Box Score VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – For the second time in three years, the Amherst College football team walked off Williams College's Weston Field as undefeated champions of the NESCAC.
The Lord Jeffs went on a 24-point run and held a 31-6 lead late in the third quarter, giving them plenty of breathing room en route to a 31-18 win over the Ephs Saturday afternoon.
Amherst secured the fourth 8-0 season in program history (1964, 1984, 2009, 2011), while Williams (5-3) snapped its streak of 10 consecutive seasons finishing at 6-2 or better. The Jeffs also earned the Little Three title and claimed the conference championship outright for the second time ever.
Defensive lineman Kevin Ferber '12 (Mahwah, N.J.), running back Eric Bunker '12 (Topsfield, Mass.) and kicker Matt Rawson '12 (Bethesda, Md.) set single-season program records for sacks, rushing touchdowns and field goals, respectively, while quarterback Brian McMahon '12 (Basking Ridge, N.J.) threw for a touchdown and ran for another.
Ferber finished with 4.0 sacks to give him 11.0 on the season, surpassing the previous record of 9.5 that had been held by Alex Niefer '99 and Pat McGee '02. Ferber also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a pivotal touchdown that opened the second-half scoring.
Bunker rushed for only 21 yards against Williams last year, but he gained 107 yards on 27 carries (4.0 ypc) this time around. In the second quarter he gave the Jeffs a 13-6 lead on a 3-yard run that broke the previous single-season touchdown record of 11, which had been held by Josh Mason '97. The Ephs had held their opposition to 60 rushing yards or fewer in three consecutive weeks and had not let Amherst run for more than 85 yards since 2006, but Bunker helped the Jeffs pick up 167 yards on the ground.
McMahon put the Jeffs on the board with a 15-yard touchdown run to his left after a fake handoff, and Rawson added the extra point to mark the fourth consecutive Amherst-Williams game in which the Jeffs scored first.
Joseph Mallock closed out the first-quarter scoring with a 41-yard field goal and added a 23-yarder early in the second, making it a 7-6 game with 10:38 to play in the opening half. His second field goal came after the Jeffs came up with a big stop on 3rd-and-goal, with a sack by Ferber helping the cause.
Amherst scored the next 17 points of the half, beginning with Bunker's record-breaking touchdown. Less than five minutes later the Jeffs caught a big break when the Ephs were whistled for pass interference on third down, which kept the drive alive and led to a 10-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to a wide open Mike Samela '12 (Westport, Conn.) in the left corner of the end zone.
After Samela's touchdown gave Amherst a 21-6 lead with less than three minutes to play in the half, the Jeffs got the ball back when Kevin Heller '12 (Brooklyn, N.Y.) intercepted his second pass of the day with only 22 seconds on the clock. McMahon hit Will Reed '12 (Riverside, Conn.) over the middle for a 21-yard gain, and the Jeffs immediately called a timeout with 00:01 showing on the clock. Rawson came on to convert a 39-yarder as time expired, giving the visitors a 24-6 lead and surpassing the nine field goals he made in 2010.
Amherst went three-and-out on its first possession of the second half, but Rawson pinned Williams inside its 20-yard line to set up the Jeffs' next points. On the Ephs' first play, quarterback Adam Marske '14 was blindsided by linebacker Mike Aldo '13 (Mansfield, Mass.). The ball popped loose and made its way into the end zone, allowing Ferber to pounce on top of it for another six Lord Jeff points. Rawson tacked on the extra point, giving Amherst a 31-6 lead with 9:35 to play in the third.
Tom Wohlwender '13 ran for a 1-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, but the ensuing two-point conversion failed when Ferber came up with a stop. The Lord Jeff defense would make two big stands on fourth down in the final quarter, as the Ephs didn't score again until Wohlwender recorded another 1-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds remaining in the game. Williams recovered the ensuing on-side kick but would run only one play, allowing the Jeffs and their fans to storm the field with the 31-18 victory.
McMahon accounted for 205 total yards after completing 14 of his 27 passes and running the ball 15 times. Ben Kettering '12 (Fairmont, W. Va.) was his leading target, catching five balls for 58 yards. Ferber led the defense with his 4.0 sacks, eight tackles and fumble recovery, while safety Doug Gebhardt '12 (Placentia, Calif.) led all players with 14 tackles.
Saturday marked the final collegiate game for Amherst's 18 seniors, who compiled a 27-5 record in four years and became the first class to record two undefeated seasons. After going 5-3 in 2008, the Jeffs followed with records of 8-0, 6-2 and 8-0, as no team in the NESCAC has been more successful these past three years.
Amherst's win over Williams in 2009 marked its first victory at Weston Field since 1985, but the visiting team has now won each of the past four meetings in the series. The Jeffs and Ephs will be back at Pratt Field in 2012 when they meet for the 127th time in the rivalry's storied history.
BOX SCORE
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
PHOTO GALLERY/SLIDESHOW
