HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 4- The Trinity College football team, which last week lost a hard-fought defensive battle, 14-10, at Middlebury College, last week, will visit the 4-2 Amherst College Lord Jeffs on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Amherst, MA.

Trinity is looking to improve to 5-2 under first-year Head Coach Bill Decker. The Bantams are also looking to avenge three straight losses to Lord Jeffs, including a 32-18 loss last fall in Hartford. Trinity is currently ranked sixth in the ECAC Division III New England poll.

Last week, Trinity found itself down 14-0 midway through the second quarter. The Bantams rallied with a 39-yard field goal by freshman kicker Skip Sullivan (Milton, MA) on the final play of the first half and a 54-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Gregg Wysocki (New Britain, CT) to sophomore safety/wide receiver/return man Steven Cella (Peabody, MA) to cut the lead to 14-10 with 10:35 to play in the third quarter. Trinity penetrated into Middlebury territory in the final minute but was pushed back on a costly penalty, and the clock ran out with the Bantams on the Middlebury 20-yard line.

The field goal by Sullivan was the longest of his short Trinity career. He has emerged as the team's starting kicker in all situations and has 10 points on four extra-points and two field goals. Special teams has been a strength for Trinity all season. Cella is averaging 23.4 yards on nine kickoff returns and 10 yards on 23 punt returns. Wysocki is second in the NESCAC in punting average at 36.2 yards per punt. Trinity opponents are averaging just 3.9 yards on punt returns. Juniors Charles Botts (Boston, MA), Curtis Tubbs (Bourne, MA), and Trevor Jackson (San Francisco, CA), and sophomore Tom Osuch (Fairhaven, MA) have been outstanding in punt and kickoff return coverage.

Freshman tailback Brian Fabrizio (Norwell, MA) earned his second NESCAC Rookie of the Week award, gaining a career 157 yards on 27 carries for a 5.8 yards-per-carry average. Fabrizio is the leading rusher in the league at 102.2 yards per game. Wysocki completed 20 of 39 passes for 228 yards against Middlebury but was intercepted once and took three sacks. His 54-yard touchdown pass to Cella was his longest completion of the season. Freshman tight end Lewis Usher (Newport, RI) caught four passes for 50 yards, as 10 different players caught passes for Trinity in the game.

Trinity held Middlebury to 294 total yards but failed to record a sack or an interception for the first time this season. Senior defensive end Nate Barad (Norfolk, MA) forced a Middlebury fumble which was recovered by senior linebacker Brian LaHaie (Silver Spring, MD) for Trinity's only take-away of the game. LaHaie also led the Bantams with 11 tackles.

Amherst defeated Tufts University, 10-7, last week. The Lord Jeffs have a solid defense and are ranked second in the NESCAC with 1,363 yards allowed. Linebacker Brian Landolfi leads Amherst with 38 tackles while defensive back Steve Yung has three interceptions. Sophomore tailback Okay Ugwonali is fifth in the NESCAC in rushing with 72.2 yards per game. Amherst's most prolific offensive weapon is sophomore wide receiver Derrell Wright, who is fourth in the league with 30 receptions and is averaging 18.1 yards per catch.

Amherst leads the all-time series against Trinity, 51-34-9. The Lord Jeffs, who are coached by E.J. Mills (second season, 9-5), totaled 287 passing yards against Trinity in 1998. Wright caught six passes for 224 yards and one touchdown and junior quarterback Peter Honig threw for three Amherst scores. Junior defensive end Mike Mobley (Ketchum, ID) notched three sacks and LaHaie added 11 tackles and one sack for Trinity.