Waterville, Maine - The Tufts Jumbos took an early 14-0 lead to outlast the Colby Mules 28-21 Saturday on Mayflower Hill. Tufts moves to 6-2 on the season while Colby falls to 3-5.
The first quarter saw a dominant performance by the Tufts offense, accumulating 127 yards and two scores in the first nine minutes of play. Colby's first possession was sandwiched in between the Jumbos' two scoring drives and lasted only a single play, a Tufts interception at midfield. The Mules would settle in and convert on their second possession, a 15-play 75-yard drive that ended in a two-yard scoring strike from
Miles Drake to
Jack Sawyer. On Tufts' ensuing drive,
Jack Mullen forced a fumble in Colby's red zone and when Wellington Perreira recovered, it started Colby's second scoring drive of the afternoon. The Mules converted four first downs to cover 86 yards on 12 plays as Drake found the end zone again, this time via a nine-yard rush. The visitors jumped back in front 21-14 on the next drive, and with 1:08 to go in the half Colby was intent on knotting the score before the break. Despite the hosts moving the ball from their own 25 all the way to the four yard line of Tufts, a Jumbo defender jumped in front of a Drake pass to end the threat with six seconds remaining in the half.
Tufts owned the lone score in the third quarter, taking a two-score lead 28-14 with less than a minute to play in the frame. With a few drives stalling in the final quarter, the Mules remained in the game with stiff defensive play and two missed field goals by the Jumbos. Finishing off a 14-play, 80-yard drive with three minutes to play, Drake tallied his second rushing score of the game, scrambling around the right end and plunging for the pylon to make the score 28-21. The Jumbos executed two first downs on their final drive to run out the clock and seal their sixth victory of the season.
Drake collected his fifth 200-yard passing game of the season, throwing for 215 and a touchdown while rushing for 39 yards and two scores.
Keon Smart was excellent out of the backfield, falling just shy of a 100-yard game, and
Jack Nye was the leading target for the Mules hauling in six passes for 82 yards.
Trevor Smith collected his first double-digit tackle performance of his career to lead Colby with 11 tackles.
Dennis Dougherty was close behind with nine.
Colby will head to Brunswick next Saturday for the final contest of the 2024 season. A win over Bowdoin will bring the CBB trophy back to Waterville as the Mules defeated Bates 28-26 earlier in the season.
