On Saturday the Cards took their second win of the season, beating the Colby Mules 23-14. With five lead changes, the victory most certainly qualified as exciting. The win ended a five-game losing streak against Colby and this is the first time in the last three years that Wesleyan Football has had a winning record.
“We’re all very excited about this,” said tri-captain Zach Librizzi ’08. “We have to come out with a winning record this year and we’re not satisfied yet. We want to keep winning.”
Wesleyan improved to 2-1 with their victory Saturday and dropped Colby to 0-3.
Despite missing a few key starters, Wesleyan’s defense managed to prevail against a fired up Colby squad. Colby squeaked two touchdowns past a banged up Cardinals defense.
Tri-captain Timothy O’Callaghan ’08 was out of the game due to an injured hamstring, so Wesleyan was at a disadvantage when it came to stopping runs. His absence was most noticable at the beginning of the third quarter, when Colby’s running back converted what was supposed to be a short screen pass into an 82-yard touchdown run.
Despite its difficulties, the Wesleyan defense functioned solidly. Peter Overman ’09 delivered an inspired performance as he notched 11 tackles and a sack. This is Overman’s third straight game with 11 tackles and his second in a row in which he has recorded at least one sack.
Tyler Whitley ’08 stepped up every aspect of his game and helped stick a nail in Colby’s coffin with an intersection on the 35. Wesleyan then marched towards the goal line, but on third down was picked off by Colby in the end-zone.
Interceptions marred Wesleyan’s terrific play on Saturday. Librizzi ’08 has thrown six interceptions and two touchdowns this season: an average of two interceptions and two-thirds of a touchdown per game.
Rushing for three touchdowns, standout David Dwyer ’10 delivered an amazing performance, diving and juking all across the field. Dwyer is certainly developing as a consistent running back and Cardinals everywhere should be excited that they have such a dynamic player in the backfield.
Robert Cook ’10, an outside linebacker, joked about the magnitude of Dwyer’s performance.
“Forget about LaDainian Tomlinson, if Wesleyan had a Fantasy Football team, Shea would definitely be my number one pick,” Cook said.
Librizzi thought that the entire team had a great game.
“We all stepped up our play, especially the defensive line who came up with some great plays,” he said. “Offensively we moved the ball very well. We’re feeling confident going into the next game against Bates. We want another big win and to go 3-1.”