WATERVILLE, ME – Junior running back Chance Brady rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns as the Tufts University Football team secured its first winning season since 2007 with a 28-10 victory at Colby College in NESCAC action Saturday.
Brady's yardage marks the first 200-yard game by a Jumbo runner since the 2001 season. He also had 49 yards on two receptions at Colby. The two touchdowns give him 11 on the season, the most by a Tufts back since Paul Dresens rushed for a school-record 13 TDs in 1988.
The win improved Tufts to 5-2, guaranteeing a winning record for the year. The Jumbos finish their season at home next Saturday against Middlebury College. The winning season is the first by the Jumbos in eight years since the 2007 squad finished 5-3.
Tufts junior Mike Rando returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown giving the Jumbos a 21-3 advantage. He finished the day with 122 yards on two kick returns and 46 yards on two punt returns including a 41-yarder that set up a score.
The Tufts defense sacked Colby quarterbacks six times and intercepted two passes. They held Jabari Hurdle-Price, NESCAC's second-leading rusher entering the game, to 45 yards on 21 carries. The Jumbos did not allow a touchdown until the fourth quarter with the team leading 28-3.
Brady had 176 yards and both touchdowns in the first half as Tufts led 14-3 at halftime. He made amends for a fumble on the Colby 13-yard line earlier in the quarter by rushing 35 yards for his first touchdown at 3:47 of the opening period. After the fumble, the Jumbo defense pinned Colby deep in their own territory including a 12-yard sack by junior safety Mike Stearns. Brady scored on the first play from scrimmage following the Mules' punt.
On the ensuing Colby possession, they converted a fourth and one from their own 38 with a four-yard run by Hurdle-Price. They also faked a punt, with sophomore punter John Baron running 22 yards. However, the Jumbo defense got a fourth-down stop when senior linebacker Patrick Williams defended a pass to end the drive at the Tufts 33.
The Jumbos left some points on the field in the first half. In addition to the fumble while they were driving for a score, junior Willie Holmquist missed a challenging 31-yard field goal attempt into a strong wind at 10:50 of the second quarter.
However, the defense forced another Colby punt and Rando returned it 41 yards to the Mules' 49. Again on the first play of the drive, Brady went 49 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 Jumbo lead at 7:42 of the second quarter.
After punting five times and turning the ball over on downs once, Colby impressively drove 41 yards in the final minute to get on the scoreboard with a 37-yard field goal by Baron as time expired. Junior QB Gabe Harrington converted a third and 10 with a 17-yard run to the Tufts 18. The Mules took a shot at the end zone, but the pass was incomplete and Harrington was sacked by Tufts senior linebacker Matt McCormack forcing the field goal attempt with two seconds on the clock.
Rando's 85-yard kickoff return to begin play in the second half squashed any momentum Colby's late first-half drive may have earned. The Tufts offense would also score the first time it took the ball in the second half for a 28-3 advantage. Snyder had a 17-yard run to convert a third and 10 during the drive. Brady ran 20 yards to the Colby 4 on a fourth and one play. Snyder's six-yard pass to Mike Miller for the sophomore's first career touchdown reception came at 9:12 of the third.
An 11-yard sack by Colby's Harry Nicholas forced a Tufts punt late in the third quarter. Colby took over and engineered a 13-play, 83-yard touchdown drive culminated by Hurdle-Price's one-yard run. Harrington and freshman Sebastian Ferrell connected for 17 yards to convert a third and eight early in the drive and again for 19 yards two plays later. Harrington's six-yard pass to junior tight end Braden Wilson on a third down play gave Colby the ball at the Tufts 5. Hurdle-Price took it from there, scoring with 11:39 on the fourth-quarter clock.
Both of Tufts' interceptions came later in the fourth quarter. Freshman Tim Preston had his fifth of the year, the most since Tom Tassinari made five in 2008. Williams later had his second of the season allowing the Tufts offense to take a knee and secure the program's winning season.
Sophomore Zach Thomas had 2.5 sacks for the Jumbos and now has eight for the season, the most in NESCAC. McCormack led Tufts with 10 total tackles. The Jumbos finished with nine tackles for losses overall totaling 35 yards.
Harrington completed 18 of 34 passes for 166 yards, including eight balls for 110 yards to Ferrell. Sophomore linebacker Bryan McAdams led the hosts with eight tackles, while Nicholas recorded two sacks and three tackles for losses totaling 24 yards overall.
Tufts will be playing for its first 6-2 season since 2001 next week versus Middlebury. Colby ends the year at Bowdoin next week.
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