On Oct. 8, the purple and white’s 21-game winning streak was snapped by Middlebury in a competitive 27-26 match on the Middlebury’s home turf. This was the program’s first loss since Oct. 19, 2013.
Offensively, Nick Morales ’19 started his first collegiate game at quarterback. He went 28-for-39 with a touchdown and one interception. Once again, star sophomore running back Jack Hickey led the team in rushing, picking up 53 yards on 16 attempts with two touchdowns. Devin Boehm ’17 and Nick Widen ’17 each had 11 receptions for 141 yards and 111 yards, respectively. Boehm contributed a sensational 71-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
On special teams, John Rak ’19, usually the team’s starting safety, was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards in addition to his 34-yarder. His field goal is the second longest in Amherst history and the longest in NESCAC history since the league was created in 1971. Andrew Ferrero ’19 had one of his two punts downed inside the 20-yard line, while first-year Henry Atkenson had six punts for 216 yards, highlighted by a 66-yard boot late in the game.
Defensively, Parker Chapman ’17 led all players with 12 tackles — five solo and seven assists — including a sack for a loss of seven yards. Andrew Yamin ’19 and Evan Boynton ’17 both also notched sacks on the Panther’s quarterback, while Boynton also broke up three passes for the purple and white’s defense.
Following this tough loss for the program, on Oct. 15, the Amherst football team returned to its usual NESCAC dominance with a 41-0 rout of Colby. With the win, Amherst moved to 3-1 on the season. Amherst now leads the all-time series with Colby, 35-4-1, and has won 21 straight matchups against its NESCAC rival. The purple and white have now outscored their Maine counterparts 521-133 during that stretch, which includes five shutouts.
With a commanding 525 yards of total offense, Amherst’s sophomore-dominated offense was unstoppable. Morales had another spectacular game with 323 passing yards and three touchdowns. Sam Amaka ’19 and Hickey led the rushing unit with four rushes for 57 yards and nine rushes for 56 yards, respectively. Both of the sophomore running backs finished with a touchdown.
Bo Berluti ’19 led all receivers with 155 yards on seven receptions and two touchdowns. Boehm and Widen both had 50 receiving yards to further assist the Amherst passing game.
The Amherst defense also had a great day, limiting Colby to only 112 yards of total offense, 87 yards in the air and 25 yards on the ground. Chapman led a stellar defensive effort with a team-best seven tackles, including a sack, and added an interception.
Hunter Voegele ’18 and Isaiah Holloway ’17 added six tackles each, while Holloway notched two sacks for a total loss of 14 yards as the purple and white sacked Colby quarterbacks a total of seven times throughout the contest. Niyi Odewade ’17 posted a sack for a loss of six yards. Bolaji Ekhator ’18 and Markel Thomas ’18 each brought down the quarterback as well.
Amherst returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 22, when they travel to Little Three rival Wesleyan. The match is the homecoming game for the 3-1 Cardinals.
