Colby football delivered its most convincing performance of the season in a 33–6 road win over Tufts, a game that showed what this team looks like when offense, defense, and special teams all show up at the same time. This is the most points the Mules have put up all year, and they did it in a game that never really felt in doubt after the first quarter. Colby set the tone early with defense and special teams. After Tufts opened with a decent drive, the Mules forced a punt, and a few minutes later Quinton Delorey broke through and blocked another Tufts punt, giving Colby the ball deep in the red zone. That turned into a short Avi Gotshalk field goal and a 3–0 lead. From there, Colby's offense started punching holes. The star of the day was running back Antone Moreis, who completely took over the game. Moreis finished with 172 rushing yards on 16 carries, averaging 10.8 yards per carry, and scored twice on the ground in the first half. His first big moment came early in the second quarter, when he trucked his way down field for a 44-yard touchdown to make it 10–0. A few minutes later, he stunned everyone with an 84-yard touchdown straight up the middle to stretch the lead to 16–0. By halftime, after two long Moreis touchdowns and two field goals from Gotshalk (23 and 27 yards), Colby led 19–0.
Tufts tried to climb back in the third quarter and finally put together a long 11-play, 59-yard drive to get on the board and cut it to 19–6 with 7:55 left in the third. But any hint of momentum died immediately. Early in the fourth, after Nicholas Cox picked off a Tufts pass (his second interception of the day), Colby started with a short field and went for the kill. Wide receiver Sean Trinder took a snap and hit Moreis for a 38-yard touchdown through the air to push the lead to 26–6. Then Delorey basically closed the game out on the ground, carrying the ball on a clock-chewing 63-yard drive and finishing it himself with a 29-yard touchdown run to make it 33–6 with 7:33 remaining.
Patrick Miller steadied the offense all game, both throwing and running. He went 8-for-16 for 90 yards and added 24 yards with his legs, including multiple first downs that extended drives. Trinder was dangerous as a receiver too, with four catches for 86 yards, highlighted by a 51-yard strike from Miller that set up points. Meanwhile, the Colby defense was relentless. The Mules sacked the Tufts quarterback four times, held Tufts to just 1 touchdown on the day, and came up with two interceptions in big moments. Between the blocked punt, the bombs on the ground, and the late fourth quarter knockout, this was a complete, physical, identity win for Colby on the road.
Next weekend the Mules will take on Bowdoin at home.
