MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – After dominating the game throughout, the Wesleyan football team's defense decided to take it into their own hands in overtime. On a 2
nd-and-goal play from the Colby 5-yard line,
Jason Villano '25 strip sacked Miles Drake and the ball was snagged by
Jake Edwards '24 who ran 88 yards for the game-winning, walk-off touchdown as Wesleyan defeated Colby 23-17 in overtime on Saturday.
In a truly unbelievable ending to a contest dominated by the Cardinal defense, Edwards had enough left in the tank to easily beat the Colby offense down the field as he was swarmed by his teammates in the end zone. The thrilling end capped a stellar performance that saw Wesleyan (4-1) hold Colby (1-4) to 118 total yards of offense and just nine first downs.
Facing a Colby offense that had just rushed for 100+ yards in three straight games, including a monster 274-yard performance on the ground in a 28-26 win over Bates last week, Wesleyan stuffed the Mules time and time again, holding Colby to just 44 rushing yards on 31 attempts. Colby's passing attack didn't fare much better, generating just 74 yards through the air on 24 attempts. The 118 total yards of offense for Colby is the fewest gained by a Wesleyan opponent since Bates gained 117 yards back in 2019.
Wesleyan took an early lead, taking advantage of a 17-yard punt deep in Colby's territory, as
Gage Hammond '27 converted from 25 yards out to make it 3-0 midway through the first quarter.
The Cardinal defense picked up the team's special teams unit as an errant snap on a punt attempt saw Colby take over on offense inside the Wesleyan 10-yard line.
Dylan Connors '26 made a key tackle on a short pass attempt on 2
nd down before
Dean Sokaris '26 and
Ben Carbeau '25 combined on a stop to force 4
th down. Deciding for the field goal from 22 yards out, a low kick was blocked by the Wesleyan front, resulting in no points for the Mules after the special teams turnover.
Just a few minutes later, it was the Wesleyan defense yet again coming up big. Trevor Smith intercepted
Niko Candido '25 at the Wesleyan 21-yard line but again the Colby offense could not capitalize. After Connors tackled Keon Smart for a 3-yard loss to start the possession,
Jake Karmin '26 finished it off with a sack on 4
th-and-12 to keep Colby off the scoreboard yet again.
The Cardinal offense engineered their best drive of the half late in the second quarter, marching nearly 50 yards down the field on six plays before Candido was strip sacked in the backfield by Jack Mullen. The loose ball was picked up by Lincoln Merrill who ran 90 yards down the field for a touchdown to give Colby a 7-3 lead despite picking up just two first downs the entire first half.
Wesleyan cut the deficit down to one point before halftime, picking up two first downs before Hammond connected on a 34-yard field goal to make it 7-6 at the half.
Colby's special teams came up big again early in the third quarter, as Brendan Sawyer blocked a Hammond punt which was recovered by Aiden Kelley at the Wesleyan 22-yard line. Two plays later on a 3
rd-and-10, Drake hit Atticus Duncan down the far sideline for a touchdown as it was suddenly 14-6 Colby.
The Cardinals responded with an eight-play, 58-yard touchdown drive capped by Candido rolling right to find
Chase Wilson '25 open for a 2-yard score. Choosing to go for a two-point conversion, Candido took it himself, running left and scoring to tie the game at 14-14.
Both sides slowly marched their way down the field for field goals on a pair of extended fourth quarter drives. Colby converted a pair of fourth downs on an 18-play, 60-yard drive that eventually stalled out on the Wesleyan 15-yard line. Christos Tzoumakas hit from 33 yards to make it 17-14 Mules.
Getting the ball back with seven minutes to play, Wesleyan engineered a 13-play, 61-yard drive that very nearly never got started as the Cardinals got a Colby pass interference call on a 3
rd-and-19 play that kept the drive alive where it looked likely Wesleyan was going to be punting away after a three-and-out.
James McHugh '26 later converted a 3
rd-and-4 with a 4-yard rush before Candido connected with
Blake Newcomb '27 for a 17-yard pickup to put the Cardinals in field goal range. Settling for a 29-yard field goal, Hammond came through yet again, connecting for the third time in three attempts on the day to send the game into overtime.
Nearly one year removed from the last overtime game played by Wesleyan, a 20-13 defeat at Colby in a rain-soaked affair, the Cardinals avenged that OT defeat with the show-stopping defensive score just four plays into the extra session. Villano's strip sack is the first sack of the senior's career while the touchdown is the second of Edwards' career.
Wesleyan outgained Colby 246-118 including a 225-74 margin in passing yards. Penalties loomed large in the outcome as Colby committed nine for 102 yards compared to just three for 36 yards for Wesleyan.
Candido finished 22-for-40 for 225 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Wilson finished the day with eight catches for 96 yards and 1 TD.
Rickey Eng '25 added five catches for 51 yards. McHugh led the ground game with 25 rushing yards.
Carbeau and Connors both had eight tackles including two tackles for loss. Sokaris was a big factor in the Cardinal rushing defense, finishing with six tackles.
Wesley Abraham '25 and
Aiden Nelson '27 both finished with two pass breakups.
Wesleyan hits the road for three of their remaining four games of the 2024 season, starting with a trip to Bowdoin next week.
