Last Saturday, with a crowd of only the staunchest Wesleyan supporters, the football team improved to 3-1 on the season through its stunning rout of the Bates Bobcats.
In Wesleyan’s most complete performance of the season, the offense and defense combined to smash Bates 41-21.
The game stayed close throughout the first quarter, but as the buzzer sounded to start the second, the momentum shifted. Wesleyan broke out in the second quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points by shredding the Bates defensive fronts. Zach Librizzi ’08 put on a quarterbacking clinic in the second quarter, demonstrating why he has been the starter for the last three years. Following a drive in which he scrambled 17 yards for a touchdown, Librizzi lined up on the ball and faked a handoff to sophomore star Shea Dwyer ’10. Dwyer darted out down near the sidelines and the Bates defenders followed him. This left Librizzi free to make his way down the sideline completely untouched for a 79-yard touchdown trot. In two plays, Zach took the Bates defense for 96 yards and two touchdowns. The mental blow caused by these two plays proved to be too much for the Bobcats.
Librizzi was named NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week. He racked up 121 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, compiled 173 and another two TDs in the air, and engineered 461 yards of total offense for the Cards.
“All game both sides of the ball came up with big plays,” Librizzi said. “The offense moved the ball very well, keeping the defense rested and off the field. The o-line played their best game of the year; whenever an offense has long runs (my run) or screen passes (Dwyer’s TD catch), you have to credit the o-line because they are the ones that open up holes and allow the runs to happen.”
Having another terrific day for Wesleyan fantasy football owners, Dwyer rushed for 97 yards on 18 touches and also put together a game-high five receptions for 86 yards. This gave Dwyer 183 yards of total offense, including a touchdown. Dwyer’s touchdown came on a screen pass in the first quarter, requiring him to break a tackle before running the rest of the 47 yards he needed for a score.
As important as the offense was, Librizzi attributed much of the team’s success to the defense.
“When the defense was on the field they caused turnovers which allowed the rest of us to score lots of points,” he said.
The defense played a hard fought game against Bates. Missing tri-Captain Tim O’Callaghan ’08 for the second straight week, middle linebacker Vin Colangelo ’09 stepped up big along with Peter Overman ’09 to stop the Bobcats. This dynamic duo is currently tied for third in the NESCAC with 40 tackles each, averaging 10 stops per game.
“Last week our defense stepped it up in key situations,” Overman said. “We still have a lot of young guys and we make mistakes but we seem to be gelling as a defense. Our attitude has improved; we know that we can beat any team we face. This week we get back tri-Captains Tom Addonizio ’08 and O’Callaghan from injuries, two great players that will definitely help us.”
Overman is confident of Wesleyan’s ability to win the upcoming game against Amherst.
“Amherst is a good team and we really need to focus on stopping the run,” he said. “If we stop the run up front and make them air it out, we’ll give our DBs a chance to make plays and get turnovers like they’ve been doing all season. That’s how we’re going to win. Last week we got big plays when we needed them and that really sealed the game.”
With Wesleyan up 34-14 in the middle of the fourth quarter, Bates was driving deep into Wesleyan territory. When the Bates quarterback stepped back into the pocket and launched the ball, it looked like the Cardinals were about to see their lead shaved some more. Freshman strong safety Justin Freres ’11 was not about to let that happen. Leaving the ground in order to bring down the errant throw, Freres intercepted the ball on the Wesleyan goal line. With a good lead block by Ryan “The Rocket” McClaren ’08 to free him, Freres took the ball from sideline to sideline and all the way across the field for a score to stick the final nail in Bates’ coffin. Freres somersaulted on the completion of his 100-yard romp, drawing raucous applause from the Cardinal crowd and a flag from an official.
Freres was named NESCAC Rookie of the Week for his performance Saturday, notching eight tackles, four of them solo. When asked how he felt about his performance, Justin smiled.
“My return was long and exciting,” he said. “I couldn’t have made it without the defense blocking as well as they did. When I first caught the interception, it really did not look like I would be able to return it. But I picked up some key blocks and used them well. I knew I would score when I saw Tommy Addonizio blocking the quarterback for me. It feels good to be NESCAC Rookie of the Week, but it is the rookie of the week. It’s going to take a lot more training and effort to be NESCAC Defensive Player of the Week, which is ultimately one of my goals.”
The Cardinals will put their 3-1 record on the line this Saturday when they take on 3-1 Amherst at 1 p.m. Expect an epic battle in front of the Amherst Homecoming crowd.
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