AMHERST, Mass. – A fourth-quarter interception by sophomore
Luke Harmon set up the game-winning field goal for first-year
Matthew Kelley as the Amherst College football team rallied to win its home opener by a 17-14 margin over Hamilton College in Saturday afternoon NESCAC action on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.
The Mammoths evened their record at 1-1 in this matchup of two teams that had lost their season openers, while the Continentals fell to 0-2.
The Mammoths are back in action next Saturday (Sept. 30), visiting defending NESCAC champion Trinity for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* The Mammoths wasted no time getting on the board. On the third snap of the game, senior running back
Tariq Muhammad rumbled through the Hamilton defense and broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run, the longest rush of his collegiate career and his first collegiate touchdown.
* The Continentals answered with a touchdown on their opening drive. After a pass from first-year quarterback Luke Kurzum to senior Michael Lau got Hamilton to midfield, the Continentals kept it on the ground for the rest of the drive and first-year running back Nate Wildman ran into the end zone from nine yards out to level the score.
* The defenses settled in after the opening drives and neither team reached the red zone for the rest of the first half. On Hamilton's second drive of the third quarter, the Continentals again relied on the run game, as Wildman's rushes accounted for 39 of the 58 yards on the drive, culminating with a 2-yard rush to the end zone to give Hamilton a 14-7 lead.
* Hamilton held the lead until the closing minutes of the game when the Mammoths launched an inspired rally. Getting the ball at midfield with just under five minutes to play, the Mammoths relied on the pass game, as first-year quarterback
John Collier engineered a drive down the field exclusively on passing plays, finding sophomore
Cato Legaspi for a 14-yard touchdown pass to level the score at 14-14 with 2:32 to play with Legaspi's first collegiate touchdown.
* As the Continentals began their ensuing drive from their own 25-yard line, a third-down pass was intercepted by Harmon and nearly returned for a touchdown, with only a step out of bounds at the 5-yard line preventing the immediate score. But the Mammoths still had the ball on Hamilton's doorstep and Kelley's first collegiate field goal attempt split the uprights from 21 yards out to give the Mammoths a 17-14 lead.
* Hamilton was left with 1:09 on the clock to start a drive from its own 16-yard line and made it to Amherst's 48-yard line before a last-gasp pass was batted down by sophomore defensive back
Matthew Monteleone as time expired.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* The Continentals outgained the Mammoths in total offense by a 301-260 margin and held the advantage in time of possession as well, while Amherst had a 157-152 edge in passing yards.
* Collier completed 20 of 32 passes for 157 yards while sophomore wide receiver
Sam Gerber hauled in 8 catches for 73 yards. Muhammad led the Mammoths with 78 rushing yards on 8 carries.
* Harmon led the Mammoths defensively with nine tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack, in addition to his fourth-quarter interception.
* Kurzum completed 12 of 29 passes for 152 yards for the Continentals. Lau gained 51 receiving yards on 3 catches and Wildman rushed for 119 yards on 35 carries. Senior linebacker Nick Hoff was in on 10 tackles for the Continentals and sophomore defensive back Kyle Bratcher recorded an interception.
