AMHERST, Mass.-- Amherst College sophomore Hudson Fulcher-Melendy went 4 for 4 in field goal attempts Saturday and the Amherst defense limited Williams to 211 yards of total offense as the Mammoths edged the Ephs 14-13 on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium in the latest installment of the historic series. 

Fulcher-Melendy's fourth boot came from 26-yards out with 2 minutes and 57 seconds remaining in the game and gave Amherst its final margin of victory, 14-13. He also had field goals of 37, 27 and 22 yards in the game, tying an Amherst College single-game record for field goals in a game.

Junior linebacker Ty Kazanowsky accounted for the Mammoths' other two points in the game and provided a critical change of momentum when, following a Williams go-ahead touchdown with 47 seconds left in the third quarter, he intercepted a two-point conversion attempt at the goaline and returned it 100 yards. Instead of being down 13-9 or 14-9 or even 15-9, the Mammoths trailed by only two points at 13-11. 

The win allowed Amherst to finish the season 5-4 and have its first winning since 2021. The one-point margin of victory is the first in the rivalry series since 2008, a 24-23 Amherst victory. It was the first Mammoth one-point win since a 7-6 win over Trinity in 2014. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* After Kazanowsky's mad dash, the Mammoths received the kick-off and punted. The Amherst defense responded, allowing Williams one first down before forcing a punt. The big play came from Jackson Duncan, who stuffed Eph runner Jon Oris for a 1-yard loss on a 3rd-and-5 rushing attempt. 

* A 5-yard punt return by Yash Gupta set Amherst up with a 1st-and-10 at its own 27. After Demitrius Smith gained one first down by getting exactly one yard on 3rd-and-1, Amherst quarterback Marek Hill found Carter Jung on a 14-yard, second-down pass that brought the Mammoths to midfield. On a 3rd-and-2 at the Williams' 41, Hill found a wide open tight end, Matt Diaz, for a 15-yard gain and a first down at the Williams' 26. 

* Facing a 3rd-and-3 at the Williams 19, Hill connected with Jung once again for a four-yard gain and another first down. After two incompletions, the pair hooked up again for a 6-yard gain that brought Fulcher-Melendy on for his game-winning 26-yard boot that capped a 15-play, 64-yard drive that took 6:23 off the clock. Amherst was only 5 of 17 on third-down conversions in the game, but 3 of 4 during this drive. 

* After the ensuing kick-off was fair caught, Williams began at its own 25. Facing a 4th-and-5, the Ephs kept the game alive with a 12-yard gain. But, on a 2nd-and-5 play from the Ephs' 47, Amherst senior defensive back Niles Riding made a sensational interception along the Williams sideline at his own 35-yard line, effectively closing out the contest. 

* The game was scoreless after one quarter of play. Each team punted twice, but after the second Williams punt, Amherst took over at its own 10 and fashioned an 18-play, 80-yard drive that took 8:25 off the clock and ended in a 27-yard Fulcher-Melendy field goal for a 3-0 Mammoth lead. Facing a 3rd-and-10 from its own 10, Hill found Jung for 31 yards to get Amherst some field position. Facing a 4th-and-2 at the Williams '37, Hill found Sam Gerber in the slot for a 6-yard gain that kept the chains moving. Facing a 4th-and-8 from the Ephs' 29, Hill connected with Keith Delaney for a critical 20-yard pick-up that set up the game's first score. 

* On Williams first play from scrimmage following that score, Mammoth junior corner Tylik Sims pick-off a deflected pass at the Williams' 47 and returned it 24 yards to the 23. Although the Mammoths could not get a first down, Fulcher-Melendy made sure they took advantage of the turnover by booting a 37-yard field goal -- his longest of the season -- for a 6-0 Amherst lead with 10:53 left in the half. 

* On the next Williams possession, Amherst forced a punt and junior Nathaniel Jackson partially blocked it, setting up the Mammoths at the Williams' 40. The Amherst offense sputtered and could not take advantage however. Williams then drove to the Amherst 40 and faced a 4th-and-2 but Jackson Duncan and Ty Kazanowsky stopped Oris for a 1-yard gain. 

* However, a fumble on the very next play gave the ball back to the Ephs, and this time they drove 46 yards and scored on a 12-yard rush from quarterback Mustafa Mozawalla. Williams took a 7-6 lead with 30 seconds left and that was the score at the half. 

* After another fumble stopped their first possession of the second half, the Mammoths forced a Williams punt and used a 13-yard Gupta return and a 15-yard late hit penalty to start at their own 44-yard line. Determined to run the ball, Smith carried it 4 times for 31 yards and the Mammoths had a 1st-and-goal at the Williams' 5, but once again relied on Fulcher-Melendy to score the points, this time from 22 yards out which gave Amherst the lead back at 9-7 with 6:59 left in the quarter. 

* The Ephs followed with a 75-yard drive that was capped by Mozawalla's 7-yard TD strike to Riley O'Connell. But Kazanowsky picked off the 2-point conversion and stole two points for the Mammoths, and they trailed 13-11 with 47 seconds left in the third stanza.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst outgained Williams 262-211. The Mammoths had 15 first downs, Williams 13. 

* Hill completed 23 of 38 passes for 188 yards and no interceptions. Smith ran for 60 yards on 14 carries. Jung led the receivers with 9 receptions for 81 yards. Christian Moore had 8 receptions for 35 yards, Delaney 2 receptions for 35 yards. 

* Luke Harmon had 11 tackles, 8 solo and 3 1/2 for loss. He also had one of the four Mammoth sacks in the win. Miles Harmon had 9 tackles, 7 solo, and 2 pass break-ups. Kemit Fisher, Charlie Taylor and  Wyatt Morgan also had sacks for the Mammoths. Morgan made 2 tackes resulting in 10 yards of loss for Williams. Carson Skotak made 6 tackles. 

* Wyatt Cotton made 11 tackles, 10 solo, for the Ephs and made a fumble recovery. Luke Mangini made 8 tackles and forced both Mammoth fumbles in the game.