After a 2–1 start, the Wesleyan football team continued its quest to become NESCAC champions once again with four more identity-building contests. This stretch of games proved to be massive for where the Cardinals currently stand, with two games to go in the season.
On Saturday, Oct. 4, the Cards played host to the Hamilton Continentals, a team Wes has dominated offensively in recent years. This season’s matchup proved to be no different. After a scoreless first quarter, which included a Jack Bronikowski ’28 interception and a missed field goal by Hamilton, the Cards struck first with a Blake Newcomb ’27 touchdown reception.
The defense returned the favor with a 4th-down stop on the Continentals’ next possession. It only took the Cards one play to find the end zone again, as quarterback Matt Fitzsimons ’27 found Donte Kelly ’29 for a 42-yard touchdown.
On the next possession, Dylan Connors ’26 stepped up on defense, picking off Hamilton’s quarterback and taking the return down to the 6-yard line. Fitzsimons then found tight end Jake Saalfrank ’29 for the score, giving Wes a commanding 21–0 lead.
Wesleyan would go on to score two more touchdowns in the second quarter, as Kelly found the end zone for the second time, and Sam Wien ’28 put more points on the board. Fitzsimons’ five passing touchdowns in the second quarter gave the Cards an impressive 35–0 lead at half.
In the second half, the Cards pounded the rock on offense and put the ball in the end zone three more times. To open up the third quarter, Wes marched down the field on a nine-play drive capped off with an Angelo LaRose ’27 11-yard rushing touchdown, the team’s longest of the season. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, defensive lineman Dean Sokaris ’26 got the call at fullback on a 4th down at the two-yard line and punched it in. James McHugh ’26 put the finishing touches on the Cards’ scoring barrage, rushing for a seven-yard touchdown midway through the fourth. While Hamilton scored two touchdowns in the second half, there was no stopping the Red and Black’s offensive masterclass. The Cardinals defeated the Continentals for the sixth straight season, this year by a score of 56–14.
Fitzsimons finished the game going 20/23 with 365 yards and five passing touchdowns. For his performance, he earned the New England Football Writers’ Gold Helmet and the NESCAC Player of the Week.
“I feel so much gratitude for both awards,” Fitzsimons said. “Once it hit me, I was very proud of myself and the work that I put into achieve [those awards]. But to me…the biggest award for me would be winning the NESCAC championship.”
The Cardinals were back up to Maine on Saturday, Oct. 11, this time to face a frisky Colby squad. While the last two Cards-Mules matchups were decided in overtime, this year didn’t produce much drama, with the Red and Black cruising to a wire-to-wire 24–7 victory.
Fitzsimons got the scoring started with a three-yard keeper to cap off a meaty 14-play, 80-yard drive. The Cardinals defense forced a quick three-and-out with Owen McDevitt ’27 bringing down the Mules’ quarterback for an eight-yard loss. The Mules were able to flip the field with a 65 yard punt, but 17 plays and nine and a half minutes later, Gage Hammond ’27 knocked through a 34-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10–0.
The Cardinals all but iced the game late in the third quarter when Fitzsimons connected with Newcomb for a score. Newcomb continued his success, following up back-to-back 100-yard games with six catches for 70 yards and this touchdown. Both teams found the end zone in the fourth quarter, making the final score 24–7 in favor of the Cardinals. Kelly scored the final touchdown, capping off a 12-catch, 140-yard performance and separating himself even further in Offensive Player of the Year discussions.
Kelly and Newcomb are the top receiving duo in the NESCAC by receptions, yards, and touchdowns. Kelly echoed their confidence and applauded their accomplishments so far this season.
“[Blake and I] always tell each other we’re the best duo receiver in the league, and I feel like we stand on it,” Kelly said. “I know if I’m having a bad game, he’s gonna show everybody in the league that he’s a top receiver. If he’s having a bad one, I’m gonna show everybody I’m a top receiver. When we’re both on fire, it’s unstoppable.”
The offense did their job, but defense was the story of the game for the Red and Black. They didn’t have many explosive plays—no turnovers and only four tackles for a loss—but they turned in one of the best team defense performances in recent history. Colby quarterback Miles Drake had −3 net passing yards, only completing three of his 20 passes. The Mules had one chunk play, a 37-yard touchdown run, but that was it, as the Cards’ NESCAC leading defense only surrendered 110 total yards, their best mark since 2018.
“It was just a big reload year, because we had nine graduating starters, so we just needed time to develop our team chemistry,” Connors said. “But [Austin] Baker [’27], [Chris] DeMartino [’26], AJ Morris [’26], those three at linebacker have been phenomenal for us all year. They do a great job throughout the week in practice, and they know all their run fits, they know their pass drops, and they’ll call out plays before they happen.”
On Saturday, Oct. 18, the Cards returned home to face another Maine opponent, Bowdoin. The Polar Bears were still eager for their first win when they made the trip to Middletown, and they struck first with a 78-yard passing touchdown on their first offensive play.
