AMHERST, Mass. -- Marek Hill threw three first-half touchdowns Saturday as the Amherst College  football team scored 30 points in a single half for the first time in 10 years en route to a 30-14 victory over Tufts University at Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium. 

The 30 points were the most in a game for Amherst since Oct. 12, 2019 when the Mammoths defeated Bowdoin 36-14, and the 30 first-half points the most in a single half since they scored 30 in the first half of a 37-6 win over the Polar Bears on October 3, 2015. 

Amherst improved to 2-1 with the win, while Tufts slipped to 2-1. The Mammoths are at Middlebury next week for a 1 p.m. kick-off. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Amherst received the opening kick-off and proceeded to drive 75 yards in just six plays to take a 7-0 lead when junior running back Demitrius Smith dashed 37 yards for a touchdown run and Hudson Fulcher-Melendy completed the point-after attempt. 

* The Mammoths' third possession began on the Tufts' 47 after a short punt, and they took advantage, driving 47 yards in seven plays to take a 14-0 lead when Hill found senior Cato Legaspi with a TD strike from seven yards out.

* On Tufts' next drive the Jumbos moved the ball to the Amherst 31-yard line but faced a 4th-and-1 there when Mammoths Kemit Fisher and Luke Harmon combined to stuff the fourth-down run for no gain, keeping Tufts off the board. 

* Amherst was forced to punt on its next possession, but Efe Ilgar's 52-yard boot was downed at the Tufts' 1-yard line, setting up a pivotal play in the game as on a 3rd-and-9 play from the 2-yard line, Mammoths linebacker Ty Kazanowsky tackled a Jumbo carrier in his own end zone for a safety and a 16-0 Amherst lead with 10:38 remaining in the second quarter.

* On the first play following the free kick after the safety, Hill hooked up with senior wideout Carter Jung for a 68-yard pass play that took the ball to the Tufts' 1-yard line. A penalty pushed it back to the Tufts' 16, but two plays later Hill connected with Legaspi for a second time, this time from 12 yards out, for a 23-0 Amherst lead. 

* The Mammoths' huge half concluded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive on which Hill completed 5 of 7 passes for 40 yards, the final completion an 8-yard TD throw to Jung with only 20 seconds left in the half. Fulcher-Melendy's successful PAT gave the Mammoths a 30-0 lead going into the locker room at the break. 

* Tufts were come out and score two touchdowns in the second half while limiting Amherst to 41 yards of offense, but the Mammoths defense stymied the Jumbos' further comeback attempts, racking up 8 pass break-up in the game and 3 sacks. 

* The Jumbos' final three possessions were all stopped on 4th-down plays inside Amherst territory, the first two at the Amherst 9-yard line and the final at the 39. 

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Hill finished 18 of 29 passing for 211 yards, 3 TDs and 1 interception. He also ran for 26 yards on 7 carries. Smith led the Mammoths in rushing with 78 yards on 12 carries, a 6.5 yards-per-rush average, and 1 touchdown. Legaspi had 8 carries for 20 yards and 3 receptions for 21 yards and 2 TDs. Jung led the receivers with 6 catches for 120 yards and 1 touchdown. Christian Moore had 5 receptions for 50 yards. 

* Defensively, Luke Harmon and Carson Skotak each made 9 tackles to lead the Mammoths. Skotak had two tackles for loss and two pass break-ups in the win. Izaiah Gallagher made three tackles, 1.5 of which were sacks. Niles Riding had 8 tackles and 3 pass break-ups while Kazanowsky finished with 7 tackles, 1.5 for loss, half-a-sack and 1 pass break-up.