On the heels of a statement win against Middlebury on Saturday, Sept. 14, the Wesleyan football team returned to Andrus Field for their home opener and annual night game against Tufts on Saturday, Sept. 21. The Jumbos had gotten the best of the Cardinals last season, crushing them 49–14. But out for revenge and knowing the stakes of the impending matchup, the Red and Black were ready to deliver.

“We were obviously excited from that big win off Middlebury,” captain and cornerback Wesley Abraham ’25 said. “But we knew that we had another big game coming up, and the team did a really good job of leaving that in the past and focusing on the next game. And obviously, with the crowd being so big, and it being a night game, and how Tufts beat us last year, it was just one of those things where you didn’t really have to say much.”

A big question leading up to the game was the availability of captain and star wide receiver Chase Wilson ’25, who suffered an ankle sprain in the Middlebury contest. Wilson spent most of the week in a boot, and although he suited up, he was moving gingerly in warmups. The Cardinals weren’t going to employ Wilson as a decoy, though. After Tufts deferred, the Wesleyan offense started from their 25-yard line and dialed up a shot play. Captain and quarterback Niko Candido ’25 faked the handoff to running back Tyler Flynn ’26 and dropped a dime to Wilson, who beat his defenders. Wilson caught it in stride at the Jumbos’ 40-yard line and took it the rest of the way, proving the ankle would not hold him back.

Candido spoke on how the play unfolded and what it meant for him.

“Our coach ran us through all the different potential coverages they could give us, and of course, it was the one we didn’t want,” Candido said. “But it ended up being a great route, the [offensive] line gave me a lot of time, and I was just able to float it up to him and he ran under it. And just the energy of hearing the stands and seeing him score under the lights was one of my favorite memories of football so far.”

The Jumbos bounced back, putting together a disciplined first drive that resulted in a field goal to cut the Cardinals’ lead in half. Both defenses settled in, with neither team scoring until the Jumbos converted another field goal with 11 minutes and 19 seconds remaining in the second quarter to tie the game at 6–6. 

After a clutch 3rd-down sack by captain and linebacker Ben Carbeau ’25, the Jumbos were looking to pin the Cardinals deep but could not get the punt off as linebacker Austin Baker ’27 broke through the line and blocked the punt, which was recovered by linebacker AJ Morris ’26 at the Jumbos’ 14 yard-line. The offense capitalized on their special teams’ playmaking, and in three snaps, Flynn punched in a touchdown to retake the lead. The Jumbos managed to tack on another field goal with 7 seconds remaining, making the score 13–10 at the half.

Safety Dylan Connors ’26 highlighted how crucial those final plays were for the team going into halftime.

“Austin Baker’s blocked punt was a very big momentum shift, not only because our offense is now getting the ball in the red zone rather than all the way down at the opposite 30,” Connors said. “But it just gives you the confidence that everyone’s making plays everywhere.”

The Cardinals extended their lead on their 1st drive of the 2nd half, with Candido finding running back Angelo LaRose ’27 for an 11-yard touchdown reception. This gave the Red and Black a 20–9 lead with 10 minutes and 28 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter, which proved to be the final score, as the Cardinals’ defense stifled the Jumbos offense for the remainder of the night. Cornerback Luke LaSaracina ’25 capped off the victory with a game-sealing interception with two minutes left in the fourth. For his punt block, as well as a forced fumble on a punt return late in the fourth, Baker was awarded NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Having knocked off two NESCAC stalwarts, the Cardinals were flying high heading into their home matchup against the winless Bates on Saturday, Sept. 28. 

“I think we were all riding the high of the previous two games,” Connors said. “So it was easy to look to the next game and be like, ‘Okay, we’re a great team. We should just take care of this game, because we’re the better team.’ So I think we lacked that preparation that we had in the previous two games.”

The Cardinals scored first with a field goal by kicker/punter Gage Hammond ’27, but the Bobcats responded with 2 long touchdown runs by Ryan Lynskey in the 2nd quarter to take a 14–3 lead. The Red and Black were able to play themselves back into the game when Wilson and Candido hooked up for an 87-yard touchdown, their 3rd straight game with a 50+ yard touchdown. Still, the Cardinals entered halftime down 14–10.

“At the half, I was like ‘Okay, it was a rough first half, but it’s not like we’ve never been there before,’” Abraham said. “But I was still optimistic because I’ve seen the team come back from larger deficits. Obviously we were surprised that we were down. But nobody is giving up. I saw it in everybody’s eyes. We wanted to come back. We just needed the energy to get back in the game.”  

Unfortunately, the Cardinals’ hopes of quickly regaining the lead evaporated when Bobcats quarterback Colton Bosselait hit his go-to receiver Ryan Gleason for an 86-yard touchdown just a minute into the 3rd quarter. Though the Cards did manage to narrow the Bobcats’ lead to 13–21 with a field goal and 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Bates responded with a field goal of their own with less than 2 minutes to go in the game, putting the game away 13–24. In the most shocking result of the NESCAC season so far, the Cardinals fell to the Bobcats for the first time since 2005. 

“Going forward, we have to be able to come away with points more often than not,” Wilson said. “We have to finish drives and get into the endzone, because when we score, it takes pressure off the defense. But it was a good thing that we got that lesson early in the season and we got a chance to try to correct that going forward.”

The Cardinals hit the road looking to bounce back against a winless Hamilton team on Saturday, Oct. 5. The first quarter mirrored the previous week’s struggles with both defensive and offensive production. A pick-6 by safety Nick Donatio MA ’25 was called back because of holding, and 3 plays later, the Continentals scored on a 51-yard touchdown pass just 9 minutes into the game. The Cardinals’ offense also could not find their rhythm and failed to put any points on the board in the first half. However, the defense helped the team get back on track, holding the Continentals scoreless for the remainder of the first two quarters.

