WATERVILLE, Maine – The Amherst College football team thrived on big plays during Saturday's 31-7 win over Colby College at Seaverns Field, as the Lord Jeffs put points on the board in every quarter while holding the Mules to 241 total yards of offense. 

Amherst (4-0) has won 16 consecutive meetings with Colby (0-4) and is now 30-4-1 in the all-time series. 

Blake Grauer '12 (Claremore, Okla.) threw for two touchdowns and a career-high 283 yards, with the Lord Jeffs' other two touchdowns coming on a Landrus Lewis '13 (Pennsauken, N.J.) punt return and a Gordie Lockbaum '12 (Worcester, Mass.) interception return. 

Colby had run for at least 175 yards in each of its last two games, but the Jeffs held them to 48 yards on 30 carries. Amherst gained 427 yards of total offense to overcome its three turnovers, while its defense recovered one Colby fumble, recorded three sacks and picked off one pass. 

Amherst scored on its first possession of the game when Matt Rawson '12 (Bethesda, Md.) hit a 22-yard field goal with 11:01 remaining in the first quarter, capping off a 13-play, 74-yard drive. 

The Jeffs would close out the opening period with another seven points when Lockbaum made a perfect read on a screen pass, pulling down an interception at Colby's 6-yard line and running it into the end zone. Rawson tacked on the extra point with only six seconds on the clock, giving the visitors a 10-0 lead after 15 minutes. 

It seemed as though the Jeffs would carry their 10-0 lead into halftime, but Lewis fielded a punt at the Amherst 24-yard line and took it to the house with only one minute remaining in the second quarter. Lewis is the first Lord Jeff to return a punt for a touchdown since Andre Gary '11 ran one back for 36 yards during last year's 70-49 win over Tufts. His 76-yard return is the longest by an Amherst player in at least 15 years. 

The Jeffs carried that momentum into the second half and scored on their first drive of the third quarter. After Mike Samela '12 (Westport, Conn.) hauled in a 26-yard reception, Grauer connected with Ben Kettering '12 (Fairmont, W.V.) for a 10-yard touchdown strike, bringing the score to 24-0 with 10 minutes remaining in the third period.

Colby came right back and put together a five-play, 70-yard drive, bringing the score to 24-7 after senior receiver/running back Connor Walsh threw his first career touchdown pass on a 25-yard play to Nick Joseph with 8:14 on the clock. 

Amherst used a combination of running back Ryan Silva '14 (Bristol, R.I.) and wide receiver Will Reed '12 (Riverside, Conn.) to close out the scoring with a touchdown on the opening drive of the fourth quarter. Grauer hit Reed for completions of 24 and three yards before the two seniors connected for a 47-yard touchdown, making it a 31-7 game with 13:07 to go. 

Grauer got his 283 yards on 18-of-29 passing, with Reed and Kettering combining for 141 yards on nine catches to go along with their touchdowns. Andrew Reed '12 (Riverside, Conn.) caught only two passes but made them count, with one going for 41 yards and the other for 35. 

Lockbaum led the defensive effort by recording a team-high seven tackles and forcing a fumble to go along with his pick-six. Kevin Ferber '12 (Mahwah, N.J.) matched Lockbaum's seven tackles and forced a fumble of his own, also accounting for two of Amherst's three sacks. Lou Jacoubs '13 (Brockton, Mass.) forced a fumble and had six solo tackles and two tackles-for-loss, while Doug Gebhardt '12 (Placentia, Calif.) broke up two passes and recovered a fumble. 

In addition to putting Amherst on the scoreboard and connecting on all four of his extra-point attempts, Rawson averaged 41.4 yards on five punts, four of which pinned Colby inside the 20. 

The Jeffs ran the ball 41 times for 144 yards, with Eric Bunker '12 (Topsfield, Mass.), Steven Jellison '14 (Amherst, N.H.), Samela and Silva breaking up the workload. Quarterback DJ Petropulos '14 (Amherst, N.H.) also had two carries, one of which went for 41 yards.  

The Lord Jeffs remain tied with Trinity College (4-0) atop the NESCAC standings. They will host Wesleyan University (3-1) next Saturday as part of Amherst's Homecoming Weekend. The Jeffs and Cardinals will kick off at 1 p.m. with a webcast and live statistics available.

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