Football Cedes Homecoming Game to Williams

Mateo Vazquez ’21

Sports Editor

This past weekend was by far the most exciting of the fall season. As always, Homecoming weekend drew a large crowd of alumni, parents, students, and all members of the community looking forward to watching some great games, none more anticipated than the Homecoming football game at Jessee/Miller field. As well as the amazing giveaway of a variety of bantam gear from Barnyard. This year Trinity (4-3) went up against Williams (6-1), another big football giant in the NESCAC. Because of their high standings, the rivals were due for an intense match over Homecoming weekend.
In the first quarter, the game was off to a rough start. Williams was able to seize the opportunity early on and get a quick touchdown on the board to put them ahead. They then focused on a very tight defensive game, not allowing the Bantams to get within range of scoring any points. Then, the Ephs shut down a sizable amount of the pass plays, while controlling the running game on the ground. This technique shown from Williams was overwhelming on Trinity early on in the game. The Bantams limited their ability to successfully move the ball down the field. Unfortunately, this trend continued into the second quarter as Trinity struggled to get the ball out of their own end. Although there were moments in which it seemed that they had a break away and a chance to score, each opportunity was cut short by the Ephs. The Bantams did manage to put six points on the board in the second quarter, but still were trailing Williams, who closed the half at 14-6. Nonetheless, the Bantams persisted and when half time rolled around, the football team reconvened and evaluated how to approach the second half of the game.

In the second half, the Bantams must have had a good pep talk because there was a lot more energy in their gameplay. Within the first two possessions, they were able to score and narrow the point gap. Although they pushed hard to get more on the board, they were never able to break 15 points, and unfortunately lost momentum. Not long after the Bantams scored, the Ephs responded with a 36 yard rocket of a pass that was completed for a touchdown. Trinity attempted on multiple possessions to respond, but came up empty handed as they were shut down by the Ephs defense. Throughout the end of the game, the Bantam defense did not get much of a break and eventually lost control as the Ephs continued to put points on the board throughout the afternoon.

Williams sealed the game at 29-15 and closed out Trinity’s chances of four NESCAC championships in a row. This loss also marked the end of Trinity’s 20 home game winning streaks. In total, the Bantams are now tied 38-38-2 out of the total times that they have played Williams. Although the Bantams lost their Homecoming game, they made a strong push near the end and kept up the fight with Williams. The Bantams have two games left of the season with Amherst and Wesleyan We wish them the best of luck as their season comes to a close and can not wait to see how it ends.