AMHERST — Despite coming off a 7-2 season, the Amherst College football team is heading into its second straight season looking to rebound.
Since E.J. Mills became head coach in 1997, the team has won six NESCAC titles and is the only team in the conference without a losing record in that span. In the last nine seasons the Mammoths have won five conference titles, including four undefeated seasons.
In 2016, the team finished 4-4, but rebounded with its seven-win 2017 season.
Last season ended with another NESCAC title on the line. In the final game of the season against its biggest rivals, Williams, Amherst rallied from down 24-3 to force overtime. However, the Mammoths were stopped on fourth down as they looked to tie the game at 31.
“We were really disappointed for our seniors to have to go out that way, but I think we grew from that,” Mills said. “You either get better or you get worse and we think that that experience will ultimately make us better.”
This season is about taking another step forward with a roster full of returners at key positions, like junior quarterback Ollie Eberth, senior running back Jack Hickey and reigning NESCAC defensive player of the year Andrew Yamin.
Yamin finished second on the team in tackles, but lead the team with 13½ sacks and 21½ tackles for a loss. Yamin’s 13½ sacks rank him in the top five for Division III returners, giving Amherst a dominant force on its defensive line.
The loss of seniors will be felt the most on the offensive line, an area that the Mammoths have been strong in for years. The team lost three seniors on their starting offensive line: Mitch Arthur, 2016 all-conference lineman Elijah Zabludoff and 2017 all-conference guard Kevin Sheehan.
“Last year Zabs got hurt early in the year. Jack Griffiths took over basically Week 3 last year, so realistically we only lost two guys,” Mills said. “Coach (Matt) Ballard does a great job with those guys, so I think we’re going to be OK there. It’s a really important position to protect our quarterback and things, but they did a pretty good job last week.”
Amherst is one game into its 2018 campaign after defeating Bates, 19-7, on the road Saturday. Despite a slow start, the Mammoths orchestrated three touchdown drives in
the second half.
This weekend, Amherst hosts its home opener against Hamilton. Amherst has outscored Hamilton 70-6 in their last two matchups, extending its all-time series lead to 27-1. Hamilton’s only win in 1992.
The Continentals are coming off a 29-2 loss to Tufts. Hamilton quarterback Kenny Gray aired the ball out 47 times for 174 yards passing, but the team was held to minus-11 yards rushing on 24 attempts. Gray had what coach Mills called an “uncharacteristic” three interceptions in the passing game.
When it comes to stopping a passing attack like Hamilton’s, the game plan differs slightly from some of the other run-heavy offenses in the conference, but Amherst wants to play its style of football.
“You got to stop the run and make them one dimensional and if we do that we’re pretty good,” Mills said. “We’ll get after the quarterback and we think we play tough coverage, so we’re excited about the challenge.”
Even though Hamilton is coming off a loss, Mills is making sure his team comes into Saturday’s 1 p.m. kickoff ready for what figures to be another hard-fought conference game.
“They’ll come in here ready to go, they will be flying high,” Mills said. “The league is really competitive. Every week is a championship game because we don’t have playoffs, the league is what we do. Every game is a championship, that’s how we approach it.”