Football Beats Williams to Take All-Time Series Lead

SAMANTHA BEATI ’17
STAFF WRITER
On a cloudy Saturday afternoon in Williamstown, Mass., the Williams Ephs played host to the Trinity Bantams in one of the oldest rivalries in New England football history. After dominating on offense as well as defense, the Bantams were able to secure a decisive 38-13 win, which brings their record to 2-0 and Williams’ to 0-2.
While the Williams offense was driving the ball early, the Bantams defense forced a turnover on downs and gave the ball to the offense. Bantam quarterback Sonny Puzzo ’18 connected on a beautiful 42-yard pass to Bryan Vieira ’18 on the first offensive play, moving the offense from inside their own ten-yard line to midfield. The Bantams continued to drive, setting up kicker Eric Sachse ’19 for a 20-yard field goal. On Trinity’s next possession, Puzzo connected with Darrien Myers ’17 to give the Bantams a 10-0 lead towards the end of the first quarter. Not long after, Spencer Donahue ’17 intercepted a Williams pass, setting up the Bantams for an eventual two-yard touchdown run by Max Chipouras ’19. The Bantams led 17-0 after one quarter of play.
During the middle of the second quarter, Williams QB Kellen Hatheway found Jansen Durham for a touchdown, but the Ephs missed the extra point, taking away their momentum. Near the end of the quarter, the Bantam offense drove down the field behind great play from the offensive line and big catches from Vieira, Myers, and Nick Gaynor ’17. With a minute to play, Puzzo threw a bubble screen to Myers for his second touchdown of the game, and fifth of the season, giving the Bantams a 24-6 halftime lead.
Myers credited his teammates for his early season success, “I have to credit Sonny and our O-line. I felt like this breakout performance was long overdue, but I couldn’t have done it without those guys. We are very deep and talented this year, and any of our skill players have the potential to do the same thing.”
Halftime didn’t slow the Bantams down, who added two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Vieira started the second half with a bang, catching a 32-yard pass from Puzzo for a touchdown. Less than two minutes later, Chipouras broke a 60-yard run for another touchdown. A 38-6 Bantam lead would hold up until the last two minutes of the fourth quarter when the Ephs scored another touchdown, making the final 38-13.
Trinity’s offense was on fire with 517 yards of total offense, and the defense was right there with them. The defense sacked Williams’ quarterback eight times, and knocked him down 20 times. Liam Kenneally’18 led the way with two sacks and multiple quarterback hits, while Will Lochtefeld ’17, Dago Picon-Roura ’19, Justin Poitras ’19, Shane Libby ’19, Daniel Negron ’20, and Devyn Perkins ’20 added one sack apiece. Donahue led the way with eight tackles while Yosa Nosamiefan ’17 added six, and Dominique Seagears ’18 added five. Archimede Jerome ’17 notched his second career interception in the second quarter to set up a Trinity score.
Going into the game Myers said, “we knew our overall record was 36-36-2 and we wanted to make history being the only team to have a winning record against Williams.” The Bantams now are the only team in the NESCAC with a winning record against Williams.
The Bantams will visit the Hamilton College Continentals next week in Clinton, New York where they will try to extend their 2-0 record in pursuit of a championship.