With the Amherst football season coming to a close in two weeks, the Amherst Football team is 6-0 after their latest victory.
Trailing after the halftime for the first time all season, the Amherst put together an impressive second half to knock off the Colby Mules 35-10 on Oct. 11th. The Jeffs maintained their undefeated record thanks to stalwart defense and a second half offense led by quarterback Max Lippe ’15.
“Max Lippe was definitely the story of the game because he changed the pace of our offense, made the right decisions and some big plays,” senior wide receiver Gene Garay said.
Rain tore across the Northeast on Saturday, leaving many of the Amherst teams soaked after their matchups against Hamilton. The football team faced a similarly dreary forecast up in Middlebury, Vt. against the Panthers. Slugging it out in the wet mud of Youngman Field, the Jeffs and the Panthers both struggled to find the end zone through the four quarters of play. Thanks to the Jeffs’ running game, however, Amherst was able to emerge victorious 7-0, bringing their record to 3-0 on the season.
The Amherst football team continued its march toward an undefeated season with a decisive 30-7 win over Bowdoin on Saturday. The Jeffs posted 390 total yards on offense, 227 in the air and 163 on the ground. Jackson McGonagle ’16 boasted an impressive 124 receiving yards along with two touchdowns in the game.
“We knew after our win against Bates that we had a lot of work to do. All week we kept our focus and really tried to perfect the execution of our plays,” the junior wide receiver said.
In sports, it is often said that defense wins championships. For the Amherst football team, defense wins home openers. The Jeffs were triumphant in their first game, as they defeated the Bates Bobcats 14-6 on Saturday in large part due to their ability to stop the Bobcats on offense.
Bates remained scoreless until the fourth quarter, and the Jeffs’ defense limited the Bobcat offense to only 133 rush yards and 113 pass yards on the day. In addition, they intercepted Bates quarterback Matt Cannone three times and sacked him twice for losses.
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.
The Amherst women’s hockey team worked as a team on and off the ice this weekend during its doubleheader against Connecticut College. Coming into the weekend, the Jeffs stood at the top of the NESCAC standings with a 5-0-2 conference record, while the Camels ranked third in the NESCAC with a record of 5-3-2. The Jeffs skated to a 3-1 victory over the Camels on Saturday, while taking their first NESCAC loss of the season on Sunday 3-0. Sunday also marked the Jeffs’ annual Pink in the Rink event, which helped raise funds for the breast cancer awareness.
