Amherst, Massachusetts - Just a week after a definitive win against formerly undefeated Wesleyan, Colby did it again, closing out a massive fourth quarter to clinch their third win in a row. The Mules defeated Amherst 19-16 after a late safety sealed the deal, taking them to 3-2 on the season while the latter fell to 2-3. This win takes us into the top half of the NESCAC conference going into the final four games.
The first quarter came and went, a notable forced fumble by
Payton Reid disrupted the punts back and forth but Amherst recovered the ball. That same drive, the Mammoths converted on a 41 yard field goal to grab a 3-0 lead. Later in the second, Colby got away with one as an interception led to an Amherst field goal attempt, but was pushed right from 25 yards out. The Mammoths later grabbed hold of the game, finding the end zone on a 50 yard drive. On the field goal, Colby's defense blocked yet another this season as
Tyler Robbins got in the backfield to keep the score 9-0. For Colby, arguably one of the most important drives of the game began from their own 25, as they looked to stay in the game before going into half. Quarterback
Thomas Keeling delivered, finding
Matt McHugh and Tylik Sims each for 30-plus yards to set up Keeling for a 2 yard rushing touchdown, his first of the year. Amherst took the lead into the break 9-7.
The start of the second half saw Colby's deficit grow as Amherst converted instantaneously. The open nature of the game quickly changed as both teams came up big defensively forcing multiple three and outs. But to end the third, from their own 16 yard line, the Mules drove down the field helped on by a 39 yard pass to
Brendan Sawyer which set Colby up inside the 10 going into the fourth. The teams switched sides but Amherst couldn't stop our redzone offense as
Locksley Burke converted on a fourth and goal for a two yard rushing touchdown. Stemming the flow of the game yet again, Colby's defense came up big, forcing a punt to give Colby the ball back with a minute and a half left on their own 12 yard line. It was another crucial drive for the Mules but looked like nothing for Keeling as he completed every pass(except an interception which was overturned) to lead his team down to the Amherst 8 yard line with 3 seconds left on the clock. With the game on the line,
Christos Tzoumakas drilled the 25 yard field goal to give Colby a 17-16 lead with almost no time left on the clock. However, a botched final play for Amherst resulted in a safety as the Mules' defense were yet again too much, causing the second Mammoth extinction.
This win gives Colby its first three game win streak since 2013 and offers a promising outlook on the remainder of the season. Another stellar performance from Keeling, complimented by Colby's reliable defense showed that they can compete with anyone and they are only getting better. The Mules host Hamilton next Saturday at 1:00pm as they look to keep their momentum going against one of the two winless NESCAC teams.
