WATERVILLE, Me. - Playing in their first career game as a Cardinal, WRs Logan Tomlinson '23 and Thomas Elkhoury '24 caught 38 and 84-yard TD passes, respectively, to support a tremendous defensive showing in a 21-5 season-opening win for Wesleyan football at Colby on Saturday afternoon. The game was the season opener for both teams, which missed the entire 2020 campaign due to COVID-19. After Colby went ahead 3-0 early in the second quarter, Wesleyan put up
21 unanswered while holding the Mules' offense scoreless for the remainder of play.

Just three plays into the new season, QB Ashton Scott '22 connected with classmate Matt Simco '22 on a 39-yard bomb that put the Cardinals deep into Colby territory on their first possession. Despite the big play, the drive stalled out with Dylan James getting to Scott for a sack on 3^rd-and-9 to put Wesleyan out of FG range.

After Wesleyan threatened in that first drive, neither side got much going on offense as the next four combined drives netted just 40 yards over 20 plays as the defenses dominated play throughout the opening quarter.

Before the first quarter closed, Colby took over on their own 24 and Keon Smart took the first play 38 yards on the ground into Cardinal territory. A few plays later, it was 1^st-and-10 on the Wesleyan 15 but Jake Edwards '24 stuffed Smart behind the line of scrimmage on 2^nd-and-4 and Colby QB Matt Hersch missed his target Nuri Robinson on 3^rd down as the Mules settled for a 29-yard Moises Celaya FG to make it 3-0.

Wesleyan's ensuing drive was nearly a mirror image to the first Cardinal possession as Scott found one of his WRs, this time Tomlinson, for a big play as the two connected for 48 yards to the Colby 25. After a 3^rd down incompletion, Wesleyan went for it on 4^th-and-9 as WR Luis Sanchez '24 was tackled for a loss of 1, as Colby stuffed the Cardinals on another 4^th down conversion attempt.

Needing a big play to light a spark on offense, the Cardinals got a gift on special teams as a snap over the Colby punter's head on 4^th down put Wesleyan in prime position with the ball on the Mules' 2-yard line. It took three tries but on the third straight RB Charlie McPhee '22 attempt with the goal line offense, the senior punched in the game's first TD on a 1-yard score.

That errant snap was a gift that kept on giving as on the very next Colby play, Hersch was picked off by CB Danny Banks '22 as the senior playmaker tallied his sixth career INT, setting the stage for a 38-yard lofted bomb from Scott to Tomlinson in the back of the end zone as suddenly, in a span of three plays, Wesleyan went for trailing 3-0 to leading 14-3.

As the second half opened, neither side put points on the board in the third but Colby was once again driving at the end of a stanza, having a 3^rd-and-1 from the Wesleyan 16 as the third quarter came to an end. Down by just 10 and trying to make it a one possession game, Hersch was stuffed for no gain on 3^rd down and with the choice to go for it on 4^th down or kick a 33-yard FG, Colby kept their offense on the field and were denied by Colton Weier '24 to swing momentum back in favor of the visitors.

And it sure didn't take long for that big 4^th down to kick start the Cardinal offense as on the very first play of the ensuing drive, QB/WR David Estevez '22 lined up in shotgun, received the snap and flicked a shovel pass to Elkhoury who did the rest, looping around the line, making one cut and bursting upfield where he outran the entire Colby defense, going 84 yards untouched to the end zone.

Colby put their first points on the board since early in the second quarter via a safety with 10:18 remaining to make it 21-5 and just a two possession game. Taking the ball at their own 35, Colby drove into the Cardinal end of the field and had the ball 1^st-and-10 on the Wesleyan 30 with more than seven minutes left but the Cardinals held and forced a Hersch incompletion on 4^th down.

Taking the ball with 7:06 left, Wesleyan's offense, which up to that point had relied almost entirely on big plays to move the ball, executed ball control offense perfectly starting with a Scott connection to McPhee for 16 yards, taking on an addition 10 on a roughing the passer penalty. Wesleyan then ran the clock out with a mix of RB Owen Brickley '23 and McPhee as the tandem finished the game off, closing out a 21-5 victory for the Cardinals in the season opener.

Scott struggled with accuracy throughout the contest, finishing 7-for-19 but he certainly made the most of his seven completions, going for 155 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT. Estevez had the 84-yard shovel pass to Elkhoury in his stat line as the Cardinal QB duo finished with 246 yards passing, 2 TD and 0 INT.

Estevez led the rushing attack, picking up a game-high 57 yards on six carries for an average of 9.5 yards per rush. McPhee went for 40 yards on 11 carries with 1 TD. Tomlinson caught three balls for 93 yards and 1 TD in his first career game.
Wesleyan's defense generated big plays all day, recording 2 INTs, 2 sacks, and combined for 8 TFL as a unit. Joe Schaefer '24 racked up eight tackles (six solo) with two TFL while the 2019 NESCAC Co-Rookie of the Year Nick Helbig '23 tallied five tackles, two TFL and one sack. Banks and Beauchesne each recorded an INT while Edwards posted two TFL. This outing marked the first time Wesleyan held an opponent without a touchdown since posting a 24-0 shutout win over Bowdoin on Oct. 27, 2018. The last time the Cardinals pulled that feat on the road came back in 2014 in a 22-0 win at Williams.

Hersch finished 21-for-39 throwing for 179 yards with 0 TD and 2 INT. The Mules' QB also rushed for 34 yards on 11 carries in this one. Smart netted 42 yards on the ground to lead the Colby ground game. Matt Panker tallied a game-high seven receptions for 83 yards.

Wesleyan now prepares for a Saturday home afternoon date with Hamilton on Sept. 25 as the game will kickoff at 1 PM from Corwin Stadium at Andrus Field.