WATERVILLE, Maine – The Trinity College football team shook off a slow start and scored 48 unanswered points en route to a 48-7 victory over host Colby College in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) clash Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Bantams improve to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in NESCAC play, while Colby dips to 0-2 in conference and 0-2 on the season.

The Mules struck first at the 8:34 mark of the first quarter as Miles Drake found Jack Swayer on a five-yard pass to the endzone, capping off a nine-play, 45-yard drive, to hand Colby a 7-0 lead. The Bantams responded with an 11-play, 68-yard drive, but came up just short of the endzone, settling for a 24-yard field goal from junior Matthew Jumes (Franklin, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 4:13 left in the opening quarter.

Jumes delivered again for the Bantams at the 11:37 mark of the second quarter to put Trinity within a point, 7-6. After the Bantams defense forced a three-and-out for the Mules, the Trinity offense stormed 50 yards on 10 plays and grabbed the lead for good behind a 21-yard field goal from Jumes.

On the next Mules possession, sophomore Tyler Jameson (Lawrence, N.J.) intercepted a pass from Drake and raced 25 yards down to the Colby 20-yard line. The Bantams were unable to take advantage of the takeaway as Colby forced a fumble on a strip sack to regain possession at the 23-yard line. The Trinity defense kept Colby off the scoreboard during their final possession of the half, sending the Bantams to halftime with a 9-7 lead.

The Bantams offense scored on every possession in the third quarter to pull away. After forcing a punt on the Mules opening possession of the half, the Bantams offense moved 57 yards on 10 plays, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore Tyler DiNapoli (West Haven, Conn.) to build a 16-7 advantage. With 8:49 on the clock in third quarter, Trinity needed just one play to reach the endzone as graduate Spencer Fetter (Winter Park, Fla.) connected with DiNapoli on a 59-yard wheel route to increase the Bantams lead to 23-7. With the touchdown pass, Fetter passed Joe Shield '84 for the most career passing touchdowns in Trinity football history with 52.

At the 3:33 mark of the third, on third-and-eight, Fetter found junior Sean Clapp (Wyckoff, N.J.) inside the front endzone pylon for the score, escorting the Trinity advantage to 30-7. The Bantams would make it 32-7 after snap sailed over the head of the Mules punter and out of the endzone for a safety. On their final possession of the third quarter, Fetter found Clapp on a 30-yard touchdown strike, putting Trinity on top 39-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

With 11:32 remaining, Jumes knocked through his fourth field goal of the day, from 29 yards out to make it a 42-7 game. As the clock ticked under four minutes to play, senior Zander Zebrowski (Verona, N.J.) rumbled into the endzone on a two-yard scamper to send the Bantams to the 48-7 victory.

As a team, the Bantams racked up 499 total yards. Fetter threw for 317 yards with three touchdowns, while DiNapoli posted 83 yards rushing and 64 yards receiving with two touchdowns. Clapp pulled in a team-high six receptions for 121 yards and two scores, while sophomore Nolan O'Brien (Boston, Mass.) secured five receptions for 43 yards.

Defensively, Trinity limited the Mules to 123 total yards while registering six sacks, featuring a pair from graduate Michael Masse (Dedham, Mass.). Jameson logged a pair of interceptions, while junior Ma-Lyke Davis (Danbury, Conn.) recorded a team-high five tackles with a pass breakup.

The Bantams will look to remain in the win column when they host Amherst College in NESCAC action at Jessee/Miller Field Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. Colby travels to Bates College for a NESCAC game Saturday at 6:00 p.m.