WATERVILLE, Maine --- Richard Newton (Arlington, Mass.) had two interceptions and returned one for a 64-yard touchdown as Colby College scored 29 unanswered points in the second half to take a 35-7 win over Hamilton College in NESCAC football Saturday at Seaverns Field at Harold Alfond Stadium.
Colby moves to 2-3 heading into next Saturday's 1 p.m. game at rival Bates College, while Hamilton is 1-4 overall and plays host to Williams College at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Newton's defensive heroics helped Colby break open the game in the second half. With the Mules up 14-7, Newton intercepted a pass near the Colby bench and raced 64 yards down the sideline for the score and a 21-7 lead with 9:08 to play in the third quarter.
Newton picked his second pass off on the Hamilton side of the field and used a nifty run to come all the way across the field to the Colby sideline while getting pushed out of bounds at the Continental 19-yard line. Newton had 95 yards on the two interception returns.
After six plays and a penalty brought the ball back to the 19-yard line, Colby quarterback Nick Kmetz (Laurel, Del.) hit running back Conor Tidgwell (Southbury, Conn.) for a touchdown and a 28-7 margin with 8:29 to play in the game.
Colby closed out the scoring when Ian Borthwick (Arlington, Va.) rushed 30 yards on scoring run with 5:29 to play.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Mules scored first on a 16-yard scoring pass from Kmetz to Patrick Burns (Charles Town, W.V.) just 35 seconds into the second quarter. The Mules did miss the extra point, which allowed Hamilton to take a 7-6 halftime margin on a 31-yard pass play from Steve Mello (Bedford, N.H.) to Ryan Cray (Amherst, N.H.).
Colby took the lead for good on a 1-yard plunge by Tidgwell with 10:48 left in the third quarter to cap a 63-yard scoring drive in seven plays. Tidgwell had a rush of 25 yards to get the ball to the 1-yard line and Connor Walsh (Westwood, Mass.) scampered 23 yards on a run during the drive.
Colby punter Connor Sullivan (Hamilton, Mass.) had his best kicking day as a Mule. He had a collegiate-high 66-yard punt downed at the Hamilton 4-yard line and also had a 54-yard boot downed at the Hamilton 3-yard line. Sullivan had three punts for a 49.7-yard average and also completed one pass for 10 yards in relief of Kmetz.
Kmetz was 14-for-22 for 147 yards and the two touchdowns. Tidgwell had 39 yards on nine carries (4.3 average) and Borthwick had 36 yards on three rushes. Walsh had four catches for 29 yards and added six runs for 28 yards (4.7). Andrew Graham (Dracut, Mass.) caught three balls for 40 yards.
James Stanell (Coopersburg, Pa.) had a game-high 16 rushes for 96 yards (6.0 average) and Mark Snickenberger (Wellesley, Mass.) had 35 yards rushing. Mello threw for 100 yards and one touchdown.
Tom Duffy (Plymouth, Mass.) and Derrick Beasley (Andover, Mass.) both had eight tackles to pace Colby's defense. Ryan Murphy (Mansfield, Mass.) finished with seven stops, while Ryan Veillette (Westfield, Mass.) had two sacks among his four tackles.
Dan Peters (Niskayuna, N.Y.) led Hamilton with eight tackles, a fumble recovery, and one sack. Ted Finan (New Canaan, Conn.) finished with seven stops and had one interception, while Burke St. John (Chappaqua, N.Y.) had two sacks of his five tackles.
Colby 35, Hamilton 7
Hamilton............ 0 7 0 0 - 7
Colby............... 0 6 15 14 - 35
Scoring Summary:
2nd 14:25 COLFB10 - Patrick Burns 16 yd pass from Nick Kmetz (David Bendit kick failed), 5-51 1:41, HAM10 0 - COLFB10 6
00:23 HAM10 - R. Cray 31 yd pass from S. Mello (G. Taylor kick), 5-62 0:30, HAM10 7 - COLFB10 6
3rd 10:48 COLFB10 - Conor Tidgwell 1 yd run (Connor Walsh pass from N. Kmetz), 7-63 2:40, HAM10 7 - COLFB10 14
09:08 COLFB10 - Richard Newton 64 yd interception return (David Bendit kick), , HAM10 7 - COLFB10 21
4th 08:29 COLFB10 - Conor Tidgwell 19 yd pass from Nick Kmetz (David Bendit kick), 6-19 2:33, HAM10 7 - COLFB10 28
05:29 COLFB10 - Ian Borthwick 30 yd run (David Bendit kick), 4-46 2:03, HAM10 7 - COLFB10 35
HAM10 COLFB10
FIRST DOWNS................... 13 15
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 47-128 34-98
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 116 157
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 23-8-2 23-15-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 70-244 57-255
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 0-0 2-3
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 7-137 1-22
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-22 2-95
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 5-31.6 3-49.7
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards............... 7-53 4-35
Possession Time............... 34:35 25:25
Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 14 7 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 2 of 6 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 0-1 3-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 3-23 5-31
RUSHING: Hamilton-J. Stanell 16-96; M.Snickenberger 10-35; D. Isenberg 11-11; S.
Mello 3-7; M. Shriver 1-2; L. Wilson 3-minus 10; J. Eck 3-minus 13. Colby-Conor
Tidgwell 9-39; Ian Borthwick 3-36; Connor Walsh 6-28; Spencer Gopaul 4-10; TM
1-minus 1; Nick Kmetz 11-minus 14.
PASSING: Hamilton-S. Mello 7-19-2-100; L. Wilson 1-4-0-16; J. Eck 0-0-0-0.
Colby-Nick Kmetz 14-22-1-147; Connor Sullivan 1-1-0-10.
RECEIVING: Hamilton-G. Hoy 2-27; J. Stanell 2-20; 17 1-31; R. Cray 1-31; M.
Shriver 1-5; D. Isenberg 1-2. Colby-Connor Walsh 4-29; Andrew Graham 3-40;
Spencer Merwin 3-32; Conor Tidgwell 2-21; Robert Turner 2-19; Patrick Burns
1-16.
INTERCEPTIONS: Hamilton-T. Finan 1-22. Colby-Richard Newton 2-95.
FUMBLES: Hamilton-M.Snickenberger 1-0. Colby-Connor Walsh 1-1; Nick Kmetz 1-0.