Sports
Hamilton Football wins first game in three seasons
By Sterling Xie ’16
November 6, 2015
For the Hamilton football team, the 26th time was the charm. After numerous close calls over the first two seasons of the Dave Murray era, the Continentals finally got over the hump, notching a 20-17 road upset victory at Williams on Oct. 31 to snap the program’s 25-game losing streak, which dated back to October of 2012. The win also ended a 29-game road losing skid, as Hamilton had not won away from Steuben Field since Sept. 2008.
The game featured five lead changes, with neither team ever leading by more than five points at any time. The key sequence started with the final offensive drive of the second quarter. Williams had largely controlled the time of possession en route to a 9-7 lead, which could have been larger had the Ephs not missed a chip-shot 21-yard field goal. However, the Continentals subsequently embarked on a 13-play, 56-yard drive which chewed up 4:18, leaving Williams with no time to extend its lead before halftime.
That particular drive actually ended in a turnover on downs for Hamilton, as Chase Rosenberg ’17 threw an incompletion on fourth-and-goal from the 14-yard line. However, the drive was the first of three consecutive double-digit play drives for the offense. The final two drives saw more successful endings, resulting in a pair of touchdowns and taking a combined 9:52 off the clock. The last of the three drives saw bruising fullback Jason Nastovski ‘18 bulldoze his way into the end zone for a three-yard score, which would turn out to be the game-winner.
In reflecting on the sequence, Murray revealed how time of possession was a key statistic the team had focused on throughout the week. The team installed a Wildcat formation package in an attempt to jumpstart its lethargic running game; Murray estimates that starting running back LaShawn Ware took 12 to 15 direct snaps, as Wildcat plays accounted for roughly a third of the team’s 39 rushing attempts. However, Murray also credits the passing game’s execution on third down as a key component of that game-changing stretch. A middling third-down offense over the first four games, Hamilton went 8-for-15 in third-down conversions against Williams, good for a season-best 53.3 percent conversion rate.
“We’ve really been working on third downs on both sides of the ball,” says Murray. “In those critical situations, someone has to step up and make a play. A lot of guys made their best plays on third downs, we found ways to keep the chains moving and that’s when we kind of got into a rhythm.”
In his second career start, quarterback Cole Freeman ‘18 generated several big downfield plays, particularly to his top receiver Charles Ensley ‘17. Freeman finished 13-for-27 passing, but with 180 yards (13.8 yards per completion) and a pair of deep touchdowns to Ensley from 41 yards and 21 yards out. His biggest throw came on the game-winning fourth quarter drive, when he lasered in a 27-yard completion to Nick Caso ‘16 on a desperation 3rd-and-18 situation.
“We were prepared to see some pressure from the defense on 3rd-and-long situations, and when they did on that play everyone on the field was ready for it and executed very well as a result,” Freeman reflects in explaining the play. “Our offensive line picked up the pressure perfectly and gave me plenty of time, and I knew that Nick Caso would be matched up one-on-one with his man on a corner route, so I put it up for him and he just made a great play and really gave us the momentum we needed for the rest of the game.”
The play was emblematic of Freeman’s stint as a starter. Since entering during the second quarter of the Bowdoin game on Oct. 17, the sophomore signal-caller has exhibited a fearless tendency to attack defenses downfield. That has not necessarily fostered a more efficient passing game—Freeman has completed just 42.7 percent of his passes thus far—but he has added a much-needed dose of big-play potential to a relatively stagnant offense, while also avoiding turnovers with just a single interception on the season. As Murray admitted, “He has a lot of confidence in his ability to throw the football deep and he doesn’t mind taking a gamble.”
Freeman admitted that the learning curve was steep when he unexpectedly assumed the starter’s job from Rosenberg, a byproduct of a season-ending ACL injury to original starter Brandon Tobin ’18 in the opening game against Tufts. “When I first came into the game vs. Bowdoin, I had not been taking the first-team reps in practice so it was a little bit of shock being with the first-team offense,” he reflected. “But since then, I have been with the first team in practice and I feel like every day I’ve been getting more comfortable with the offense, especially with audibles and being able to change aspects of the play to react to what the defense is doing. I never really thought that I would be starting but it goes to show that you can never know what’s going to happen in a season.”
Of course, the offensive surge would have gone for naught without the defense stonewalling Williams on its final three drives, during which the Ephs totaled a meager 20 yards. A relatively pass-heavy offense by NESCAC standards, Williams typically relies on quarterback Austin Lommen ’16, a Boston College transfer, to carry its offense. Consequently, the Continentals installed a coverage-heavy defensive game plan, dropping seven or eight players into pass coverage every play while depending on three- and four-man standard pass rushes to pressure Lommen.
The game plan worked sporadically over the first three quarters, as Lommen went 20-for-30 with 214 yards (good for a robust 7.1 yards per pass attempt) and two touchdowns in that span. However, following Nastovski’s fourth-quarter touchdown to put the Continentals up 20-17, the defense played its best stretch of the season. Aided by two timely punts from Pat Donahoe ‘16 which pinned the Ephs inside their own 10-yard line, the Continentals stifled Williams’ comeback attempt, limiting Lommen to 6-for-11 passing and just 28 yards on the final three drives.
Just as the coaching staff envisioned, pressure played a huge role in sealing the win, with standout pass-rusher Tyler Hudson ’19 notching a key seven-yard sack to sabotage the Ephs’ final drive. After garnering a conference-low three sacks in 2014, the Continentals already have 12 takedowns this season, with Hudson and Nick Sobczyk ’17 accounting for seven on their own.
So after six one-possession losses over the past two seasons, including three such losses at home this year, everything finally came together for the Continentals in their upset victory. “I think everyone was a little tired of being close,” admits Murray. “To get the win against a team like Williams, at Williamstown, was great for our players and I can’t say enough about how happy I am for them that they were able to get the monkey off their back up there. Now we can look forward to just playing a good football game against Middlebury. This was a big step for our program.”
Murray certainly speaks for the entire Hamilton community in expressing his frustration at the numerous close calls during the Continentals’ 25-game losing streak. At the end of the winless 2014 season, the coach preached patience in the process and faith that the program’s culture had begun to turn the corner. But while the team’s competitiveness under Murray certainly beat the routinely listless showings of 2012 and 2013, it was easy to remain skeptical of a squad which could not back up its optimism with tangible results.
A win was the only way the football team could truly capture the attention of the Hamilton community. With two more games remaining—the team visits Middlebury this weekend and hosts the season finale against Bates on Nov. 14—the Continentals have a golden opportunity to further legitimize the confidence Murray has maintained surrounding this team. Defeating Williams was a groundbreaking victory for Hamilton, but the real goal is to ensure that not every victory becomes grounds for front-page headlines. In that sense, the football team’s next win might ultimately become even more important than this one.