Williams vs. Trinity Game Notes: 71st Meeting

71st Meeting

Williams College Ephs (1-0)

vs.

Trinity College Bantams (1-0)

1:30 PM

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Weston Field

Williamstown, Mass.

Emmanuel Whyte '13

SERIES: Began in 1884. Williams leads the all-time series 36-32-2. The Ephs own a winning record vs. all NESCAC opponents in football, but the Trinity series is the most tightly contested.

Last year in Hartford the Bantams came out on top 21-13 with a balanced offensive attack that saw them accumulate 161 yards through the air and 154 on the ground. The Ephs lost starting QB Chris Cleary to injury late in the first quarter and sophomore Adam Marske stepped into the fray to throw for 237 yards and 2 TDs, completing 22 of 33 passes. WR Darren Hartwell caught one of the TD passes and now has 4 career TD catches vs. Trinity.

Trinity has won seven of the last 10 vs. Williams.

The last Eph win over Trinity came in Williamstown 29-21 in 2010 as Darren Hartwell tied the Eph single game record for most TD catches with three. Hartwell caught five passes on the day and gained 208 yards.

Only four times since 2000 has the team winning the Williams–Trinity game NOT gone on to win or share the NESCAC crown (2000, 2007, 2009 & 2011). Trinity has won 5 NESCAC titles and tied with Williams in 2002. The Ephs have won four NESCAC titles.

In 11 of the last 12 years Williams and/or Trinity has finished first or second in NESCAC. The last time neither the Ephs or the Bantams finished in the top two in NESCAC was in 2000.

The Williams-Trinity series has been one of the most closely contested in NCAA Division III football, particularly since the late 1980s, as the two teams have had a knack of spoiling each other's long winning streaks and playing games that go down to the wire.

After losing 8 of 9 games to the Bantams from 1980-88, the Ephs rallied in back-to-back comeback wins in the '89 and '90 meetings (scores of 29-21, 24-21, respectively) during a remarkable streak of 23 straight wins.

Trinity aptly ended this Eph streak in 1991 with stunning a 30-27 victory at Weston Field on the game's final play. The Bantams' head coach Jeff Devanney starred on defense for Trinity in that see-saw affair, which included four lead changes in the last three minutes of play.

After a 21-7 loss to Trinity in 1993, the Ephs would out score the Bantams 72-39 combined in the '94 and '95 matchups. Williams reeled off another 23-game unbeaten streak (22 wins, 1 tie) in that span, which naturally was snapped by Trinity in 1996 at Weston Field in a 14-13 nail-biter.

Williams defeated Trinity in 2002 by a count of 30-13. Then Trinity authored an incredible 31-game win streak that was snapped by the Ephs on Weston Field in 2006, 41-16.
                               
And who can forget the triple OT thriller in Hartford in 2007, when the Bantams came out on top 46-40?

Tim Morris '13

COACHES:  Aaron Kelton is 14-3 and in his third season at the helm of the Ephs after Williams downed Colby 41-7 last week on Weston Field.

Kelton is the first African American head football coach at Williams and in NESCAC, as well as the first Eph football head coach to debut with a perfect season.

Kelton is 1-1 vs. Trinity.

Trinity head coach Jeff Devanny (42-7) is in his seventh year as the head coach at Trinity. Devanney, is a 1993 Trinity graduate, and was named the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year in 1992.

Devanney is 4-2 in his head-coaching career against the Ephs.

STREAKS:  Trinity arrives at Weston Field with a 2-game win streak having ended the 2011 season with a win over Wesleyan and opening 2012 with a win over Bates.

LAST WEEK:  Williams went to the air with junior QB Adam Marske hitting on 22 of 27 passes for 277 yards and 3 TDs leading the Ephs to a 41-7 season-opening win. Sr. WR Darren Hartwell hauled in two TD passes and tied the Eph career TD catch mark at 18, set by Brendan Fulmer '07.

In Hartford the Bantams extended their Jesse/Miller Field win streak to 44 with a 37-16 conquest of Bates. Trinity's defense held Bates to just 120 yards of total offense (17 yards passing), while the Bantams rushed for 266 yards (three TDs) and threw for 161 yards (two TDs). Evan Bunker led the ground game with 127 yards on 27 carries and scored two TDs. Trinity QB Ryan Burgess connected on 13 of 26 aerials..

TV - INTERNET:  Pittsfield [MA] Community TV (PCTV) is shooting the game for taped playback and the game may also be seen live on the Internet through the services of TEAMLINE.

TO HEAR AUDIO ONLY BROADCAST:  Call TEAMLINE 1-800-846-4700. When prompted give the Ephs' access code - 0126.

< LIVE STATS > 

AWARDS:  Eph junior placekicker/punter Joe Mallock was named the NESCAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week for his role in the Ephs' 41-7 season-opening win over Colby. Mallock hit both of his FG attempts (39 and 42 yards) and all four of his PATs. In addition, he filled in at punter and averaged 34.5 per punt on two punts.

BY THENUMBERS ...

STARTERS