, who had 23 runs for 99 yards and a hand in all three Bantams scores, spotted Trinity a 6-0 lead at 13:31 of the second quarter as the visitors took advantage of great field position to go 49 yards in six plays with Aukamp pushing in from a yard away. The snap on the extra point was low, forcing an incomplete pass attempt and leaving the score at 6-0. Wesleyan evened the count at 6-6 before halftime on a pair of short field goals by Ike Fuchs, the first from 22 yards at 9:13 and the second from 25 yards at 1:23. Both three-pointers were set up by special teams play as the Cardinals recovered a Trinity muffed punt at the Trinity 30-yard line and received a blocked punt by sophomore Jordan Stone to give the Cardinals the ball at the Trinity 14-yard line.
The Cardinals drove 48 yards on seven plays to take a 13-6 lead on an eight-yard sophomore Lou Stevens run at 8:46, and added a 53-yard pass from senior QB Jesse Warren, who finished 17-for-25 for 205 yards, to classmate Jay Fabien at 2:06 for a 14-point advantage. Fabien ended the day with five catches for 86 yards, and Hurwitz added eight receptions for 69 yards. Aukamp finished 7-for-10 through the air for 41 yards, while Oliver's TD catch in traffic down the middle of the field was the first and last of his Bantam career.
Mancini topped the Bantams with 11 tackles, while junior ILB Frank Leyva (Pinecrest, Fla.) added nine tackles, and McGuire finished with seven hits and 2.5 tackles for loss. Wesleyan limited Trinity to 189 yards of total offense, led by junior Alex Daversa-Russo with 11 tackles. Senior Nik Powers had nine tackles and Sanchez added eight for the Cardinals. Bussani picked up his seventh interception of the season to go along with seven stops. It was his 18th career pickoff, a Wesleyan record.