Within a few weeks, the leaves will begin to change color, and the beauty of fall in New England will be in full bloom. One cannot think about fall without football, and the 2014 season should signal the return of the dominance on both sides of the ball.

In November 2013, Amherst ended its season with a 20-7 rout of Williams on the Ephs’ Weston Field. It was the 525th game played on the historic field as well as the last, as Williams renovated their field complex over the summer. The Jeffs, however, ultimately had the last word as they rushed for over 200 yards and added another 153 through the air.

While many argue beating Williams is all that matters, the Jeffs impressed in many games this season, ending with a mark of 7-1 — a record good enough to give them a share of the NESCAC Championship with Middlebury and Wesleyan.

The 2013 season also marked an important achievement for head coach E.J Mills. In his 17th season, Mills gained his 100th victory in the second-to-last game of the season, as Amherst won a thrilling home game against Trinity 17-16. He now boasts an impressive 101-35 record and will look add eight more to the win column this fall.

The Jeffs enter this season with a stellar senior class, comprised of 14 members. Many of the offensive threats from last season will return, including Max Lippe ’15, who dictated the plays last season as quarterback, and Gene Garay ’15, who led the team in receiving yards with 400 yards and three touchdowns.

On the defensive side, the Jeffs’ senior class returns two of the team’s top tacklers from the 2013 season. Captain Chris Tamasi ’15 led the team with 62 tackles, but fellow co-captain Ned Deane ’15 was not far behind with 61. Both players hope to continue to make an impact in Amherst’s strong defensive linebacking core, while starters Johnathan Woodrow ’15 and Scott Mergner ’15 return to anchor the offensive line.

Many members of the class of 2016 and 2017 will step into more formative roles on the team, adding new strength and power to the Jeffs’ offense and defense.

“The seniors that graduated last year set a high standard for Amherst College football. Now that they are gone, everyone on the team assumes a new role. First-years become sophomores, sophomores become juniors, juniors become seniors, and we welcome a brand new class of first-years to the team. We will discover what kind of team we are throughout preseason,” Tamasi said.

Among key returners on the offensive side, Kenny Adrinka ’16 led the team with 448 yards on the ground last season. Sophomores Nick Kelly and Myles Gaines also made significant contributions to the backfield last season.

The defense will benefit from the return of talented junior tacklers Tyler Mordas and Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn, who added 45 and 53 total tackles last season, respectively. Cornerback Jaymie Spears ’16 had three interceptions last season and helped the Jeffs tally an impressive number of turnovers.

Although the defense has been the calling card of Amherst football in recent history, Mergner believes that the offense will be lethal this season.

“We attribute much success in the past few years to having one of the best (if not the best) defenses in the league,” he said, “This year, I look forward to being a more balanced team. I think our offense has the chance to be atop the league and early practices in camp have indicated that we are headed in that direction.”

“Our team put in a tremendous amount of work this spring and saw impressive results. The team carried this same competitive attitude into the summer, preparing diligently on their own time in order to return in the best shape possible,” Tamasi added.

The Jeffs run a competitive offseason, as the team is divided into five mini-teams that compete in physical, academic and community service oriented activities to gain points for their respective teams.

The coaches believe this makes the entire team accountable during the offseason and helps guarantee success for the upcoming season. The players say the team competition makes the offseason both fun and productive.

“As with any season, the final goal is to be playing for an undefeated 8-0 NESCAC Championship, but we will be setting and meeting many micro-goals to get us to that point,” Mergner said.

One key matchup this season will be against the Middlebury on Oct. 4. The Jeffs’ defense was dominant against the Panthers last season, as they intercepted Middlebury’s quarterback McCallum Foote five times.Another key matchup will be the away game against Wesleyan on Oct. 18. The Jeffs struggled with turnovers in last season’s 20-14 loss to the Cardinals — the team’s first loss against Wesleyan since 2002. As always, the Jeffs look forward to playing archrival Williams to end their season at 2014 homecoming on Nov. 8.

This homecoming will prove to be a special one, as it is the first meeting of the Ephs and Jeffs on the newly-renovated Pratt Field. To celebrate this inaugural game, the Jeffs will have a Friday Night Lights style event starting at 4 p.m.

However, every game of the 2014 football season is important to this team. The senior class has the potential to have the most number of wins of any senior class in NESCAC football history. With a 21-3 collegiate record thus far, another winning season for the Jeffs could put the senior class in the ranks of history.

“Every championship team has a special chemistry, and I hope this one can become a very close group of guys. It is going to take the course of the season, both on and off of the field, to form it. This will be the final season for all of the seniors, so we want the culmination of our careers to end with something really special,” Mergner said.

The Jeffs will begin their hunt for a NESCAC title on Pratt Field Sept. 20 against the Bates Bobcats at 1 p.m.