The Wesleyan football team (1-1) won its first game in two years with a 7-0 victory over the Hamilton Continentals (0-2) in Saturday’s home opener, propelled by a 92 yard rushing performance from Phil Banks ’07 and another dominating defensive showing.
The win is the first for the Cardinals since a 25-21 home victory over Bowdoin in October 2004. After finishing the 2004 season 3-5, Wesleyan struggled to an 0-8 finish last year capped by a 63-7 loss to Trinity College in the season finale.
With the Cardinals leading 7-0 near the end of the third quarter, Hamilton drove to a first down at the Wesleyan 1 yard line. After three successful goal-line stops, Wesleyan’s defense forced a fourth and goal, and the Continentals opted to go for the touchdown. Quarterback Ben Saccomano ’09 completed a pass to running back Dan Hood ’08, but Hood managed only five yards before Cardinal cornerback Kwasi Ansu ’09 brought him down.
“We were in man coverage and I saw my man go inside, but the quarterbacks eyes were outside so I broke on the outside ball,” Ansu said.
The stop preserved the shutout as the Cardinal defense kept its opponent out of the end zone for the second straight game. Linebacker Tim O’Callaghan ’08 led the defense with 11 tackles and a partial sack. Defensive tackle John Harding ’09 turned in a strong performance with six tackles and a sack, and linebacker Quincy Francis ’06 contributed nine tackles and two pass break ups. Hamilton gained only 42 yards rushing and 195 yards overall.
Banks led the Wesleyan offense on Saturday. The senior running back gained 92 yards on 19 carries. His 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter provided the day’s only score. The run punctuated the 7 play, 82 yard drive with which Wesleyan started the second half. Quarterback Zach Librizzi ’08 spurred the march with passes of 21 and 23 yards to receiver Ryan Walsh ’09, plus a 25-yard strike to Mark Noonan ’08.
“This game was crucial for us because we were finally able to get the losing streak off our chests. Now we can finally move along with the season rather than worrying about breaking the losing streak,” Banks said.
“The defense played another ferocious game and the kept the offense alive throughout the game,” Banks said. “Their goal line stance was a pivotal point in the game because it was a huge momentum booster for the entire team. When a defense is able to keep a team from scoring from the one yard line, it says a lot about their character.”
In the closely fought game, punter AJ Taucher ’08 provided crucial plays on special teams. He punted the ball 7 times and finished with a 43.3 yard-per-punt average, pinning Hamilton inside its own 20-yard line three times.
Walsh and Noonan each had career days, both hauling in over 100 yards receiving. Walsh had 100 receiving yards on 6 catches, while Noonan caught eight passes for 108 yards. Librizzi finished with 237 yards passing.
The football team will look to win their second consecutive victory this weekend when they travel to Waterville, Maine to battle with the Colby Mules.
“This year the NESCAC is wide open. We have a very good chance this week against Colby who was shut out by Middlebury this past weekend,” Ansu said.
“We head up to Colby next week and we are all hungry for another [win] because we still have a lot to prove. The offense is looking to produce a lot more points next week and hopefully the [defense] will keep on doing their thing,” Banks said.