Medford, Mass. –  Sophomore QB Sonny Puzzo (West Caldwell, N.J.) threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns while adding two rushing touchdowns to lead Trinity to a thrilling, come from behind 34-27 victory against the Tufts Jumbos on a chilly Saturday afternoon New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) matchup in Medford. Trinity, ranked No. 4 in New England, improves to 4-0 for the fifth consecutive season to stay at the top of the NESCAC standings while Tufts drops their first game of the year to move to 3-1.

Both offenses stalled early in the first quarter with five combined punts between the teams before Puzzo ripped off a 57 yard run around the left end on a read option to give the Bantams an early 7-0 lead after the extra point by freshman kicker Eric Sachse (Jefferson, Mass.).

Tufts answered early in the second quarter after a pair of costly 15 yard penalties by Trinity allowed the Jumbos to drive 81 yards for a touchdown via a 24 yard pass from QB Alex Snyder (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to WR Xavier Frey (New Canaan, Conn.). Trinity took over on offense looking to answer but on 3^rd and 10 at their own 41 yard line, Puzzo was picked off by Tim Preston (Nashua, N.H.) to give the Jumbos the ball back in good field position. Trinity's defense proved stout as senior DB Paul McCarthy (North Attleboro, Mass.) made a great pass breakup on 3^rd and 10, knocking a would be first down out of the hands of the Tufts receiver. The Jumbos were forced to kick a 32 yard field goal which was converted to give the Jumbos a 10-7 lead, and for the first time all year, Trinity found themselves trailing.

Puzzo came back and orchestrated a seven play, 88 yard drive, converting three straight passes to junior WR Darrien Myers (North Andover, Mass.) before throwing a beautiful 64 yard pass down the middle of the field to sophomore Bryan Vieira who took it to the end-zone to push Trinity back ahead, 14-10. Tufts would hit a field goal before the half to cut the Bantams lead to one and send the game into the half 14-13 in favor of the visitors.

Trinity received the ball at the start of the 3^rd quarter and freshman Max Chipouras (Longmeadow, N.Y.) wasted no time getting things going, breaking off 29 and 38 yard runs to move Trinity to the Jumbos three yard line. On the ensuing 1^st and goal, Puzzo attempted a QB sneak but fumbled the ball allowing Tufts to recover at their two yard line. However, on the next play from scrimmage, Tufts turned the ball back over to the Bantams after DE Lyle Baker (Andover, Mass.) recovered a Jumbos fumble of their own. Puzzo then made amends for two plays prior, sneaking the ball again at the 1 yard line, scoring this time to put Trinity up 21-13. Sachse got injured on the extra point which forced P Kyle Pulek (Chesire, Conn.) to take over all kicking duties for the rest of the day. After a three and out from Tufts, Pulek drilled a 33 yarder with 5:04 remaining in the quarter to make it an 11 point Trinity advantage.

After a Bantams fumble to start the 4^th quarter, Tufts found themselves with a 4^th and 6 at the Trinity 32 and decided to go for it. Snyder was forced out of the pocket and heaved a pass towards the end-zone that was caught Mike Rando (Walpole, Mass.) at the one yard line, leading to a Jumbos touchdown which made it 24-19 in favor of Trinity. Tufts attempted a 2-point conversion but failed, keeping the scoreat 24-19. It was then Trinity's turn on offense and with the ball deep in their own territory, Puzzo was picked off by Preston for the second time on the afternoon. With Tufts threatening to score inside the Bantams five yard line, Trinity freshman linebacker Dago Picon-Roura (Roslindale, Mass.) picked off Snyder's pass attempt at the goal line to give the ball back to the Bantams offense. However, Chipouras fumbled the ball back to the Jumbos and RB Chance Brady (Haverhill, Mass.) took advantage this time, breaking off a 19 yard touchdown run for Tufts, and following a successful two-point conversion, Tufts held a 27-24 lead with 7:11 remaining in the game.

Trinity was forced to punt with 5:19 remaining in the game after going three and out, allowing Tufts to run the clock down to 2:46. Puzzo and the offense took over at their 20 yard line in what was likely their last scoring chance of the game. Puzzo led Trinity 71 yards downfield before the Tufts defense held strong inside the 10 to force Pulek to attempt a 27 field goal with 11 seconds remaining. The Jumbos called two straight timeouts to try and ice the Bantams punter turned kicker, but to no avail as Pulek drilled it straight through the uprights to force overtime.

Tufts won the overtime coin toss and elected to defer to the Bantams. On the first play, Puzzo rifled a touchdown pass to Vieira to silence the crowd and take a 34-27 lead after the successful Pulek PAT. Trinity's defense held tough for three downs, forcing a Tufts 4^th and 10. Snyder was flushed out of the pocket and threw a pass towards the end-zone on the run that was incomplete, giving Trinity a hard-fought 34-27 victory.  

Trinity outgained Tufts, 523-323, despite five turnovers, as Chipouras finished the day with 114 yards rushing on 17 attempts and Vieira led all receivers with 100 yards and two touchdowns on just three catches. Myers hauled in eight catches for 79 yards and had 155 all purpose yards while senior captain WR Ian Dugger (West Hartford, Conn.) added 81 yards on seven catches. For Tufts, Snyder went 11-30 for 156 yards and two touchdowns while Brady rushed for 132 yards and one score on 32 carries. 

Defensively, Trinity allowed their first points all-season after going 13 straight quarters without giving up a score. Sophomore LB Liam Kenneally (Reading, Mass.) led the team with 11 tackles while Picon-Roura and senior LB Frank Leyva (Pinecrest, Fla.) combined for 14 tackles and a half sack each. McCarthy finished with five tackles and three passes broken up while junior CB Yosa Nosamiefan (Boston, Mass.) had five tackles as well as a forced fumble that was recovered by junior NT Matt D'Andrea (Darien, Conn.) who also had a forced fumble that was picked up by freshman Nick Rose (Arlington, Mass.). 

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