November 2, 2002
HARTFORD, CT – The Amherst College football team mustered just 171 yards of total offense and fell to 5-2 with a disappointing 21-14 loss at Trinity College (6-1) on Saturday. The Jeffs fell behind 21-0 in the first half and trailed the entire game, squashing their chances of playing for the unofficial NESCAC Championship next Saturday against unbeaten Williams.
Senior quarterback Greg Ward (Avon, CT) marched the Bantams into the end zone on each of Trinity's first two possessions, connecting with junior wideout Joe Wahl (Riverside, RI) on a 12-yard scoring strike and then scoring on a one-yard touchdown plunge. Senior running back Brian Fabrizio (Norwell, MA) cemented Trinity's early dominance with a 40-yard touchdown run with 2:30 remaining in the first half. Amherst advanced into Trinity territory only once before halftime, a drive that ended on the Bantam 43 as time expired in the second quarter.
The Jeffs came to life after the break, only to have a 37-yard field goal attempt blocked by Trinity junior Andrew Whipple (Marblehead, MA) on their opening drive. Amherst finally cracked the scoring column at the end of the third quarter. A forced fumble by junior linebacker Dan McNamara (Norwell, MA), recovered by first-year Gavin Weeks (Cranford, NJ), set up a one-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Fletcher Ladd (Amherst, NH), as the Jeffs cut the lead to 21-7.
The defense forced Trinity to punt on its next two possessions and Amherst sophomore quarterback Marsh Moseley (New Orleans, LA) responded with his eighth touchdown pass of the season, a 17-yard bullet to sophomore wideout Jason Wagstaff (Tewksbury, MA) with 5:15 left in regulation.
After another Trinity punt, the Jeffs had one last chance to knot the score but were denied when senior safety Gavin O'Reilly (Cheshire, CT) notched his second interception of the game at the Bantam 22-yard line with 32 seconds left.
Ladd, who entered the game as the third leading rusher in the nation at 170.0 yards per game, managed just 79 yards on 24 carries on Saturday, perhaps a bit winded from his 48-carry, 196-yard performance last week against Tufts. He is now just 128 yards shy of Josh Mason's single-season school record of 1,220 rushing yards, set in 1994, and 201 yards shy of the NESCAC single-season record of 1,293 yards, set by Jamall Pollock of Williams in 1995.
Amherst first-year Ngai Otieno (Gloucester, MA) saw his first significant action of the season with nine carries for 22 yards. Moseley finished 10-for-16 passing with a touchdown and an interception. Senior fullback Jeff Ryan (Belmont, MA) was the main beneficiary with a season-high six catches for 46 yards. Senior wideout J.P. Zito (Coral Gables, FL) also caught three passes for 35 yards. On defense McNamara led the way with a career-high 17 tackles, including eight solos, two for loss and a pair of forced fumbles.
Trinity dominated the game on the ground with Fabrizio rumbling for a game-high 109 yards on 20 attempts. Junior running back Tom Pierandri (Ridgefield, CT) added 20 carries of his own for 95 yards. Ward was a model of efficiency through the air, completing eight of 12 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 27 yards.
Amherst will wrap up its season next Saturday at noon against visiting Little Three rival Williams, which improved to 7-0 with a lopsided 41-7 win over Wesleyan (5-2).
stats and play-by-play
