Amherst, Mass. - The visiting Trinity College Bantams fell just short in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football road game, 17-16, against the Amherst College Lord Jeffs on Pratt Field this afternoon.  Trinity, ranked No. 6 in New England, falls to 5-2 with its second loss in a row, and Amherst, ranked No. 4 in New England improves to 6-1 with its second consecutive win.  Trinity closes the year at home against Wesleyan next Saturday and a win over the Cardinals would give both Amherst and Middlebury a chance to share the league title with currently-undefeated Wesleyan.

Going three-and-out on its first possession, Trinity took over on its own 41-yard line with 12:16 left in the first. Completing a 12-yard pass to junior WR Chris Ragone (Sarasota, Fla.) before later scrambling for 14 more, first-year Bantam quarterback Sonny Puzzo (West Caldwell, N.J.) helped move the visitors into field goal range. Looking at what would have been a 42-yarder, Trinity faked the kick but Puzzo's pass was intercepted by Max Lehrman  who returned it to the Bantams' 45-yard line.  Unable to move the chains following the interception, Amherst looked to get something going at the end of the first quarter. Getting the ball on an end-around, Gene Garay  came up the near sideline for a 17-yard pick-up on first down.  The Jeffs settled for a Phillip Nwosu '15 44-yard field goal three plays later.

Amherst sophomore Jimmy Fairfield-Sonn made a diving interception at the Jeff 37-yard line to halt what had been a promising Bantam possession. First-year quarterback Alex Berluti took found Wade McNamara for a 36-yard gain, and junior signal caller Max Lippe took it in himself from one-yard out to make the score, 10-0, in Amherst's favor.  Jumpstarting the Trinity offense, rookie Darrien Myers (North Andover, Mass.) gained 38 yards on the return following the kick-off to set the Bantams up at the Amherst 49-yard line.  Senior RB Ben Crick (Middlebury, Conn.) picked up 14 yards on a pair of runs on the first set of downs before Puzzo bought himself time in the pocket on a first-and-10 and hit Ragone over the middle for 18 yards. Crick gained three more yards to move the ball into the red zone, Trinity got on the board with a 31-yard Rosenblatt field goal.

Still 10-3 at the start of the second half, Amherst marched 51 yards on eight plays on its opening possession, but a fumbled exchange followed by a recovery by Trinity senior S Brendan Bader (Brookfield, Conn.) gave the Bantams the ball deep in their own end. Two drives later, Trinity saw a promising drive of its own come to an end as Crick lost a fumble at the Amherst 29-yard line.  With both teams struggling to sustain drives in a scoreless third quarter, Trinity took over on its own 42-yardline with 11:43 to go in regulation. Facing a third-and-nine, Puzzo found senior WR A.J. Jones (Upper Darby, Pa.) for a 17-yard completion over the middle. After an 11-yard run by senior captain RB Evan Bunker (Topsfield, Mass.), Puzzo sold the play action before hitting Ragone over the middle for a 29-yard touchdown strike that pulled Trinity even at 10-10.

Lippe answered with a pair of completions to push Amherst down the field, finishing the deal on a 17-yard scoring toss to Gene Garay for a 17-10 Lord Jeff lead.  After gaining 12 yards on a pass play to Myers on Trinity's next drive, Puzzo again hit the first-year in stride, this time picking up 49 yards in what was the game's longest play from scrimmage. Going back to the run, Crick and Bunker carried it the final 16 yards, with Bunker going in untouched over the right side with 3:57 on the clock from two yards away. Rosenblatt's PAT try went wide left, however, and Trinity still trailed by a point.  Forcing Amherst into a three-and-out, Trinity got the ball back with 2:49 left and gained 14 yards on a pair of runs by Crick to get to midfield. A pair of three-yard losses forced the Bantams into a 4th-and-12 hole, and pressure flushed Puzzo out of the pocket and forced an errant pass.

The Bantams finished with a 420-307 edge in total offense and a 13-plus minute edge in time of possession. Led by Crick and Bunker, the Trinity ground game racked up 250 yards, while the Jeff rushing attack managed just 56 yards on 26 carries (2.2 ypc). Crick finished with a game-high 109 yards on 24 touches (4.5 ypc), while Bunker had 102 yards on 20 carries (5.1 ypc). Puzzo added 44 rushing yards, while completing 11 of his 24 passes for 148 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.  Lippe went 18-for-29 for 199 yards and a touchdown, while Berluti completed four passes for 52 yards. Garay led all Amherst receivers with six catches (64 yards), while McNamara enjoyed his best game of the season, gaining 85 yards on five receptions. O'Malley finished with 49 yards on four catches, while Ragone led the Trinity receiving corps with 77 yards.  Chris Tamasi made a game-high 13 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss.  Senior OLB Michael Weatherby (Atlantic City, N.J.) paced the Trinity defense with seven tackles and three tackles for loss, while Bader had five tackles, junior DE Nathan Cyr (Kingston, N.H), and sophomore LB Frank Leyva (Pinecrest, Fla.) had five tackles apiece, and Leyva added a sack.