October 20, 2001 

AMHERST, MA - First-year quarterback Marsh Moseley (New Orleans, LA) came off the bench to throw a pair of touchdown passes, while the defense surrendered just 165 yards of total offense for its third shutout of the season, as the Amherst College football team improved to 5-0 with a 23-0 win over visiting NESCAC and Little Three rival Wesleyan University (3-2) in front of 6,721 Homecoming fans Saturday afternoon at Pratt Field. 

After relieving starting quarterback Jeff Browne (Victor, NY) midway through the second quarter, Moseley tossed the first and biggest completion of his college career - a 32-yard hookup with junior wide receiver J.P. Zito, that brought Amherst all the way to the Wesleyan two-yard line. Senior running back Okey Ugwonali (Dallas, TX) - who rushed for a game-high 144 yards on 28 carries - punched it in from there with his second rushing touchdown of the season. First-year place kicker David Bodner (Atlantic Beach, NY) missed the extra point wide right, however, and the Jeffs settled for a 6-0 lead at the half. 

Moseley continued to heat things up after the break, finding senior wideout Derrell Wright (Hudson, OH) for a 23-yard gain on his first attempt of the second half. Ugwonali then pounded the Wesleyan defense with four consecutive carries, including a 15-yard run on second-and-nine to move the ball deep into Cardinal territory. Two Fletcher Ladd (Amherst, NH) rushes and an incompletion by Moseley set up a field goal attempt by Bodner, who redeemed himself with a successful 30-yarder to stretch the lead to 9-0. 

The Jeffs weren't finished yet. While the defense was busy holding Wesleyan to minus-10 yards and no first downs in the third quarter, the offense went right back to work as Moseley lofted his first career touchdown pass - an 18-yard beauty to senior tight end Matt Flavin (Littleton, CO) in the back left corner of the end zone - to put the Jeffs up 16-0 just before the end of the third quarter. 

At the start of the fourth, junior Geoff Bough (Los Altos, CA) pinned Wesleyan on its own four-yard line with a booming 38-yard punt, setting up Amherst's final touchdown of the day. After holding the Cardinals and forcing a punt, the Jeffs got the ball back in Wesleyan territory and marched 45 yards on 17 plays, capped by a 21-yard scoring strike from Moseley to Wright, setting the final score at 23-0. 

Moseley finished an impressive eight-for-16 passing for 129 yards on the afternoon, while Wright - who hauled in his first touchdown catch of the season - led the Jeffs with a game-high eight receptions for 109 yards. In addition to Ugwonali, Ladd had a busy day rushing the football with 16 carries for a career-high 85 yards. 

Amherst's defense was spectacular as usual, led by sophomore defensive back Paul Whiting's (Mission Viejo, CA) career-high 10 tackles, including nine unassisted - four of which came on punt coverage. Senior defensive backs Geoff Dewire (Bernville, PA) and Jay Hutchins (Columbus, OH) chipped in with seven tackles and an interception each, while senior linebacker Brian Landolfi (Hanover, MA) added five tackles and his third interception of the season, which ties him for the team lead. Seniors Gregg Stankewicz (Portland, CT), Brad Hensley (Cincinnati, OH) and Pat McGee (Marshfield, MA) tormented Wesleyan sophomore quarterback Brennan Carney (South Burlington, VT) all afternoon long and finished with two sacks each. McGee now has 28.5 career sacks, which is believed to be just 1.5 shy of the unofficial school record. Bough entered the game as the NESCAC's second leading punter and did nothing to damage his marquee status with eight punts for a 39.9-yard average, including five boots inside the Wesleyan 20-yard line. 

Wesleyan had a long day trying to solve the Amherst defense. Carney had his moments with 20 completions in 43 attempts for 159 yards. He was sacked five times, however, and tossed a trio of interceptions. His chief target was senior wide receiver George Thompson (Virginia Beach, VA), who paced the Cardinals with six catches for 70 yards. No Wesleyan rusher netted more than 18 yards on the afternoon. 

Amherst, which is yet to allow a touchdown and has surrendered just six points on two field goals this season, returns to action next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Tufts University (4-1), which dropped a 21-17 heartbreaker at Williams College. Amherst and Williams are the lone undefeated teams left in the NESCAC with perfect 5-0 records. 

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