October 12, 2002
AMHERST, MA – The Amherst College football team used stifling defense, 208 rushing yards from All-NESCAC junior tailback Fletcher Ladd (Amherst, NH) and a 67-yard touchdown catch by senior wideout J.P. Zito (Coral Gables, FL) to upend visiting Colby College, 14-0, on a rain-soaked Pratt Field on Saturday afternoon. With its second shutout of the season, Amherst improved its record to 4-0 while Colby dropped to 1-3.
The action started under a torrential downpour and both teams adjusted their game plans accordingly, keeping the ball on the ground for the entire first quarter and the beginning of the second. In fact, 16 of Colby's first 17 offensive plays were rushes by junior workhorse Aaron Stepka (Farmington, CT), including a 16-yard gallop to the Amherst 3-yard line with four minutes remaining in the opening stanza. A few plays later, Colby found itself with a key fourth-and-one situation and again gave the ball to Stepka, who was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Amherst linebackers Dave Borgonzi (Everett, MA) and Ed Sylvester (Scituate, MA), turning the ball over to the Jeffs.
Amherst continued to hand the ball to Ladd until its first drive of the second period. After several more rushing plays and a six-yard completion to senior wideout Brian Hart (Rutland, VT), sophomore quarterback Marsh Moseley (New Orleans) hit a streaking Zito down the left sideline for a 67-yard scoring strike and a 7-0 lead the Jeffs would never relinquish.
The score remained 7-0 until the third quarter, when Amherst free safety Jeremy Carroll (Winchester, MA) victimized Colby quarterback Pat Conley (Bath, ME) with his fourth interception of the season, setting up an insurance tally for the Jeffs. After the change of possession, Ladd rushed eight straight times for 48 yards, including a five-yard touchdown scamper, to seal the final score at 14-0.
Colby would threaten just once more in the fourth quarter. With just over four minutes left in regulation and the ball on Amherst's 26-yard line, Amherst sophomore defensive back Bob Sargent (Centreville, VA) nabbed his second interception of the season, all but sealing the victory for the Jeffs.
Ladd's career-high 208 rushing yards on 35 carries dominated the post-game stat sheet, as did Stepka's 172 yards on 42 carries for Colby. Moseley thew sparingly but was effective nonetheless, completing three passes for 78-yards, including his 67-yard strike to Zito. Conley completed nine passes in 21 attempts for Colby – most of which came in the fourth quarter - for 90 yards and a pair of interceptions.
Amherst had four players with 10 or more tackles. Borgonzi led the way with 12, while Sylvester, junior linebacker Dan McNamara (Norwell, MA) and senior strong safety Paul Miceli (Glendale, NY) each added 10. Junior defensive back Wayne Harrington (Rockland, MA) and senior linebacker Mike Moran (Bedford, NH) each finished with 15 tackles for Colby.
Ladd, who entered the game as the seventh-leading rusher in the nation and the top ground gainer in the NESCAC, now has 678 rushing yards on the season, with Josh Mason's school record 1,220 rushing yards, set in 1994, well within reach.
Amherst returns to action next Saturday at noon at Little Three rival Wesleyan University.
stats and play-by-play