Playing its season opener at Tufts on Saturday, the Wesleyan football team exploded for 466 yards of offense and five touchdowns, getting off to a 1-0 start as it handed the Jumbos a brutal 37-7 defeat.
With the win the Cardinals improved to 9-1 on opening day over the last 10 seasons and set a school record for the largest margin of victory over Tufts in the 41 meetings since 1892.
Wesleyan got on the board first when place kicker AJ Taucher ’08 converted the Cardinals’ first red zone opportunity of the day, nailing a 26-yard field goal to put the Red and Black on top by three points early. The lead lasted less than two minutes, though. Tufts’ Brian VonAncken scampered 43 yards on the ensuing kick-off, giving the Jumbos a spark and good field position in Cardinal territory. The five-play drive that followed covered 49 yards and lasted only 1:55, ending with a quick touchdown by running back Steve Cincotta. This level of efficiency would go unseen the rest of the game, and the Tufts offense would reach the red zone just one more time.
Wesleyan’s next drive would be the longest of the afternoon for either team. The Cardinals marched 80 yards on 12 plays, capped off by running back Phil Banks ’07 collecting his first touchdown of the day on a quick dash into the end zone from the five yard line. The Cardinal offense was now two for two in red zone attempts and up 10-7 going into the second quarter.
“It was a great day out there,” Banks said. “The O-line was blocking and I was just keeping my feet moving. Coach [Frank Hauser] did a good job mixing up the offense and running some time off of the clock with the ground game.”
Providing the majority of the firepower for the Cardinal assault was quarterback Zach Canter ’07, a transfer student from Colgate who played a confident and comfortable game in his first start for Wesleyan. Canter completed 26 of 39 passes for 339 yards and tossed two touchdowns on the afternoon.
Early in second quarter action, Canter looked downfield and was picked trying to get the ball into scoring position as the Jumbos defensive back Donovan Brown read the line and stepped in front of receiver Mshangwe Crawford ’04. Brown charged 78 yards up the sideline before being dragged down by Crawford at the one yard line. The all-out effort to prevent the touchdown would certainly be remembered as one of the plays of the game. In what was arguably the game’s most important series, the Wesleyan defense stonewalled three attempts by the Jumbos to drive the ball into the end zone, forcing the offense back to the four yard line before a five yard penalty left Tufts at the nine on fourth down. Forced to kick and salvage what had seemed like a golden opportunity to take the lead, the field goal unit took over, but the potentially tying kick went wide. The incredible goal line stand by the Cardinals turned the tide.
“When the D came up with that goal line stand, everybody got pumped up and the intensity got fierce,” Banks said. “They were hard-hittin’ all over the field, and after a while the [Tufts] offense wanted no part of it.”
The Cardinal defense suffocated the Jumbo offensive efforts up front and downfield. Failing to get much going on the ground or in the air, Tufts was held to only 197 total yards, and Tufts quarterbacks Jason Casey and Casey D’Annolfo were a combined seven of 20 with four interceptions, each one going to a different Wesleyan defensive back.
The Cardinals offensive unit shut the door when Canter stepped up in the red zone and connected with wide receivers Tim McGee ’05 and Sam Fletcher ’04 to put Wesleyan on top 23-10 going into half time.
“This Saturday was fun,” Canter said. “I can’t say enough about how great the offensive line was. When they’re on, doing their job, it just makes everything so easy on the quarterback and opens things up for the run. My jersey was clean at the end of the day. When that happens you know the line was dominating up front.”
With the defense stifling the Tufts waning offensive charge, Canter and company stayed perfect in the red zone through the second half, as Banks ran in short scores in the third and fourth quarter to cap off his three touchdown day. Banks carried 28 times for 95 yards, becoming a nightmare for the Jumbos defense. Also turning in an impressive individual performance was wide receiver Fletcher, who ran tight routes and found open space on the field consistently en route to catching 11 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.
“Fletcher had a day out there,” Canter said. “With the line giving me so much time, I had the opportunity to get the ball to the real athletes. The wide outs are going to get open, and they were doing so much after the catch. It was all just clicking.”
Wesleyan will play host to Hamilton next weekend, with kickoff scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
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