AMHERST, MA – The Amherst College football team used four interceptions from its defense and a season-high 23 points from its offense to earn a shutout victory over Wesleyan University Saturday afternoon at Pratt Field. The Lord Jeffs improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2004, while the Cardinals fall to 2-3.
Amherst scored on all four of its red zone chances and the Cardinals were unsuccessful on all four of theirs, as the Lord Jeffs continued to come up with timely plays on defense. Senior Fred Argir (Lakeville, MN) intercepted a pair of passes to bring his season total to five, with fellow seniors Chris Govey (Easton, MA) and Fran Florio (Staten Island, NY) each adding a pick.
Sophomore defensive back Cam Davila (Yorba Linda, CA) came down with a pair of interceptions for the Cardinals, one midway through the opening quarter and a second coming early in the third frame.
The Lord Jeffs gained 314 yards of total offense compared to 209 for Wesleyan, with Amherst running for a season-high 158 yards while holding the Cardinals to 14 yards on 17 carries. The hosts also won the possession battle, 34:55 to 25:05.
With its first shutout of 2009, Amherst now leads the NESCAC in fewest points allowed per game (9.4).
The opening quarter was a back-and-forth affair but featured no scoring thanks to several missed opportunities. The Cardinals marched inside the Amherst 10-yard line on their third possession but turned the ball over on downs, with Amherst turning the ball over on its ensuing possession thanks to Davila's first pick of the day. The Cardinals used Davila's interception to start a drive on the hosts' 24-yard line, but a 21-yard field goal attempt from sophomore Matt Alexander (Dallas, TX) missed wide left.
With less than one minute to play in the opening quarter, Amherst junior running back Femi Oyalowo (Bowie, MD) lost a fumble that was recovered by Wesleyan's Justin Freres (Santa Barbara, CA) on the Amherst 19. The Cardinals once again could not capitalize, as a pass attempt on 4th-and-3 was batted down by Govey on an exceptional defensive effort.
Govey came up with his first interception of the season on Wesleyan's next drive and the Jeffs would use it to march down to the Wesleyan 1-yard line, but they would lose three yards on a third-down run and would have to settle for a field goal. Sophomore Matt Rawson (Bethesda, MD) nailed a 21-yard attempt with 6:01 remaining in the opening half to make it a 3-0 game.
Amherst forced another turnover on the Cardinals' next possession when sophomore quarterback Blake DuBois (Santa Ynez, CA) was picked off by Argir at the Amherst 42. Amherst needed only four plays to capitalize on the interception, with junior quarterback Alex Vetras (Clyde Hill, WA) using a five-yard pass to junior Brian Murphy (Evanston, IL), a 19-yard connection with sophomore Kevin Heller (Brooklyn, NY) and a 13-yard touchdown strike to junior Sean Legister (Ossining, NY). Rawson added the extra point to make it 10-0 with 4:22 to play in the half.
DuBois marched the Cardinals 54 yards on their next possession, completing eight passes and adding an eight-yard rush to put the visitors in a 3rd-and-5 situation from the Amherst 18 with only 59 seconds remaining in the first half. After a Wesleyan timeout, DuBois was chased out of the pocket and Lord Jeff senior lineman Edwin Urey (Quincy, MA) forced a fumble at the 30-yard line. Fellow senior lineman Eric Pender (Drexel Hill, PA) was first to the ball, handing possession back to the Jeffs. Amherst took a knee to run out the clock, carrying its 10-0 lead into halftime.
Vetras was intercepted by Davila on Amherst's first possession of the second half, but neither team would threaten to score and each side would punt three times during an uneventful third period. Amherst would add another six points on its second possession of the fourth quarter when Argir returned his second interception 22 yards to the Wesleyan 18, with senior running back Aaron Rauh (Hudson, OH) capping off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run. Rawson's extra point attempt was blocked at the line by sophomore lineman Robert Dabbar (Houston, TX), as the Jeffs took a 16-0 lead with 10:03 to play.
The teams traded punts on their next possessions, but Amherst managed to take more than six minutes off the game clock. Florio then picked off Wesleyan quarterback Joe Giaimo (Gillette, NJ) and returned it 33 yards to the Cardinal 2-yard line with less than two minutes to play. Florio's interception allowed Rauh to pick up a second touchdown, as he came through with a five-yard run on fourth down to tack on six more points. Rawson's extra point brought the score to 23-0, and the Cardinals ran out of time on their ensuing possession.
Vetras completed 18 of 34 passes for 156 yards to go along with his touchdown and two interceptions. Murphy and senior Brandon Bullock (West Orange, NJ) each caught 48 yards worth of passes, with Legister adding 24 receiving yards and his first touchdown of the season. Oyalowo and Vetras paced Amherst's running attack with 54 and 53 yards, respectively, while Rauh added 48 yards on 14 carries to go along with his two scores.
DuBois completed 19 of his 41 pass attempts for 147 yards, with Giaimo adding 48 yards on 7-of-13 passing. Senior Shea Dwyer (Marlborough, CT) led his team in receptions (8) and receiving yards (54) as the Cardinals' prime target, with junior Pete Modera (Piedmont, CA) adding 44 yards on four catches. First-year Te'Rhon O'Neal (Reseda, CA) had only one carry but led Wesleyan with 16 yards on the ground.
The Amherst defense got sacks from Urey, Pender, senior Mike Taylor (Evanston, IL), sophomore Kevin Ferber (Mahwah, NJ) and first-year Sam Clark (Andover, MA), with Taylor leading all players with 12 total tackles (9 solo). Junior linebacker Brandon Quinn (Atlanta, GA) added seven tackles, while Argir had five takedowns to go along with his two interceptions.
Wesleyan sophomore Brett Bandazian (Wyckoff, NJ) and junior AJ Chan (Danville, CA) led the Cardinals with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively, with Freres adding nine tackles and a sack. Sophomore Cyprian Oyomba (Norwalk, CT) had seven tackles and blocked a punt.
With Trinity College defeating Bowdoin College today, Amherst kept pace with the 5-0 Bantams and remained in a tie for first place in the NESCAC standings. Wesleyan sits in a five-way tie for fourth place.
Amherst, which shut out Wesleyan for the fourth time in its past five chances as Pratt Field, increased its winning streak over the Cardinals to seven games. The Lord Jeffs lead the overall series, 65-41-9.
The Lord Jeffs and Cardinals will each return to action next Saturday, with Amherst traveling to take on Tufts University (2-3) at 1 p.m. and Wesleyan heading to Bowdoin (2-3) for a 12:30 p.m. game.
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