The Bowdoin defense stifled the Red and Black’s first four offensive drives, consistently getting pressure on Fitzsimons and forcing incompletions. Wes finally got on the scoreboard with a field goal in the last five minutes of the first half. With less than a minute left in the half, Will Orso ’26 forced and Brody Alston ’27 recovered a Bowdoin fumble inside their own 10-yard line, putting the offense in a prime position to take the lead. Fitzsimons capitalized on the great field position, finding Kelly in the back of the end zone and putting Wes ahead 10–7 at half.
The third quarter was all Bowdoin, scoring on two of their three drives of the quarter and holding a 22–10 lead entering the final fifteen. The Polar Bears were silenced at the beginning of the fourth by a clutch, drive-stopping tackle from Connors on 4th-and-long.
Fitzsimons took the momentum generated by the defense and charged the offense down the field. The Cards capped off a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a Newcomb touchdown to cut the deficit to five points.
Inside five minutes, Bowdoin tacked onto their lead with a field goal generated by a Fitzsimons interception. With the score at 25–17, the task was clear, but the Polar Bear pass rush had other plans. They disrupted the Red and Black’s pass game, forcing Fitzsimons to throw another interception, this time with less than two minutes to play. While a missed Bowdoin field goal gave Wes one more drive to try tying the game, the Cards couldn’t get it done and gave the Polar Bears their first win of the season.
After the Bowdoin game, Fitzsimons acknowledged that the Polar Bears got the best of them, but he was eager to use it as fuel for the next game.
“We adjusted to their game plan well, but overall, they just played better than us,” Fitzsimons said. “They switched a bunch of stuff schematically on both sides of the ball, and it definitely stifled us. Our offense was not as productive as it has been, but I think we could use that to fuel us into these next three games, starting with Amherst on Saturday.”
Every game matters, but the entire season for the Red and Black always seems to lead up to the three-game closing stretch against Amherst, Williams, and Trinity. With over 6,000 in attendance on Homecoming Weekend, the Cardinals were looking to extend their win streak over Amherst to four.
Despite having over 200 points scored on the season, the Cardinals were again held scoreless in the first quarter for the fifth time this season. The defense forced a three-and-out on Amherst’s only first quarter drive, and Fitzsimons and Newcomb hooked up for a touchdown to get the scoring started. It was the fourth consecutive weekend the junior duo had put points on the board.
The Mammoths fought back, scoring twice in less than two minutes to take a 14–7 lead. The next break went the Cards way, when the Mammoths’ long snapper sailed one over the punter’s head resulting in a safety. The offense took advantage of the ensuing field position, taking only five plays to regain the lead. A successful two-point conversion gave Wesleyan a 17–14 lead. This appeared to be the score going into halftime, but the Mammoths generated a game-changing play, intercepting Fitzsimons and returning it 61 yards for a touchdown, to regain a 21–17 advantage.
With the crowd slightly deflated to start the second half, Mike Solimando ’26 reignited the energy in Middletown by picking off Marek Hill deep in Mammoth territory. Two plays later, Fitzsimons found Saalfrank for a 22-yard touchdown, putting the Cardinals back in front. The defense fed off the surge, forcing a quick three-and-out, and on the ensuing punt, Connors broke through the line, blocked the punt, and finished off the play himself with a scoop and score. It marked Connors’ third straight Homecoming game with a touchdown, an almost unbelievable streak for a defensive player.
“All week we were practicing our punt block,” Connors said. “[Amherst] schemes it up where they have their three up backs, and they’ll block down, but then their outside guys will block down. So, our plan was to loop me in from the outside and create a four on three, so they have to pick who they’re gonna block. We talked about it all week and said that we were gonna block a punt, and it was wide open, just like we said it would be. Everyone on the special teams really buys into a punt block specifically, so a lot of credit to Will Rao [’27], he helped big time on that play.”
The defense continued to clamp down on one of the NESCAC’s most dangerous passing attacks, with Morris joining the party by intercepting Marek Hill for the team’s third pick of the day. From there, both defenses held firm, with Connors’ blocked-punt touchdown standing as the game’s final score. As the clock wound down, the Wesleyan faithful celebrated a fourth straight victory over the Mammoths.
Looking ahead, the Cards’ last two games of the season pit them against some of their strongest rivals, Williams and Trinity. A win at Williams this upcoming Saturday would award Wesleyan their fourth straight Little Three title. It would also set up a substantial final game of the season, where Wes would host Trinity for at least a share of the NESCAC Championship. If Trinity beats Amherst this weekend, the Cards will be playing to be co-champs with the Bantams, but if the Mammoths beat them, then the Nov. 8 match will be a rematch of last year’s winner-take-all final between the Connecticut schools.
Connors isn’t looking too far ahead, but he certainly understands the gravity that could be placed on the final game of his Wesleyan career.
“Obviously, I would like the opportunity to be able to play for a championship on our home field,” Connors said. “If we are able to take care of Williams, having everyone at home our final game would be super special. Win or lose, it’s championship day, hopefully.”
Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.
Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.
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