The Amherst football team steamrolled through another opponent last weekend, defeating Hamilton 36-6 on Saturday, Sept. 23. With this win, Amherst’s record now stands at 2-0.
Forcing a fumble on his tackle, linebacker Andrew Sommer ’19 came up big in the first play from scrimmage for the purple and white, giving Amherst stellar field position deep in Hamilton Continental territory.
On the Mammoths’ opening drive, quarterback Reece Foy ’18, playing in his first game after getting injured early last season, breached the goal line after a one-yard quarterback sneak. However, Foy suffered a minor injury on the drive leaving him questionable for this weekend. Sophomore Ollie Eberth, who started the first game of the season, replaced him.
Hamilton looked better on their next drive, but on a fourth and one attempt from the Amherst 30-yard line, Avery Saffold ’20 forced another fumble to get the Amherst offense on the field once again.
Later in the quarter, an intentional grounding by the Hamilton quarterback in their end zone resulted in a safety, making the score 9-0 in favor of Amherst.
The Mammoths found the end zone with 17 seconds to play in the first quarter following four straight rushing plays. Junior Jack Hickey rushed for a 14-yard gain and Foy ran for 15 yards to give Amherst a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. Hickey finished off the drive, powering through the defense to reach the end zone.
Kicker John Rak ’19 was the star of the second quarter, hitting a 41-yard field goal with three minutes left, and then another two minutes later from 48 yards out. The Mammoths played stellar defense in the first half, blanking the Continentals.
Amherst scored two more touchdowns within the first few minutes of the second half, making the score 36-0. Hickey had his second of the day on a 16-yard rush. On Amherst’s next offensive drive, Elijah Ngbokoli ’20 tallied his first TD of the season on a 39-yard run up the middle. Ngbokoli would end the day with 78 rushing yards.
Hamilton scored its only points of the day on an 8-play drive, resulting in a 31-yard touchdown pass. Amherst blocked the extra point , however, and neither team scored in the fourth quarter, making the final score of the game 36-6 in favor of the Mammoths.
Eberth played the majority of the game in the QB slot, going 7-9, while Nick Morales ’19 went 3-5 and Foy went 1-3 with a touchdown. First-year Matt Durborow ’21 notched a team-high seven tackles, while Sommer made six tackles along with his forced fumble.
Next week, Amherst is back at home on Pratt Field to host Bowdoin, who are currently 0-2.