The Cardinals were driving as the fourth quarter began but faced a key third and goal at the five-yard line. Despite Wilson dropping a pass on the previous play, Candido went back to him for the Cardinals’ first score of the game, which Candido highlighted as a key momentum switch in the game.

“The biggest goal was to keep everybody having that belief that we can score and that we will,” Candido said. “So once we did, we were able to get our groove back and make some big plays that really got us there.” 

On the ensuing drive, the Continentals’ running back fumbled, and defensive back Aiden Nelson ’27 scooped the ball and returned it for a touchdown to give the Cardinals their first 13–7 lead of the game. The Red and Black’s defense continued their stellar play; Carbeau recorded a clutch sack on 3rd and 14 to give the ball back to the offense. Candido completed passes to five different receivers, with the last one going to Wilson for his second touchdown of the game. Carbeau and Abraham forced fumbles on the last two drives to seal a 19–7 victory. For his outstanding efforts on defense in which he tallied nine tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and two pass breakups, Connors was awarded NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career.

“I think it was a good test for adversity,” Wilson said. “We had definitely seen some before then in the Bates game, but to be able to fight that adversity after taking a loss like that at home, to be able to go on the road and be down all game and then pull it together in the fourth quarter, I felt like that was big for team morale and something that we could lean on when we find ourselves in tough situations.”

Returning to Andrus Field for their first game since the Bates upset, the Cardinals were keen to not let Colby do the same on Saturday, Oct. 12. Initially, the Red and Black’s offense struggled to get points on the board, but they scored first with a field goal in the middle of the first quarter. The Mules responded with a 90-yard fumble recovery touchdown to take the lead, but the Cardinals came back with another field goal that made the score 6–7 going into halftime. 

After the break, the Mules extended their lead to 6–14 with another touchdown, but the Cardinals were undeterred. As they have all year, the offense came up clutch when it mattered as Candido and Wilson connected for their sixth touchdown of the year on the first play of the fourth quarter. They went for 2, which Candido converted himself to tie the game at 14. The two teams traded field goals, with Hammond knocking through a 29-yard field goal in the last minute to force overtime.

College overtime rules state that both teams get a chance to possess the ball unless the team that defers scores a defensive or special teams touchdown on the opening drive. The Mules got the first possession and quickly found themselves in goal to go after drawing a pass interference call. After a one-yard run on first down, the Mules dialed up a boot play on second down. Carbeau arrived at the quarterback first and wrapped up his legs. Villano then came in and punched out the ball, which fell into Edwards’ hands. The Cardinals’ captain then returned it 88 yards for a walk-off touchdown.

“We actually practiced that play,” Edwards said. “We knew in those situations that they would call a boot play, and so we blitzed off the edge, hoping that he’ll boot right into the blitz. I saw the ball fly and just kind of stuck my arm out and caught it, and as soon as I did, I just started running.”

With that, the Cardinals sealed the 23–17 victory and allowed the fewest yards of offense by an opponent since 2019, totaling just 118. Additionally, Edwards earned NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his game-winning play on top of the six tackles and one quarterback hurry he also recorded. 

“I think that was one of our best performances thus far as a defense, just complete throughout the game for four quarters,” Carbeau said. “We were super sound in our assignments and then we got to overtime and the guys really didn’t shy away from the pressure of that moment.” 

The Cardinals then turned their attention to a scrappy Bowdoin team, who were coming off a 35–7 blowout victory over Amherst. The Cardinals’ defense continued their dominant play during the game on Saturday, Oct. 19, holding the Polar Bears to seven points in the first three quarters. Donatio recorded his first career interception early in the first quarter. 

Edwards spoke on how crucial Donatio’s play has been to this defense. 

“Nick Donatio has been a wonderful addition to this defense,” Edwards said. “He’s full of energy, a spark plug out there for the team. After every big hit he makes, he gets super excited and picks us all up energy-wise. On top of the intangible aspects, he’s a great player: makes a lot of plays, doesn’t miss tackles, hits really hard.”  

The offense, having scored just a field goal in the first half, got themselves going late in the third quarter when James McHugh ’26 ripped off a 56-yard touchdown run to give the Cardinals a 10–7 lead. McHugh added another score five minutes into the fourth quarter to put the Cardinals up by double digits. McHugh’s 75-yard and 2-touchdown performance was crucial in the absence of Flynn, who was out with an injury. The Polar Bears scored on a long touchdown pass in the 4th quarter, but the Red and Black were able to hold Bowdoin off to capture their 2nd straight 1-possession victory with a final score of 17–14. On Monday, Hammond was awarded NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance, which included a career-long 37-yard field goal, 9 punts, and going 2-2 on PATs. 

This weekend on Saturday, Oct. 26, the Cardinals will travel to Amherst for the first leg of the Little Threes before hosting Williams in their homecoming game on Saturday, Nov. 2. Having won the title the past two seasons, the Cardinals will be looking to capture their first Little Three three-peat since 1946–1948. The Red and Black currently sit atop the NESCAC standings at 5–1, tied with Middlebury and Trinity. Their season finale is at Trinity—meaning that if they take care of business against Amherst and Williams, the Trinity showdown on Saturday, Nov. 9 will be for the NESCAC Championship. 

“There’s always been some spark between Amherst and Wesleyan, and I think that there’s always a chip on our shoulders to beat them, and they always have a chip on their shoulders to beat us,” Candido said. “And I think that both teams are going to play extraordinarily hard, but it’s also a tough atmosphere to go up to as well to beat them. But as long as we keep that in mind that we want to beat purple and get out of there with a Little Three win, that’s what will guide us through the game.”

Erin Byerly can be reached at ebyerly@wesleyan.edu. 

Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.