The Tripod

Media Credit: Emily Gittleman

Media Credit: Emily Gittleman

Media Credit: Emily Gittleman

Two overtime field goals by kicker Tim Costello '12 helped the Trinity College Bantams limp past the Wesleyan University Cardinals on Saturday, Nov. 14, for a 26-23 victory. The Bantams led by two touchdowns after one quarter of play before the Cardinals stormed back. By avoiding an embarrassing loss, the Bantams stayed unbeaten at 35-0 on their home turf of Jessee/Miller Field. Trinity finishes the year at 6-2 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), good for a second-place tie with Williams College. Amherst College won the league with a record of 8-0.

It looked like a typical Trinity-Wesleyan game at the outset, with the Bantams jumping ahead early. On their first drive, the Bantams marched 82 yards on 11 plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Running back Oliver Starnes '10 scored the touchdown for Trinity on a 14-yard rush. After forcing a three-and-out, the Bantams got the ball back with great field position on their own 46-yard line. Quarterback Craig Drusbosky '11 lead the team down the field to another touchdown in just five plays. He was 3-3 on the drive for 52 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown pass to his favorite target, Michael Galligan '11. A missed extra point left the Bantams up 13-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Bantams played stout defense throughout the frame, giving up just a single first down and 26 yards to the Wesleyan offense.

The second quarter picked up where the first left off, with the Cardinals going three-and-out once more, gaining just 3 yards on their first drive. From here, the game would swing into Wesleyan's hands. A pair of special teams turnovers by the Bantams let Wesleyan right back into the game. A blocked punt gave Wesleyan the ball at the Bantams' 32-yard line, almost ensuring that Wesleyan would score. Safety Ben Sherry '11 sacked Cardinal sophomore quarterback Blake Dubois for a 7-yard loss, and it looked as if Wesleyan would have to settle for a field goal. Unshaken, Dubois promptly threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Pete Modera, cutting the score to 13-6.

The Wesleyan coaching staff gambled, going for a two-point conversion after the score. The purpose of the two-point try was lost on most, as it would only have cut the Bantams' lead to five, still requiring a touchdown to overcome. Junior quarterback Joe Giaimo's pass fell incomplete, leaving the Bantams ahead by seven.

The second special teams turnover of the quarter, a botched punt by cornerback/kick returner Harry Melendez '11, gave the Cardinals excellent starting field position again, with the ball on the Bantams' 11-yard line. On first down, Dubois threw his second touchdown of the day with a strike to sophomore receiver David Brunelli. The Cardinals could not convert their extra-point attempt, leaving Trinity with a 13-12 halftime lead.

The trend of the second quarter continued after the halftime break, with the Wesleyan offense scoring and the Trinity offense remaining stagnant. The Bantams gained just seven yards and zero first downs in the quarter. The Cardinals, on the other hand, got another lucky break on special teams. Trinity punter, Grant Kunkel '10, arguably the best punter in the NESCAC, shanked a kick, netting just 20 yards. Dubois methodically moved his offense down the field once more, taking six minutes off the clock before senior running back Shea Dwyer ran the ball in from one yard out for the third Wesleyan touchdown of the day. The Cardinals went for two again, converting this time and giving themselves a full touchdown lead going into the final period of play.

The constant rain began to wear on the teams as the game went on, and neither offense could sustain long drives. Luckily for the Bantams, they only needed one pass from Drusbosky to Galligan to get back into the game. On the Bantams second possession of the quarter, Drusbosky found Galligan streaking across the middle, and Galligan took the ball 49 yards to the Wesleyan 17-yard line. After moving the ball to the 3-yard line, Head Coach Jeff Devanney decided to use the gadget offense he used last week at Amherst College. He inserted Sherry at quarterback, and, with two rushes, the Bantams tied the game at 20. Neither team got past the other's 40-yard line for the remainder of the game. With the teams knotted at 20, the game headed to overtime.

Costello and Wesleyan sophomore kicker Matt Alexander traded field goals in the first overtime. Wesleyan had the first chance to score in the second overtime, but Sherry intercepted a Dubois pass in the end zone, giving Trinity a chance to win the game. The Bantam offense couldn't gain a single yard, but Costello knocked a 42-yard field goal, the longest of his career, through the uprights for the win.

Drusbosky finished the game 14-26 for 201 yards. He finished third in the NESCAC with 217.6 yards per game. Galligan had six catches on the day for 111 total yards. He averaged 13 yards per catch and 88 yards a game on the season, with seven touchdowns as well. Starnes carried the ball 30 times in the game for 84 total yards. He finished the year as the NESCAC's second leading rusher, averaging 4.0 yards per carry, 98.1 yards per game, and a touchdown per game as well. Linebacker Francois Auzerais '11 had 11 tackles, and Sherry had 10 on the day for the Bantam defense.

Trinity was lucky to escape with a victory and Coach Devanney could not have been happy with the way the game went. Although the team limped to the finish line, they still finished the year ranked No. 7 in New England and have a good group of juniors coming back next year, led by Drusbosky, Sherry, and Galligan.

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