Bantams Crush Continentals, Continue Undefeated

BEN FEOLA ’19 CONTRIBUTING WRITER
On Saturday October 7^th, during a cloudy day in Hartford, the Trinity Bantams crushed the Hamilton Colonials 41-13 in the coop. Understandably, Hamilton had difficulty containing the Trinity offense, despite jumping ahead 13-0 in the first quarter. Curtailing the Colonials dream for the upset, running back Max Chipouras (’19) refreshed the Bantams with a 44-yard run with 11 seconds left in the first quarter. Koby Schofer (’20) posted the stellar performance of the day with 20 receptions for 202 yards and a touchdown. Chipouras recorded his second touchdown of the day in the second quarter followed by touchdown receptions from both Teddy Allmendinger (’20) and Joe Sameulman (’20). 2016 All- NESCAC kicker Eric Sachse (’19) also recorded 6 points for the Bantams on two separate field goals. Trinity’s defense, in dominant form as of late, played a decisive role in the victory by holding the Hamilton offense to a total of 274 yards (less than half of Trinity’s offensive production) partially due to the efforts of stout linebackers Shane Libby (’19), Will Dencker (’21), and Dago Picon-Roura (’19) who also had a pair of pass breakups. In the end, the Bantams improved to 4-0 and turned their attention to Somerville, Massachusetts and a formidable 3-1 Tufts Jumbos team.
Catching the Bantams off guard early, Tufts would score first in the second quarter with a 39 yard touchdown pass from Ryan McDonald. Koby Schofer, who has proven to be one of the primary weapons of the Trinity offense, would keep the Jumbos humble by responding with a wide open touchdown with 1:50 left in the second quarter, making the game a tense 7-7 standoff. Jumbo morale was shaken in the third quarter by a red zone interception from Dominique Seagers (’18), who would run the entire length of the field for a Trinity score. Energy levels at the Ellis Oval/Zimman Field would reach a climax on the next play as the extra point attempt by Trinity would be blocked and returned by the Jumbos for 2 points, lessening the Tufts losses and setting up a rare 13-9 score. From 40 yards out, kicker Eric Sachse would make good on his next field goal attempt, however Tufts would answer on the ensuing drive with a 14 yard run by running back Mike Pedrini, bringing the game to a 16-16 standstill with 12:44 to go in the fourth quarter. For the final blow, Max Chipouras would score a 1 yard run with 7:02 left in the game and set the Bantams up for the final score in a hard-fought road win. Essential to the successful Trinity game plan was containing the Manziel-like Tufts Quarterback, Ryan McDonald who would finish the game with a total of 3 interceptions due to defensive backs Seagers, John Medina (’18), and Sameir Madden (’19), as well as 2 sacks coming from Carty Campbell (’18) and Liam Keneally (’18). Running back Mike Pedrini from Tufts, who was the leading NESCAC rusher going into the game, had a tough day as well, proving that the fierce Bantam defense is heating up at the right time. Your Trinity College Bantams leave this weekend with a sterling 5-0 record in the NESCAC, keeping them in first place as they prepare for 0-5 Bowdoin next weekend (Family Weekend) in Hartford.