Hartford, Conn.- Junior tailback Thomas Pierandri (Ridgefield, Conn.) rushed for 72 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 17-10 win over the visiting Colby College White Mules in the New England Small College Athletic College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football season opener for both teams.

Early in the second quarter, Colby senior quarterback B. L. Lippert (Augusta, Maine) muffed a hand-off, which was recovered by Trinity sophomore defensive lineman Chris MacNamara (Dallas, Texas) on the White Mule 13-yard line. Pierandri ran the first Bantam play into the end zone for a 7-0 Trinity lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Bantam senior Skip Sullivan (Milton, Mass.) booted the ball short but with a backspin, causing it to bounce awkwardly back toward the oncoming kick coverage. It bounced a couple of times before Sullivan pounced on it to recover his own kick. He connected on a 32-yard field goal nine plays later for a 10-0 Bantam advantage at the half.

After, the Mules got on the board in the second half on a 23-yard field goal by freshman Jon Goss (Shrewsbury, Mass.), capping off a 65-yard drive, Trinity put together the longest drive of the game. Starting at its own 14-yard line, Trinity marched 86 yard in six plays including a 49-yard pass from senior quarterback Greg Ward (Avon, Conn.) to sophomore receiver Bradley Soules (Simsbury, Conn.) that set up a four-yard scoring scamper by Pierandri.

Colby cut the lead to a touchdown with 7:04 to play on a three-yard run by sophomore running back Aaron Stepka (Farmington, Conn.), but Trinity held onto the ball for all but the final 37 seconds to preserve the victory.

Trinity senior captain running back Brian Fabrizio (Norwell, Mass.) gained 57 rushing yards on 15 carries to give Trinity 129 yards on the ground between its two tailbacks. Ward completed 11 out of 17 passes for 177 yards. Defensively, Trinity junior cornerback Matt Glasz (North Haven, Conn.) made a team-high six tackles and broke up two passes, while MacNamara finished with five hits and a sack.

Stepka gained just 29 yards on 21 carries for the Mules, as the Bantams held Colby to 39 rushing yards. Lippert completed 23 out of 39 passes for 222 yards, including seven each to seniors Ian MacPherson (Waltham, Mass.) and Lee Carlson (Braintree, Mass.) for 80 and 69 yards, respectively. Senior linebacker Luke Webster (Manchester, N.H.) totaled seven tackles, two for losses, for the Mule defense.