AMHERST — Amherst College was celebrating its 200th anniversary Saturday. What could be better than a football victory over archrival Williams College?
The Ephs, however, had another idea.
The visitors took a 24-6 lead early in the third quarter and then had to hang on for dear life as the Mammoths came roaring back in an effort to keep Williams from a perfect 9-0 season.
Coach E.J. Mills’ team scored 13 unanswered points, cutting into the Williams lead. A Williams defense that had been gashed often Saturday afternoon, came up with stops on three straight possessions. And when sophomore defensive back James Hemmer intercepted a Chad Peterson pass with 12 seconds left, it locked up a 24-19 win Saturday afternoon at Pratt Field.
Williams took home from Pratt Field a perfect season, a Little Three title, and a NESCAC championship.
The victory gave Williams its first 9-0 record and its first undefeated season since going 8-0 back in 2010. The year 2010 is significant, because that was the last time Williams won an outright Little Three title. The Ephs did get one-third of the title in 2017. It was also Williams’ first NESCAC title since 2010. That title was also won on Pratt Field.
“I’m really proud of our guys, the effort they put forth today,” Amherst coach E.J. Mills said. “We came up short and we’re disappointed about that. They certainly left it on the field, that’s for sure.”
Quarterback Bobby Maimaron closed out his storied Williams career by going 12 for 18 for 253 yards. He threw two touchdown passes. Frank Stola, also in his Williams finale, caught five passes for 138 yards while fellow senior Justin Burke caught three balls for 66 yards.
“I talked to Bobby Maimaron after the game and said ‘You’re done.’ I said I am not looking at you again,” Mills said. “He’s a heck of a player, Frank Stola too, and the defensive guys, had a heck of a career.”
It looked like it might not be enough. Amherst got the ball back with 12 seconds left at the Mammoth 38-yard line. Amherst quarterback Chad Petersen led his team out for one last try at a game-winning touchdown. He had time on first down, rolling right and threw toward the Amherst bench and Carson Ochsenhirt. Hemmer got in front of Ochsenhirt, picked off the pass, and all Williams had to do was run out the clock.
“Especially after that defensive pass interference [late in the fourth quarter], I knew I couldn’t drop that pass,” Hemmer said. “Especially because that Amherst receiver was my high school quarterback. That made it a little extra. He was also my safety when I was a corner.”
Both Hemmer and Ochsenhirt went to New Trier High School, 20 miles north of Chicago.
Williams led 17-6 at halftime and thanks, in large part, to a 67-yard pass play from Maimaron to Stola, made it 24-6 two plays later. The Williams quarterback found Burke on a 7-yard pass play for a touchdown. Ivan Shuran’s PAT gave the Ephs what looked like an insurmountable lead. In the Little Three, and particularly in this game, results are not usually salted away until the game clock reads 0:00 in the fourth quarter. Saturday would be no exception.
After a 43-yard punt by Amherst’s Michael Mitchell, Williams started marching from its 24 yard line into Amherst territory. Maimaron found Stola when he rolled out to his left, and Stola was wide open on the Amherst 6. That was the good news. The bad news for coach Mark Raymond’s team was that three downs got the offense to the one. On fourth down, Joel Nicholas (22 carries, 54 yards) fumbled before getting into the end zone. Amherst’s Marni Malone recovered the fumble and his 20-yard return gave the Mammoths the ball. Had the Ephs scored, the game might well have been over.
Instead, Peterson marched the Mammoths from the 21-yard line into Williams territory. Peterson, who was 20 for 44 for 256 yards but threw three interceptions, went the whole way at quarterback because starter Brad Breckenridge had been injured in last week’s loss to Trinity.
A 35-yard pass from Peterson to Jack Betts on third-and-10 kept this first Amherst drive alive, and Peterson capped it off with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Joe Masterson. The kick by Connor Kennelly made it 24-13. Still a comfortable lead, but the fans on the Williams sideline were starting to squirm.
That got kicked up a notch when the Williams offense stalled and punter Andrew Schreibstein shanked a punt that traveled 22 yards and set Amherst up on its 40.
Mills, who went deep into his playbook, used a double-reverse, wide receiver pass from Masterson to Ochsenhirt for 28 yards. The key play, however, was a pass interference penalty in the end zone that gave Amherst the ball on the Ephs 2. On the next play, Ochsenhirt — out of the Wildcat — ran it in for six. Amherst went for 2, but Chaz Cotton defended the pass from Peterson to Ochsenhirt.
The teams traded punts, but the one by Peterson out of the shotgun, was downed just shy of the goal line.
On first down, Nicholas gained maybe a half-yard. In their four years together, Maimaron and Stola have made a number of stellar pass plays together. The Eph quarterback dropped back deep in his end zone and let it fly. Stola ran under the ball and a tackle by safety Ryan Monteleone saved Stola from going the distance.
After the Hemmer interception, Maimaron took a knee and Williams had its hard-fought perfect ending to the 2021 season.
“It’s Amherst right? They’re a good football team and they came prepared to play,” Williams coach Mark Raymond said. “We weren’t expecting anything less, to be honest with you. They pulled out all the stops. They were really well-prepared. They came to win, and fortunately we had one more play left in us.”
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Williams 10 7 7 0 — 24
Amherst 3 3 7 6 — 19
First Quarter
W — Fischetti 35 pass from Maimaron (Shuran kick), 11:29.
A — Kennelly 25 FG 6:12.
W — Shuran 23 FG, 0:56.
Second Quarter
W — Nicholas 1 run (Shuran kick), 12:45.
A — Kennelly 31 FG, 0:12.
Third Quarter
W — Burke 7 pass from Maimaron (Shuran kick), 11:38.
A — Masterson 13 pass from Peterson (Kennelly kick), 0:32.
Fourth Quarter
A — Ochenhirt 2 run (Pass failed), 12:09.
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Will Amh
First Downs 20 21
Rushes/Yards 52-157 17-36
Passing yards 253 284
Comp-Att-Int 12-18-0 21-46-4
Total offense 70-410 63-320
Fumbles/Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties/Yards 4-33 3-24
Punts/Avg. 4-33.0 4-38.8
Time of possession 33:08 26:52
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Williams: Fischetti 6-84, Nicholas22-54, Vaughn 6-25, Burke 1-7, Maimaron 13-0, Team 2-(minus-4). Amherst: Field 8-44, Ochsenhirt 2-3, Eckelkamp 3-2, Hawkins 2-1, Peterson 1-(minus-4), Warfield 1-(minus-10).
PASSING — Williams: Maimaron 12-18-0 253. Amherst: Peterson 20-44-3 256, Masterson 1-1-0 28, Hawkins 0-1-1 0.
RECEIVING — Williams: Stola 5-138, Burke 3-66, Fischetti 2-31, Nicholas 1-12, DeGasperis 1-6. Amhert: Masterson 6-115, Gaydos 3-42, GArland 4-42, Ochsenhirt 2-36, Betts 1-35, Field 5-14.