AMHERST, Mass. – Trailing 14-0 after just seven minutes of play, the Wesleyan football team flipped a switch and went on to dominate final 53+ minutes as the Cardinals toppled Amherst by a final score of 31-14. The Cardinals scored 31 unanswered to hand the Mammoths (2-5) their fifth straight loss while Wesleyan (6-1) wins their fourth straight game and third consecutive at Amherst, spoiling the Mammoth's Homecoming.
Amherst took advantage of good field position on consecutive drives early in the first quarter, scoring on a four-play drive that started from midfield to go up 7-0 before needing just three plays and 33 yards to score another touchdown to lead 14-0 with 7:22 left in the first.
After four straight three-and-outs on offense, the Cardinals needed a spark and got one from their defense who held Amherst on a red zone trip early in the second quarter. After a Mammoth touchdown was called back for an offensive holding penalty, Wesleyan's defense forced a 4
th down and saw the Mammoth's Hudson Fulcher miss on a 37-yard field goal attempt to keep it a two-score game.
Using that defensive stand as a momentum shift, the Cardinal offense capitalized with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that spanned over seven minutes of game clock, ending in a QB
Niko Candido '25 touchdown pass to WR
Chase Wilson '25 in the back corner of the end zone on a 3
rd-and-goal play from the Mammoths' 2-yard line. Candido had a crucial 9-yard gain on the ground on a 3
rd-and-5 play to kick start the drive and also added a 22-yard scamper on the drive.
Looking for more, DL
Mike Rowan '25 came up with a sack on the ensuing Amherst drive and two plays later, the Mammoths punted the ball back to the Cardinals who took over with 37 seconds remaining and no timeouts.
Needing around 30 yards to get into field goal range, Candido hit
Luke LaSaracina '25 on back-to-back plays as the senior defensive back LaSaracina got some snaps on offense for Wesleyan in the two-minute drill. Completions of 23 and 14 yards from Candido to LaSaracina put Wesleyan at the Amherst 12-yard line, setting up PK
Gage Hammond '27 to knock in a 29-yard field goal and make it 14-10 Amherst at halftime.
A third straight drive ending in points followed for Wesleyan who saw RB
James McHugh '26 pick up 15 yards on a 3
rd-and-1 play on the ground before Candido hit Wilson for a 49-yard bomb, setting up 1
st-and-goal from the 2-yard line. On the next play, it was RB
Matt Diaz '28, a first-year back seeing game action for the first time in his career, who slammed in for a touchdown on the next play to give Wesleyan their first lead of the game.
The Cardinal wave of momentum continued to pour as Hammond's kickoff wasn't fielded by the Amherst return unit and
Evan Lasseter '27 hustled down the field to fall on the loose ball, keeping Wesleyan's offense out on the field. Two plays later, on a 3
rd-and-17 from the Mammoth 30-yard line, Candido was gifted with time in the pocked before he spotted WR
Blake Newcomb '27 open deep down the right side of the field. Candido's pass was right on the money and hauled in by Newcomb as it was suddenly 24-14 Wesleyan with 11 minutes left in the third quarter.
Wesleyan's defense continued to set the tone as gained just 25 total yards of offense in five second half possessions. On an Amherst possession late in the third quarter, DL
Corin Canada-Hunt '26 broke through the line and registered a sack on 2
nd down before DB
Dylan Connors '26 intercepted Marek Hill on the very next play, which was also the first play of the fourth quarter.
After Wesleyan forced two more Amherst punts, the Cardinal offense put the game away on an 11-play, 51-yard drive that lasted more than five fourth quarter minutes. All 11 plays in the drive were rushing attempts, with none of the 11 carries going for less than a 2-yard pickup. The Cardinals converted three third downs on the drive, including a 3
rd-and-5 from the Amherst 10-yard line that saw Diaz take on multiple Mammoth defenders, keeping his feet and ultimately being helped into the end zone by his offensive line as the Cardinals closed out the contest riding a 31-0 run to claim the 31-14 win.
Diaz was incredible in his first career game action, recording 20 carries for 76 yards and 2 TD to lead the Wesleyan ground game which gained 148 yards on 40 carries. McHugh added 48 yards on 11 carries while Candido picked up 24 yards on nine attempts. This marks the first 100+ yard performance for the Cardinals on the ground since the Week 2 win over Tufts.
Candido threw for 187 yards and 2 TD with 0 INT, giving him 10 TD and just 2 INT through seven games this season. Wilson racked up 75 yards on four catches with 1 TD while Newcomb posted his first career TD.
Rowan led the Cardinal defense with six tackles (all solo) with one sack. Connors recorded his first interception of the season and the second of his career.
Amherst was held to 211 total yards of offense and just 128 yards gained over the final 53+ minutes after the Mammoths went up 14-0. Wesleyan outgained Amherst 335-211 including a 148-73 disparity on the ground. The Cardinals went 9-for-16 on third downs while holding Amherst to a 3-for-11 showing.
With the win, Wesleyan has earned the right to play for a third consecutive Little 3 title as the Cardinals play host to Williams on Homecoming next Saturday. The last time the Cardinals won three straight Little 3 titles came all the way back in 1946-48.
