TRINITY WINS 18TH STRAIGHT, 36-14 OVER JUMBOS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL FINAL SCORE
Trinity 36 Tufts 14
At Hartford, CT
Saturday, October 16, 2004
HARTFORD -- The Trinity College Football team built a 30-0 halftime lead and sailed to a 36-14 victory over the Tufts University Jumbos in a NESCAC game on Jessee/Miller Field Saturday. The win was the 18th straight for the Bantams, the longest currently in NCAA Football.
Host Trinity (4-0) dominated the first half, scoring four touchdowns and a field goal while the defense stuffed the Jumbo offense. Tufts had just one first down and 16 yards of offense at halftime. They did not complete a pass in four attempts. Trinity on the other hand had 16 first downs and 240 yards, 136 through the air.
Trinity scored on its opening drive when sophomore Kevin Swinarski (Plymouth, MA) booted a 21-yard field goal at 9:02 of the first quarter. It was a good opening series on defense by the Jumbos to hold the Bantams to three points after they swiftly moved into the red zone. However, Trinity wasn't held down long.
After a three-and out by Tufts, the Bantams scored their first touchdown of the day to cap a 13-play, 52-yard drive when sophomore Gennaro Leo (Everett, MA) plowed in from a yard out. The Bantams twice converted on fourth down during the drive, including once on a Tufts penalty.
Leading 10-0 entering the second quarter, Trinity had three touchdown passes, from two different quarterbacks, to take a commanding lead. After a Tufts punt and penalty gave Trinity the ball on the Jumbo 21, Bantam freshman Chandler Barnard (Lubbock, TX) tossed a 22-yard strike to sophomore Tim Kiely (Swampscott, MA) on the first play of the drive at 10:08 of the second quarter. The extra point was blocked to make it 16-0. Trinity later struck quickly again with starting QB Josh Pitcher (Ogunquit, ME) throwing a 37-yard scoring pass to Daniel Mackay (Billerica, MA) on the first play of a drive after the Bantams took over in Tufts territory following a punt. At 5:16 of the second, suddenly it was 23-0 Bantams.
To make matters worse, after Tufts took over on their own 20, a bad shotgun snap was recovered by Trinity freshman Jeff Carpenter (Pottstown, PA) at the Jumbo 12. Four plays later Leo was in the end zone again from three yards out and it was 30-0.
The Jumbos continued playing hard and sophomore Chris Decembrele (Walpole, MA) blocked a Trinity punt late in the second quarter, giving Tufts the ball at the Trinity 32. After a 13-yard run by senior QB Jason Casey (Hampton, NH), he was intercepted at the Bantam five-yard line by junior safety Kevin Quinn (Chicago, IL).
With junior Casey D'Annolfo (West Hartford, CT) in at quarterback, Tufts scored its first points of the game with an impressive 17-play, 78-yard series. D'Annolfo and senior WR Kevin Holland (Williamstown, MA) connected for 13 yards to convert a fourth-and-10 play from the Trinity 38. After two intentional grounding penalties against the Jumbos, a Trinity pass interference call gave Tufts the ball at the 27. Sophomore WR Steve Menty (Wilbraham, MA) caught his first collegiate touchdown pass for 26 yards and the Jumbos were on the scoreboard.
As the game moved to the fourth quarter, Barnard threw his second TD pass of the game to freshman TE Ben Willig (Barnegat, NJ) at 8:34 for a 36-7 lead. Tufts would add a nine-yard touchdown run by sophomore RB Brian Cammuso (Shrewsbury, MA) at 1:19 to close out the scoring. He carried eight times for 43 yards on the drive, with D'Annolfo hitting Menty for 31 yards as the big play.
Trinity, averaging 487.7 yards per game entering the game including 370 on the ground, gained just 360 overall and 148 rushing against the Jumbos. They threw for 212, with Pitcher completing 10 of 18 for 148 yards. The Bantams lost leading rusher Drew Finkeldey (Ivoryton, CT) to an injury after his first carry of the game. Likewise, Tufts leader Steve Cincotta (Newton, MA) was also injured on his first carry of the game.
Leo led all rushers with 67 yards on 21 carries, while Cammuso topped the Tufts chart with 54 yards on 13 rushes. D'Annolfo completed seven of 13 passes for 97 yards and his first collegiate touchdown pass to Menty (three receptions, 64 yards). Senior Brad Soules (Simsbury, CT) caught four balls for 61 yards to lead Trinity.
Decembrele led the Jumbos defensively with nine tackles, including six solos and 1.5 for losses. Juniors Mike McCann (Toms River, NJ) and Patrick Magoon (South Easton, MA) also had nine total tackles for Tufts. Junior LB Avon Morgan (Ridgewood, NJ) topped Trinity with nine tackles. The Bantams sacked Tufts quarterbacks seven times in the game.
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