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TRINITY
FOOTBALL BEATS WESLEYAN TO
TIE FOR NESCAC CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE
Middletown,
Conn, November 9, 2002.- Senior quarterback Greg Ward (Avon, Conn.)
threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns to lead the visiting Trinity
College Bantams to a 26-10 win over the Wesleyan University Cardinals
in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football
season finale for both teams this afternoon. Trinity, ranked No.
7 in New England, finishes with a 7-1 record and ties Williams College
for the NESCAC Championship title. Trinity won its last six
games to post its best record since 1996, while Wesleyan, ranked No. 8
in New England, finishes at 5-3.
Trinity
raced out to a 13-0 lead at the half and senior strong safety Gavin
O’Reilly (Cheshire,
Conn.) stole the ball from a
Cardinal receiver and raced 58 yards for a touchdown to put the game
out of reach late in the third quarter. Bantam junior receiver Joe
Wahl (Riverside, R.I.)
got Trinity on the board with 4:01left in the first quarter on a fake
field goal. Setting up to hold for Trinity senior kicker Skip
Sullivan (Milton, Mass.),
Wahl took the snap and run off the left tackle into the end zone.
The
Bantams went ahead, 13-0, on a six-yard pass from Ward to sophomore
receiver Sean Clare (Bridgewater,
N.J.) for his first career
touchdown catch with 9:09 to play in the first half. After the
Cardinals cut the lead to three points on a 32-yard interception
return by junior back Dave Laferriere (Meriden,
Conn.) and a 30-yard field
goal by junior Vin Balsamo (Wallingford,
Conn.), O’Reilly gave
Trinity a nine point advantage. Wahl added an insurance score
for Wesleyan in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from
Ward, who shook off a shoulder injury to lead Trinity in his final
game.
Wahl
caught five passes for 55 yards and Clare finished with a career-high
73 receiving yards on four catches. Bantam senior captain
running back Brian Fabrizio (Norwell,
Mass.) paced the Trinity
running game with 55 yards on 18 carries. Defensively, Bantam
junior end Jamie Creed (Valley
Forge, Pa.) had nine tackles
with two sacks and forced one of three fumbles by the Cardinals.
Bantam senior linebacker Curtis Tubbs (Rochester,
Mass.) had a team-high 10
hits.
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Teams
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1st
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2nd
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3rd
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4th
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Final
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Trinity
(7-1)
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6
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7
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6
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7
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26
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Wesleyan (5-3)
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0
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0
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10
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0
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10
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TEAM STATS
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Trinity
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Statistic
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Wesleyan
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14
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First Downs
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15
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39-111
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Rushes-yards
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28-57 |
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14-31-1-183
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Passing (comp.-att.-int.-yds.)
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20-41-1-170
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92
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Return Yards
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74
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0-0
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Fumbles –lost
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3-3
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5-47
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Penalties –yards
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8-90
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6-32.2
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Punts- avg.
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7-32.9
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32:30
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Possession Time
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27:30
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4-16
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Third Down Conversions
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5-16
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2-4
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Fourth Down Conversions
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0-2
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For more detailed stats, visit Trinity
College Athletics.
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