With a Little Three title on the line, the Wesleyan football team is set for a Homecoming showdown with Williams on Saturday afternoon. A win over the Ephs would secure the Cardinals a second Little Three Championship in the past three seasons and third in the last six, but awaiting Wesleyan is a showdown with the defending NESCAC Champion Williams.

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• 2021 RECAP: Williams 25, Wesleyan 0

Just last week, the Cardinals took home a Little Three victory, defeating Amherst 13-7 in overtime to set the stage for Saturday's contest with Williams. In last week's victory, Wesleyan's defense showed up in a big way, holding the Mammoths to 200 total yards of offense including 130 through the air and 70 on the ground. Overcoming a sluggish showing on offense, the Cardinals' Kade Doverspike '24 blocked an Amherst punt late in the first quarter, recovered in the end zone by Nerdo Moreau '24 to account for the only Wesleyan touchdown in regulation. Doverspike won NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the blocked punt.
 
In the overtime period, QB David Estevez '22 connected with WR Matt Simco '22 along the far sideline for a 21-yard catch that set the Cardinals up with 1^st-and-goal from the 1-yard line. RB Charlie McPhee '22 took the handoff and punched it in for six, but a missed extra point kept the score at 13-7. Needing to make a stop, the Wesleyan defense came through yet again, denying Amherst who had the ball, 1^st-and-goal from the 10.
 
Five different Cardinals registered a sack in the win at Amherst, including 1.5 each from DT Nick Helbig '23 and DE Mike Rowan '25. The defensive line duo also combined for 5.5 tackles for loss to highlight an incredible showing from the Cardinal defense.
 
For the season, Helbig and Rowan rank fourth and sixth, respectively, on the NESCAC tackles for loss leaderboard. Helbig has nine on the season while Rowan has eight, all of which have come in the past five weeks. Helbig is tied for second in the NESCAC in sacks (6.5) and Rowan is right behind in fifth (4.5).
 
On offense, Wesleyan comes in with the third-best scoring offense in the NESCAC at 28 points per game. The Cardinals have held the top spot for the entire season prior to last week's 13-7 OT win at Amherst. On defense, Wesleyan is allowing just 17 points per game, third-lowest in the NESCAC.
 
In terms of total yards, Wesleyan's 439.6 yards of offense per game is right behind Tufts for the lead in the NESCAC. The Cardinals have gained 100+ rushing yards in five of seven games while Wesleyan has thrown for at least 275 yards in six of seven games in 2022.
 
The QB position has been a rotation between Estevez and Niko Candido '25 the past five weeks, with Estevez throwing for 965 yards, 8 TD and 2 INT with a 62.4 completion percentage this season. Candido has 779 yards through the air with 6 TD and 3 INT and a 68.4 completion percentage (highest in the NESCAC).
 
Wesleyan has five players with at least 100 yards rushing in 2022. Estevez is the team-leader with 255 yards on the ground while McPhee has been coming on strong, with 149 yards in the past two weeks alone including a 104-yard effort at Bowdoin in week 6.
 
WR Logan Tomlinson '22 is among the NESCAC leaders across the board in terms of receiving statistics as he has piled up 50 receptions for 657 yards (93.4/game) and 7 TD. Simco has 22 catches for 368 yards as the senior is averaging a team-leading 16.7 yards per catch. WR Thomas Elkhoury '24 has 19 catches for 313 yards and 3 TD while WR Chase Wilson '25 has 17 catches for 256 yards and 3 TD, providing great depth at the skill position.
 
Coming off an incredible 2021 campaign where the Ephs finished atop the NESCAC standings with an undefeated 9-0 record, the school's first undefeated season since 2010, Williams has struggled to follow last year's success. The Ephs come in with a 2-5 record and are winless (0-3) in games played away from home. However, with a chance at a Little Three title, Williams still has something to play for in a season mired with inconsistent play on both sides of the ball.
 
Much like last season wherein the Ephs led the NESCAC and ranked 24^th nationally in rushing offense (230 yards per game), Williams again relies heavily on the ground game as the Ephs are second in the NESCAC in rushing (155.3/game) in 2022. Four players have at least 187 rushing yards on the season as only Trinity (171.4) has a better rushing attack in the NESCAC this season. On the flip side, Williams' passing game ranks last in the NESCAC in yards per game (154.1) and completion percentage (50.3) as the Ephs have used three quarterbacks throughout the season. Converted RB Dan Vaughn has taken the QB job in recent weeks and has been an effective dual-threat option as he is coming off a career game in a road win at Bates in week 7, passing for 276 yards with 4 TD and 0 INT while adding 93 rushing yards with 1 TD on 20 attempts.
 
Defensively, Williams is middle of the pack in the NESCAC leaderboard in several categories as the Ephs rank no higher than fifth and no lower than seventh in the conference in passing defense, rushing defense, sacks and red zone defense. Penalties are another weak spot as the Ephs have bene flagged 47 times in seven games this season, tied for Wesleyan for most in the NESCAC.
 
Saturday's game will be the 127^th all-time meeting between the Cardinals and Ephs, with Williams holding the edge with a 77-44-5 record in the series history. Prior to last season's 25-0 road loss for the Cardinals in Williamstown, Wesleyan had won seven straight games in the series, a record win streak for the Cardinals in a series that dates back to 1881.