Courtesy of Tufts University

SOMERVILLE, Mass. – Amherst College senior quarterback Brian McMahon (Basking Ridge, N.J.) ran for a first-quarter touchdown and passed for another, as the Lord Jeffs went on to defeat Tufts University 30-0 in a NESCAC game at a windy and rain-soaked Ellis Oval/Zimman Field on Saturday.

The Lord Jeffs held a 246-20 edge in rushing yards in the contest and a 21-7 margin in first downs, as Amherst is now 30-1 in its past 31 games in which it rushes for at least 200 yards. Amherst improves to 6-0 and will host unbeaten Trinity College (6-0) next Saturday at 1 p.m.

With a 24-yard field goal and a 3-for-4 performance on extra point attempts, Amherst's Matt Rawson '12 (Bethesda, Md.) tied a pair of program records. His nine made field goals are tied with his own single-season mark, which he set last year, while his 148 career points put him even with David Bodner '05. 

On Amherst's second possession, McMahon ran a naked bootleg untouched into the end zone from 26 yards out with 11:15 remaining in the period. The play was the first following a Tufts fumble that was recovered by junior defensive back Landrus Lewis (Pennsauken, N.J.).

After a three-and-out for the Jumbos, McMahon capped an 11-play, 63-yard drive with a six-yard pass over the middle to senior wideout Ben Kettering (Fairmont, W.V.) with 3:27 remaining in the period.

The Lord Jeffs went into halftime with a 21-0 lead following an Eric Bunker '12 (Topsfield, Mass.) seven-yard rush with 1:15 remaining. The drive covered 54 yards in nine plays and took 2:04 off the clock.

Amherst dominated the first-half statistics, outgaining the Jumbos 217-66 and racking up 13 first downs to just two for Tufts. The Lord Jeffs, who entered the game ranked second in the NESCAC in run defense, allowed only 16 rushing yards in the stanza.

The second half proved more of the same as Amherst dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Lord Jeffs ran for 115 second-half yards with the help of sophomore Steven Jellison (Amherst, N.H.), who gained 58 yards on a third-quarter drive that led to Rawson's 24-yarder with 2:58 left.

Amherst ended the scoring early in the fourth quarter with a two-yard Bunker rush just 53 ticks into the period, marking his ninth rushing touchdown of the season. Bunker gained 82 yards on 17 carries to go along with his two scores, while Jellison finished at a career-high 75 yards on 15 rushes. 

McMahon completed 11 of 16 passes for 99 yards, including five for 53 yards to Kettering. Defensively, Amherst was led by junior Matt Pieterse (Springfield, Mass.) with eight solo tackles. Senior Doug Gebhardt (Placentia, Calif.) and sophomore Max Dietz (Cincinnati, Ohio) each intercepted a pass for the Lord Jeffs, while first-year Max Lehrman (Washington, D.C.) had 1.5 of Amherst's four sacks on the day.

Junior John Dodds went 11-for-24 and gained 75 yards at quarterback for Tufts. Junior Dylan Haas caught three passes for 30 yards, while sophomore Ryan Pollock carried the ball 19 times for 36 yards. Junior Kyle Weller had 11 stops for Tufts and teammate Zack Skarzinski made 10 tackles. Junior Sam Diss intercepted a pass, and sacks came from senior Kyle Leggott and sophomore Ryan Egger.

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