En route to their 30-point victory, Colby scored five touchdowns and forced two turnovers to make it four straight wins against Amherst.
Coming off of a heartbreaking overtime loss versus Wesleyan University, the Mules looked to climb in the conference standings over an Amherst team that had gotten blown out in their most recent matchup. The Mammoths sat above the Mules in the conference at 2–3 compared to Colby’s 1–4 record.
Parents, alumni, and students filled the crowd for the game and they were in for a treat. Just as the sky was clear and cloudless that Saturday afternoon, the Mules’ performance was virtually flawless.
After five minutes of play, Colby opened things up with a big pass from Miles Drake `26 to Jack Nye `28 for 33 yards. This play put the Mules a yard short of the red zone but the drive stalled and Christos Tzoumakas `27 put the ball through the uprights for three.
Amherst got the ball back but was quickly shut down by the Colby defense led by NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week, Julian Young `25. This was the theme all game long as the Mammoths finished with 131 total offensive yards compared to Colby’s 372 yards. It’s also worthwhile mentioning that the Amherst running game couldn’t find its way back to the line of scrimmage as they left the field with -3 rushing yards compared to Colby’s 131 yards.
The next drive for the Mules was similar to the last: several plays for short gains before Drake opened it up and went for the deep ball. This time, his recipient was Cody Song `27, who hauled in a 39-yard catch, just three yards short of a touchdown. Quarterback Declan McNamara `26 came into the game and punched the ball in to take a 10–0 Colby lead.
Amherst’s next drive was short-lived. Young contributed on two tackles before the defensive got a sack and forced the Mammoths to punt.
Colby received the ball at their 39-yard line and fed Keon Smart `25 three times to start the drive. Smart got yards on the ground and in the air before McNamara joined the fun and rushed for 20 yards. Threatening to score again, the offense took care of business extending the lead 17-0.
Similarly to the last Amherst drive, the Mules’ defense stopped them in three plays before they punted and gave Colby the ball on their 43-yard line. Sebastian Romas `26 was everywhere on this Amherst drive, single-handedly taking down the ball carriers.
The Mules scored in a minute on their next drive. Drake found a wipe-open Brendan Sawyer `25 down the middle of the field who ran into the end zone, untouched.
Desperate to put points on the board before halftime, Amherst drove down the field with risky plays to bring them to the Colby 28-yard line. During the drive, their quarterback threw a ball near the sideline that was nearly intercepted by Lincoln Merrill `27; he unfortunately was not able to stay inbound. A few plays later, the Amherst quarterback took another shot to the end zone, but Nicholas Cox `27 leaped up for the interception to end the drive and the half.
Leading 24–0, Colby kicked the ball off to Amherst to start the third quarter. The Mammoths started their drive with an 18-yard gain down the middle of the field before a penalty pushed them back. They recouped the lost yards with a 13-yard gain before Trevor Smith `26 stripped the ball away and Dennis Dougherty `26 recovered the fumble and ran 15 yards, marked down at the Amherst 12-yard line.
With a short field, Drake put the Mules up by five scores with an 11-yard touchdown to Duke Ferrara `25.
Down 31–0, Amherst’s offense was stopped once again as the Mules forced a three and-out. However, the Colby offense suffered a similar result and was forced to punt right back.
The Amherst quarterback was now determined to take shots down the field and he nearly threw another interception as two Colby defenders went up for a floater ball and prevented each other from getting the pick. Amherst was obligated to punt once again but they got the ball back before the quarter ended and put together an impressive drive as time expired.
In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Amherst finally got on the board. They scored through the air and Colby later matched with a touchdown of their own before running the time out with an efficiently-managed drive.
The final was 37–7, the biggest margin of victory in school history against Amherst thanks to a swarming defense and four passing touchdowns from Drake.
Now 2–4 on the season, the Mules’ next game is in Clinton, New York as they take on the winless Hamilton Continentals, looking to extend their winning streak.
~ Julian Cangieter-Hernandez `25
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