Football Wins Again, Defeats Williams Ephs 17-9

CAM CHOTTINER ’20 STAFF WRITER
This weekend, the undefeated Trinity Bantams football team welcomed another undefeated rival, the Williams College Ephs. Less than five minutes into the contest, defensive end Brandon Blaise (’18) recovered a fumble by Ephs running back, Connor Harris. This fumble at the Williams 12 yard line quickly proved costly as running back Max Chipouras (’19) ran the ball in for a 14 yard Bantam touchdown just two plays later. On the following drive, Williams began at their own 47 yard line and converted the first scoring drive this season against this extremely strong Bantam defense.Williams’ Quarterback, Bobby Maimaron, connected with fellow first year receiver Justin Nelson on a pair of key plays that led to a 28 yard field goal just eight seconds into the 2nd quarter. Less than two minutes later, the Ephs punt returner made a costly error as he muffed a punt which was then recovered by Bantam Dominique Seagears (’18) at the Williams 15 yard line. Later in the drive, tri-captain Sonny Puzzo (’18) found wide receiver Koby Schofer (’20) for a 9 yard touchdown reception to give the Bantams a 14-3 lead in the 2nd quarter. Following this play, defense began to play a large role, which would become a theme throughout the rest of the game. Over the next 11 minutes, the Bantams and the Ephs traded punts 6 times. Williams had a burst of offensive energy to end the half, however, defensive back Matt Patry (’20) of Trinity intercepted Williams’ quarterback in the end zone on the final play of the 1st half. Williams picked up right where they left off to start the 3rd quarter, driving 78 yards in just eight plays for the score. A bad snap on the PAT led to a miss, leaving the score at 14-9 in favor of the home team. The Bantams answered next, with Eric Sachse hitting a career long, 46 yard field goal, putting Trinity up 17-9 with just 2:05 left in the 3rd quarter. With just 3:29 left in the game, the Ephs were threatening again, but were once again picked off by line backer Carty Campbell (’18). In a game where defense reigned supreme, the Bantams edged the Ephs in total yardage (275-251) and first downs (10-9). This was the first game since the 2015 season finale against Wesleyan that the Bantams won by only single digits. The Bantams return to action next Saturday in Hartford for a 1:00 showdown against the 
Hamilton College