Yale returns onside kick for TD in win

Wesleyan defense forces four turnovers

J.P. Shohfi returned an onside kick for a 49-yard touchdown and helped Yale thwart a late Cornell rally with a 27-16 win on Saturday in an Ivy League opener.

Kurt Rawlings led Yale (2-0) on a 12-play, 79-yard scoring drive that ended with his 5-yard scoring toss to make it 17-10 for the Bulldogs with 11:21 left to play. Sam Tuckerman’s 33-yard field goal with 2:48 to go made it a 10-point lead.

Cornell (1-1) responded when Richie Kenney marched the Bulldogs down the field and led a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive in 53 seconds that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Delonte Harrell. Yale’s special teams came up big and blocked the point-after try for a 20-16 margin and set up Shohfi’s game-clinching score.

Rawlings finished 15-of-21 passing for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Kenney completed half of his 28 pass attempts for 210 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Harold Coles had 17 carries for 141 yards for Cornell and Harrell had 134 yards receiving on six catches with two scores.

Wesleyan shuts down Bates

A strong showing from the Wesleyan defense, which forced four turnovers and held Bates to just 117 yards, helped the Cardinals to a 48-12 win at home.

Wesleyan (3-0) linebacker Chase Pratt intercepted the first Bates pass of the game. A few plays later, running back David Estevez scored from two yards out. Estevez accounted for two Cardinals touchdowns (five carries, 25 yards), while running back Glenn Smith carried the ball nine times for 118 yards and two scores.

Wesleyan quarterback Ashton Scott completed 14 of 20 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Wesleyan next plays Saturday at Bowdoin at 1 p.m.

Trinity falls to Middlebury

Trinity came up short against Middlebury on Saturday, falling 32-27 on the road.

After falling behind 12-0 in the second quarter, Trinity (1-2) was able to answer with two rushing touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Seamus Lambert, giving the Bantams a 14-12 lead at the half.

Lambert, however, would throw a pick-six (one of four interceptions) early in the third quarter to put Middlebury back on top.

The score remained close at the end of the fourth following a Middlebury field goal and a 16yard rushing touchdown from Trinity’s Draquan Jones, making it 22-20.

But another Middlebury field goal and passing touchdown put Middlebury up 32-20. Jones added another touchdown on a 3-yard run with just over a minute left, but it wasn’t enough for the Bantams.

Trinity plays next week at home against Hamilton at 1 p.m.

Coast Guard now 3-1 after win over Curry

A 14-point second quarter boosted Coast Guard (3-1) to a 17-7 win over Curry (0-3) Saturday.

Jon Wagner got the first touchdown of the game for Coast Guard with a 7-yard rush early in the second quarter. Wagner accounted for 91 yards on 14 carries. The second score came five minutes later when quarterback Ryan Jones completed a pass to Damaso Jaime for 33 yards. Jones completed 21 of 45 passes for 198 yards. Curry quarterback Nick Juvelier accounted for 394 yards through the air, completing 37 of 59 passes. He scored Curry’s only touchdown on a one-yard rush in the second quarter.

Coast Guard will play its homecoming game against Catholic next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.