AMHERST, Mass. – Add another chapter to the storied rivalry between two Little 3 rivals as the Wesleyan football team claimed a 13-7 overtime victory over the Amherst Mammoths in thrilling fashion on Saturday at Pratt Field. Wesleyan gets back into the win column, moving to 5-2 on the season, while Amherst drops to 1-6 with the loss.
In a wild game that saw the lone Cardinal touchdown in regulation come off a blocked punt, the game nearly was won in the final seconds as Wesleyan drove 59 yards down in the field in five plays, calling timeout after a 30-yard completion to WR
Logan Tomlinson '22 with 0.2 seconds showing on the clock. K Mason Von Jess '23 lined up a 43-yard attempt that would have won the game, but the low line drive missed wide left, sending this Wesleyan-Amherst showdown to overtime for the third straight season.
Taking the ball first on offense, QB
David Estevez '22 connected with WR
Matt Simco '22 at the far sideline for a 21-yard gain on 2
nd-and-7, setting the Cardinals up with 1
st-and-goal from the 1-yard line. On an option run play, RB
Charlie McPhee '22 took the handoff and plunged in for what was the first and only offensive touchdown scored by Wesleyan in the game. A missed extra point, however, made it so that Amherst could win the game on their OT possession.
RB Charlie McPhee '22 rushed for the OT touchdown
On that series, Amherst gained 0 net yards on their first three plays with the ball on offense, setting up a must-convert 4
th-and-10. The Cardinals called timeout, but it was Amherst's QB Mike Piazza who found Jack Betts for a 15-yard hookup to make it 1
st-and-goal from the 10. DT
Nick Helbig '23 broke through the line, tackling Piazza in the backfield for a loss of 4 on first down. Two plays later, it was 4
th-and-goal from the 7-yard line and with the home crowd on their feet, Piazza's pass to Owen Gaydos was knocked down for an incompletion, securing a thrilling Little 3 win for the visitors.
Wesleyan's top-ranked offense in the NESCAC coming in was held in-check throughout as the Amherst defense competed and made life difficult for the Cardinals. After scoring at least 26 points in four straight and in five-of-six coming into Saturday, Wesleyan struggled on third downs (1-for-7), had two missed field goals at the end of each half, and committed three turnovers (one interception, two fumbles).
Even with the miscues, Wesleyan picked up 25 first downs compared to 15 for the Mammoths. Wesleyan also out-gained Amherst 378-199 on offense including a massive 285-130 advantage in passing yards. For the game, Wesleyan's offense averaged 6.4 yards per play while the Cardinal defense held the Mammoths to just 2.9 yards per play. In total, Amherst gained just 69 yards on 34 attempts on the ground (2.0 yards/rush). Through seven games, Wesleyan's rush defense has yet to allow an opponent to rush for 100 yards in a game.
Estevez and QB
Niko Candido combined for 285 yards through the air, going 23-for-31 as a tandem put being held without a touchdown for the first time this season. Estevez went 14-for-17 for 148 yards while Candido threw for 137 on 9-of-14 on his attempts. Estevez also carried 12 times for 48 yards, as he led the Cardinals in rushing.
McPhee punched in the lone TD of the game for Wesleyan on offense, as the senior running back picked up 45 yards on 11 carries. Simco led the Cardinals in receiving yards (74) while Tomlinson put up six catches for 65 yards and WR
Thomas Elkhoury '24 added five catches for 52 yards.
Among the many standouts on defense for the Cardinals included Helbig who racked up 2.5 tackles for loss. DE
Mike Rowan '25 also tallied 2.5 TFL with 1.5 sacks. As a unit, the Cardinal defense totaled 9 TFL with 3 sacks in a dominant showing on the road.
DT Nick Helbig '23 was a problem for Amherst all day, racking up five tackles with 2.5 TFL
After an Amherst three-and-out on offense to start the game, Wesleyan's offense 67 yards down the field in nearly six minutes on 10 plays. Having a 3
rd-and-goal play from the Amherst 5-yard line, McPhee fumbled short of the end zone, as Anthony Lenegha recovered the loose ball for the Mammoths.
Towards the end of the first, after the Cardinal defense forced another three-and-out, Mason Morrow lined up to punt and had his kick blocked by
Kade Doverspike '24. With the ball bouncing towards the Amherst end zone,
Nerdo Moreau '25 fell on the loose ball, scoring a touchdown for the Cardinals to make it 7-0 at the end of the first.
Neither side had much in the way of scoring chances in the second quarter, up until an 11-play, 58-yard drive at the end of the half by the Cardinals. With time running out, the Cardinals kicked a 42-yard field goal that missed, keeping the score at 7-0 Wesleyan heading into the break.
On the first Cardinal drive of the second half, Estevez lost a fumble near midfield, setting Amherst up with a possession on the Cardinals' end of the field. Even with the turnover, Piazza was sacked by Helbig and Rowan on the first play of the drive, and Rowan followed with a TFL on the Amherst RB Jack Roberge, snuffing out the Mammoths' possession starting with great field position.
Amherst took the ball back on another turnover, this time an Estevez interception, and the Mammoths finally cashed in as they drove 14 plays down the field, chewing up more than six minutes on the clock, before finally scoring as Piazza found Betts wide open in the back of the end zone to tie the score at 7-7 with 10:47 remaining.
After four straight punts, Wesleyan found some life on offense in the closing minute, driving down the field for 59 yards, setting up a game-winning FG attempt from Von Jess that missed, sending the game into overtime.
Saturday's win for the Cardinals sets up a huge Homecoming showdown next Saturday with the reigning NESCAC Champion Williams coming to Middletown for a 1:00 PM kickoff from Corwin Stadium at Andrus Field.
