Sep 21, 2013
WATERVILLE, Maine --- Zach Padula (Coventry, R.I.) had a key 98-yard interception return for a touchdown and wide receiver Luke Duncklee (Augusta, Maine) caught two touchdown passes as the Colby College football team opened the season in style with a 31-8 victory over Williams College on Saturday at Seaverns Field at Harold Alfond Stadium.
Colby begins the season at 1-0 overall heading into next Saturday's 1 p.m. road game at Middlebury College. Williams (0-1 overall) stays on the road and will face Trinity College at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
With the Mules leading 12-0 and Williams at the Colby 7-yard line, Padula stunned the Ephs by stepping in front of a receiver running a quick slant pattern. He used his speed to quickly get to the right sideline and raced 98 yards past Williams' bench for the score with 11 seconds to intermission. What could have been a 12-7 lead suddenly was 19-0.
The Mules went ahead 7-0 after the first quarter when sophomore quarterback Justin Ciero (Chappaqua, N.Y.) connected with Duncklee on a 5-yard scoring pass. Ciero threw for 29 yards and ran for 16 more on the 49-yard drive.
Colby went up 10-0 with 13:27 left to halftime when Louw Scheepers (San Diego, Calif.) connected on a collegiate-best 41-yard field goal.
The Mules went up 12-0 with 5:37 left to halftime when Williams snapped the ball over the punter's head. The Ephs covered the ball in the end zone, but Colby received two points for the safety.
After stopping the Mules on downs at the 35-yard line of Williams, the Ephs started their drive with 3:22 to play. Alex Sycocurka (Longmeadow, Mass.) rushed for 22 yards on the drive, but Padula made the big interception to make it 19-0 at the break. Padula came close to breaking the school record with his touchdown, but Neil Stinneford had a 102-yard interception return against Bowdoin in 1955.
Colby took advantage of a roughing the kicker penalty on a punt by Scheepers. The Mules took over on their own 46-yard line and used eight plays on the drive. Ciero tossed a perfect pass to the right corner of the end zone from 26 yards to give Duncklee his second touchdown of the game. Williams had coverage on the play, but the pass was on target for a 25-0 margin.
The Mules made it 31-0 late in the third quarter on a 1-yard scoring run up the middle by fullback Max Eberhart (Rye Beach, N.H.). Thomas Brewster (Fairfield, Conn.) ran for 21 yards and caught a dump pass from Ciero for 9 yards to get the ball to the Williams 1.
Colby came up with a goal-line stand to keep the score at 31-0 early in the fourth quarter. A pass interference call on Colby gave the Ephs the ball at the 2-yard line. Williams tried two running plays, then a quarterback sneak on third down. After a timeout by Colby, Williams tried to go outside right on a run only to be swarmed by Colby's Jason Buco (Methuen, Mass.) and Stephen O'Grady (North Andover, Mass.) for a 4-yard loss.
After a punt by Colby, Williams went to work again from the Mules' 38-yard line. Tom Murphy (Whitinsville, Mass.) completed four passes for 37 yards on the short drive. Murphy hit Alex Way (Scituate, Mass.) on a 12-yard pass play for first down at the Colby 1. Murphy then crashed in from 1 yard out for the score. He completed the two-point conversion to Marco Hernandez (Southlake, Texas).
Duncklee finished the day with eight catches for 72 yards and the two touchdowns. Brewster ran for 53 yards and caught two balls for 19 yards. Ciero was 17-for-31 for 152 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Murphy and fellow quarterback Adam Marske (LaGrange, Ill.) combined for 160 passing yards. Greg Payton (Williamstown, Mass.) had four catches for 47 yards and Steve Kiesel (Excelsior, Minn.) added four grabs for 39 yards.
Tony Atkinson (Bethesda, Md.) and CT Harris (Canaan, N.H.) both had eight tackles to lead Colby's defense. Padula added six solo stops to go with his interception, while Henry Nelson (Redding, Conn.) also had six tackles.
Colby co-captain Daniel Maddox (Bedford, N.H.), TJ Hallock (Pound Ridge, N.Y.), and O'Grady also had interceptions for the Mules.
Tom Cabarle (Long Valley, N.J.) and James O'Grady (Carrboro, N.C.) led Williams with seven tackles apiece. Andre LaFontant (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) added six tackles and two pass break-ups.
Colby 31, Williams 8
Williams............ 0 0 0 8 - 8 Record: (1-0,1-0)
Colby............... 7 12 12 0 - 31 Record: (1-0,1-0)
Scoring Summary:
1st 02:26 COLFB13 - Luke Duncklee 5 yd pass from Justin Ciero (Louw Scheepers kick), 10-49 4:11, WIL13- 0 - COLFB13 7
2nd 13:27 COLFB13 - Louw Scheepers 41 yd field goal, 7-29 2:07, WIL13- 0 - COLFB13 10
05:37 COLFB13 - TEAM safety, , WIL13- 0 - COLFB13 12
00:11 COLFB13 - Zach Padula 98 yd interception return (Louw Scheepers kick), , WIL13- 0 - COLFB13 19
3rd 11:01 COLFB13 - Luke Duncklee 26 yd pass from Justin Ciero (Louw Scheepers kick blockd), 8-65 3:51, WIL13- 0 - COLFB13 25
00:36 COLFB13 - Max Eberhart 1 yd run (Louw Scheepers kick failed), 13-80 6:53, WIL13- 0 - COLFB13 31
4th 07:31 WIL13- - Tom Murphy 1 yd run (Marco Hernandez pass from Tom Murphy), 6-38 1:52, WIL13- 8 - COLFB13 31
WIL13- COLFB13
FIRST DOWNS................... 13 15
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 33-21 36-154
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 160 152
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 30-21-4 31-17-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 63-181 67-306
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 0-0 2-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 4-88 3-63
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 4-144
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 5-34.8 7-24.9
Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards............... 3-34 14-87
Possession Time............... 25:13 34:47
Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 12 4 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 3 1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-3 2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 0-0 2-15
RUSHING: Williams-Alex Scyocurka 18-30; Marco Hernandez 5-11; K. Lapointe 2-6;
Tom Murphy 3-4; John Dillon 1-minus 4; TEAM 1-minus 13; Adam Marske 3-minus 13.
Colby-Thomas Brewster 13-53; Justin Ciero 10-29; Luke Duncklee 2-27; Carl Lipani
3-14; Billy Murphy 3-13; Jabari Hurdle-Price 3-12; Rio Schmidt 1-5; Max Eberhart
1-1.
PASSING: Williams-Tom Murphy 13-17-1-116; Adam Marske 8-13-3-44; Alex Scyocurka
0-0-0-0. Colby-Justin Ciero 17-31-0-152.
RECEIVING: Williams-Greg Payton 4-47; Steve Kiesel 4-39; Alex Way 3-35; B.J.
Griffin 3-13; Marco Hernandez 2-17; Alex Scyocurka 2-3; K. Lapointe 2-1; Jeff
Brewington 1-5. Colby-Luke Duncklee 8-72; Thomas Brewster 2-19; Nick Joseph
2-16; Max Eberhart 1-14; Ryder Arsenault 1-9; Kyle Roth 1-9; Carl Lipani 1-8;
Jabari Hurdle-Price 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Williams-None. Colby-Zach Padula 1-98; TJ Hallock 1-24; Stephen
O'Grady 1-22; Daniel Maddox 1-0.
FUMBLES: Williams-Adam Marske 1-0; TEAM 1-0; Greg Payton 1-0. Colby-Jason Buco
1-0.