Teams: Football: Press Releases

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

HENKED AWARDED BOSTON GLOBE GOLD HELMET AWARD FOR VICTORY AGAINST TRINITY

Andy Henke and the rest of the Tufts defense held Trinity College to 10 points last Saturday

MEDFORD -- Tufts University junior free safety Andy Henke (Barrington, IL/Barrington) would be the first to tell you that the Jumbo defense's role in Saturday's momentous 16-10 victory over Trinity College was a team effort. Symbolic of the win, one of the biggest during Coach Bill Samko's 14-year tenure at Tufts, and representative of the part he played in it, Henke will receive the Boston Globe Gold Helmet Award as the New England Division II-III player who established himself for outstanding contributions to his team.

Henke will receive a plaque at the weekly New England Football Writers' Luncheon at Harvard University's Dillon Field House on Wednesday afternoon. He is the first Jumbo to earn the honor since Tim Mack in 2003. Quarterback Dan Morse during the 1998 season is the only other Jumbo to earn this prestigious honor during Samko's tenure.

Henke was atop the statistics sheet for Tufts and made perhaps the defense's biggest play of the day. He finished with eight total tackles, including seven solo stops. With Trinity leading 10-9 in the second quarter, and driving into Tufts territory again, Henked forced a fumble by Bantam tailback Jordan Quinones and also recovered it at the Jumbo 28-yard line. That led to a 72-yard touchdown drive by the Tufts offense, and the potential two-touchdown turn-around established momentum for Tufts moving into the second half.

"I felt like if we had scored there it was looking like we had the game won," Trinity coach Jeff Devanney said to the Hartford Courant after the game.

Henke and the rest of the Jumbo defense also did an excellent job of slowing down Bantam quarterback Eric McGrath, who came into the game ranked first in the New England Small College Athletic Conference for passing efficiency. He finished 16 for 37 for 180 yards and one touchdown. The Jumbo D also forced Trinity to turn the ball over on downs on four of their last five possessions. The Bantams were the highest scoring team in the league with 36.0 points per game through three contests.

The Jumbos are lone in first place in NESCAC with a 4-0 record. It is their best start since the 2001 season. Last Saturday's win was the first for Tufts against Trinity since the 2001 season. The Bantams had won 40 of their previous 41 games, including a 31-game winning streak. Tufts was the first team other than Williams to defeat the Bantams since the 2001 season.

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