MEDFORD, Mass. – Tufts raced out to a 28-0 lead just 18 seconds into the second quarter and did not look back, topping the Wesleyan football team by a score of 49-14 from the Ellis Oval.
 
Wesleyan drops their second straight, falling to 3-2 on the season, while the Jumbos move into a three-way tie for first place in the NESCAC at 4-1.
 
Tufts scored on their opening possession, marching 80 yards down the field in 10 plays. A crucial 24-yard rush from QB Michael Berluti on a 3^rd-and-5 play set the Jumbos up in the red zone. Three plays later, Berluti found Cade Moore for a 17-yard touchdown.
 
Wesleyan moved the ball across midfield on their first possession. QB Niko Candido '25 connected with WR Thomas Elkhoury '24 for a 19-yard gain on a 3^rd-and-8 play and later the same duo hooked up again for a 15-yard pickup. However, the drive would stall out at the Tufts 40-yard line and Wesleyan punted away.
 
One play away from forcing a Tufts three-and-out on the next possession, Berluti hit Jaden Richardson for a big 73-yard score as Tufts took a 14-0 lead with 3:10 left in the first quarter.
 
A fumbled snap on a Cardinal punt following the next series set the Jumbos up with a 1^st-and-goal from the Wesleyan 2-yard line. It only took one play for Chartellis Reece to punch in a third Tufts touchdown in the first quarter to make it 21-0.
 
On the next Tufts possession, another huge play between Berluti and Richardson, this time for 57 yards, resulted in another touchdown as it was 28-0 just over 15 minutes into the game.
 
The Cardinals got on the board with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Candido found WR Chase Wilson '25 for a 50-yard pickup on the drive. Three plays following the Wilson catch, Candido took it in himself, scoring on a 2-yard rush to make it 28-7 Jumbos.
 
That momentum, however, was short-lived as Tufts went 75 yards down the field on their next possession, capped by a Reece TD run from 5 yards out as the Jumbos reestablished a 28-point lead.
 
Tufts added another score before halftime, with Berluti finding Moore again, this time from 20 yards out, and it was 42-7 Tufts at the half.
 
The Jumbos led 49-7 midway through the third quarter before TB Ezra Jenifer scored on a 1-yard rush to account for the 49-14 final score.
 
Big plays hurt the Cardinal defense all night, with Berluti throwing for 281 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 completions. Tufts also gained 155 yards on the ground, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Richardson finished with four catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Candido finished with 167 yards on 12-for-22 passing. RB Tyler Flynn '26 led the backfield with 42 yards on 10 carries. Elkhoury led the pass catchers with 77 yards on four receptions. Wilson added 61 yards on four catches.
 
Next up for Wesleyan is a return home, as the Cardinals welcome Bowdoin on Saturday, October 21 for a 1 PM kick off.