MEDFORD – Junior Chance Brady rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries as the Tufts Football team scored its most points since 2010 in a 43-24 victory over Bowdoin College on Homecoming Day at Ellis Oval / Zimman Field Saturday.
With the win, the Jumbos improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2007. Tufts totaled 449 yards including 239 on the ground. Junior kicker Willie Holmquisttied a Tufts record with three field goals in the game. Tufts scored on four of its first five possessions and eight of its first 10 overall.
The Polar Bears (0-3) gained 381 of their 411 total yards through the air. A pair of receivers finished with over 130 yards each in the game as sophomore Nick Vailias caught eight passes for 158 yards and a touchdown and senior Daniel Barone made seven receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown.
Tufts scored on its first drive with the help of a fake punt. On fourth and three from the Bowdoin 37, senior Ricky Antonellis took the snap in punt formation and converted with an eight-yard run. Brady did the rest with runs of 12 yards and 17 into the end zone for a 7-0 Jumbo lead at 11:46 of the first.
The Jumbo defense contributed to the early momentum when sophomore defensive lineman Micah Adickes intercepted a pass on Bowdoin's fourth play from scrimmage. Taking over at the Polar Bear 30, Brady continued to churn out yardage with a 27-yard rush and a three-yard touchdown for a 14-0 Tufts lead just 5:36 into the game.
The teams would trade turnovers later in the quarter. Bowdoin's Greg Thompson intercepted Tufts junior QB Alex Snyder at the Polar Bear 17. Bowdoin fumbled the ball away two plays later with Tufts sophomore Quinn Metoyer making the recovery. That set up the Jumbos at the Bowdoin 16, but the Polar Bear defense held Tufts to Holmquist's 28-yard field. The hosts led 17-0 at 2:04 of the first quarter.
Bowdoin responded by putting together a nine-play, 87-yard scoring drive to pull within 17-7. Junior QB Tim Drakely and Vailas connected for 34 yards on the first play of the series. Drakely then found freshman RB Andrew Tichy for 20 yards to the Tufts 33 on the following play. The Polar Bears converted a fourth and five with an eight-yard Drakely to senior WR Seamus Power pass to the Tufts 20 as the quarter changed. A 16-yard Tichy reception set Bowdoin up first and goal at the four and Drakely passed three yards to Vailas for the touchdown at 13:53 of the quarter.
The Jumbos drove to the Bowdoin four-yard line on their next possession, but had to settle for a 19-yard Holmquist field goal that made it 20-7 at 7:41 of the second quarter.
Bowdoin executed a flea-flicker with Drakely passing to Barone down the middle for 38 yards to the Tufts 1. The Jumbos' goal line defense kept the Polar Bears out of the end zone though and sophomore Andrew Sisti hit an 18-yard field goal attempt to pull the Polar Bears within 20-10 with 4:07 to go until halftime.
The Polar Bears, who would get the ball first in the second half, had a shot at closing the gap to within one score before halftime when freshman Cameron Rondeau intercepted Snyder at the Polar Bear 37. However, the Polar Bears lost 15 yards on the drive and a short punt gave the ball back to Tufts at the Bowdoin 41. Snyder passed 22 yards to senior WR jack Cooleen and then threw a dart to junior WR Ben Berey in the end zone from 17 yards out for a 27-10 Tufts advantage with 1:02 to go until halftime.
After forcing a Bowdoin punt on the first possession of the second half, Tufts went 68 yards on nine plays for Brady's third touchdown of the game. He rushed six times for 42 yards on the drive including a six-yard score making it 34-10 at 9:20 of the third quarter.
Freshman Tim Preston picked off his second pass of the season at the Tufts 44 and nearly made it a pick-six. His 51-yard return gave Tufts the ball at the Bowdoin 5. The Jumbos couldn't punch it in, but Holmquist kicked a 22-yarder and it was 37-10 Jumbos with 7:06 remaining in the third.
A 43-yard Drakely to Barone pass helped set up a seven-yard Tichy rushing score as Bowdoin closed to within 37-17 at 5:48 of the third. A two-yard touchdown run by Jumbo freshman Dominic Borelli at 2:27 of the third – Tufts' fourth rushing touchdown of the game – preceded a 12-yard Barone scoring catch from freshman Noah Nelson at 6:33 of the fourth that concluded the scoring.
Snyder finished 17 of 26 for 199 yards and a touchdown for Tufts, with six passes for 57 yards going to junior Mike Rando. Rando also had 71 yards on three kick-off returns including a 35-yarder which set up Tufts' final score. Borelli rushed for 58 yards on 16 carries.
Preston also led the Jumbos with five tackles. Tufts had three sacks on the day, giving them 11 in three games for the season. Sophomore Zach Thomas and Adickes both had solo sacks. Tucker Mathers and Metoyer shared a sack. Tufts held the Polar Bears to 30 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Drakely completed 14 of 27 passes for 222 yards and Nelson was good on 11 of 16 attempts gaining 134 yards for Bowdoin. Tichy caught five balls for 50 yards and gained 26 yards rushing.
Polar Bear freshman LB Phillippe Archambault recorded a game-high 13 tackles (eight solo), including an eight-yard sack. Senior LB Branden Morin finished with eight tackles.
Tufts and Trinity, two of the three unbeaten teams along with Amherst early in the NESCAC season, play at Ellis Oval / Zimman Field next Saturday at 1:30. Bowdoin hosts Hamilton in a 2 pm start next Saturday.
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