WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Wesleyan football team ran up against a juggernaut on Saturday as the Cardinals were defeated by Williams, 25-0, on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, Wesleyan drops to 6-2 on the season while the Ephs remain undefeated at 8-0.

Even with the result, Wesleyan's defense played very well in defeat, holding the NESCAC's top scoring offense to their lowest point total and touchdown total of the season. The Cardinals forced a Williams three-and-out on their first possession, with Nick Helbig '23 and Colton Weier '24 teaming up for a sack on 2^nd down that helped lead to the punt.

Williams struck first midway through the first quarter as Joel Nicholas ran for 23 yards on the opening play of the drive that pushed the Ephs into Cardinal territory. Dan Vaughn then gained 13 to advance inside the red zone but Helbig once again came up big with a sack on 2^nd-and-9 which backed the Ephs up for a 3^rd-and-long. After not converting on 3^rd down, Ivan Shuran stepped up and hit from 35 yards out to make it 3-0 Williams.

Wesleyan strung together a good drive on their next possession, with QB David Estevez '22 breaking free for 15 yards to start the drive up. He later found WR Logan Tomlinson '23 for 13 yards and eventually the Cardinals crossed midfield but after picking up just 5 yards on a 3^rd-and-10 play, the Cardinals were forced to punt the ball back to the Ephs late in the first quarter.

The Williams ground game, which came in averaging 223+ yards per game, continued to wear down the Cardinals as two more field goals came in the first half as Shuran hit from 30 and 31 yards out as both scoring drives combined for 25 plays over a span of 10:20 minutes as the score was 9-0 Williams at the half.

After long, sustained drives in the first half, Williams was able to break the game open with a huge 74-yard hookup from QB Bobby Maimaron to Justin Burke on a 3^rd-and-9 play that made it 15-0 Ephs just 1:29 into the second half.

The Ephs tacked on another short field goal to make it 18-0 and then marched 86 yards down the field in 12 plays in a drive that lasted over six minutes, finishing it off for the first time in five red zone trips with a touchdown as Nicholas carried in from 17 yards out to make it a four-score game at 25-0.

Wesleyan had their best drive of the game on their ensuing possession, with Estevez rushing for 20 on the first play of the drive and he followed with a 17-yard connection to WR Thomas Elkhoury '24. On a 4^th-and-10, Estevez picked up the first down with a 14-yard completion to TE Liam Downey '22, setting Wesleyan up at the Williams 24-yard line but that was as far as the drive would go as the Cardinals were held scoreless in a sensational showing from the Ephs defense.

Estevez accounted for 170 of the Cardinals' 212 total yards of offense on the day as the senior threw for 90 and rushed for 80 on the day. Tomlinson posted four catches for 56 yards as the Ephs shut down the Wesleyan offense throughout. Helbig had a big day on defense, matching his career-high with eight tackles while adding a season-high 2.5 sacks.

The Williams rushing attack was lethal on the day, going for 289 combined yards as Nicholas (173) and Maimaron (90) were the key weapons on the day. Maimaron added 155 yards through the air as Williams outgained the Cardinals 444-212 in terms of total yardage on the day including a massive 289-88 advantage on the ground.

Wesleyan closes out the 2021 season at home next Saturday, welcoming in-state foe Trinity for a Noon kickoff from Corwin Stadium.