Despite a heart-wrenching 35–28 overtime loss against the Tufts Jumbos, two Hamilton football players were recognized with accolades for their standout performances in week one of the NESCAC football season. Wide receiver Joe Schmidt ’20 and linebacker Tyler Hudson ’19 were honored by the conference for dominant performances against the Jumbos, and will hope to repeat their stat lines against Amherst this Saturday.
Schmidt was named NESCAC Offensive Player of the Week for Saturday, Sept. 16’s opening weekend action. Schmidt made eight receptions for 214 receiving yards, while tying a Hamilton program record with four receiving touchdowns. Schmidt’s afternoon started perfectly when he broke loose on Hamilton’s first offensive drive of the 2017 season. Schmidt beat a diving Jumbos’ defender to the ball near the sideline before turning up field and taking the pass 70 yards to the end zone. Trailing 28–21 with under five minutes remaining in regulation, quarterback Kenny Gray ’19 hit Schmidt for the 29 yard game-tying touchdown to force overtime against one of the conference’s top teams.
Schmidt also displayed his exceptional burst on special teams, adding 73 yards in kickoff returns to bring his all-purpose yardage to 293 for the game. In just one game, Schmidt is just 87 receiving yards short of surpassing his 2016 season total (301 yards), while already doubling touchdown total from a season ago.
Hudson thrived in a new position against the Jumbos, wreaking havoc all afternoon on the Tufts’ offensive unit. For his dominant performance, Hudson was named NESCAC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, and was also selected for the D3Football.com Team of the Week at linebacker. After playing his first two seasons for the Continentals as a defensive end, Hudson made the switch to linebacker for the 2017 campaign, and his decision has already paid dividends for Hamilton.
Hudson racked up a career high 19 total tackles against Tufts, including 14 solo tackles to lead the Continentals defense. The newly-converted linebacker picked up 1.5 tackles for a loss, and was credited with a half sack. Hudson also came up with a fumble recovery in the third quarter. Hudson’s tackle total from Saturday was the most for a Hamilton defender since 2011, when Mike MacDonald ’13 tallied 21 tackles against Wesleyan.
This is the second time that Hudson has been chosen for the D3Football.com Team of the Week, after making his debut on the team in his freshman season in 2015. This is the first time either Schmidt or Hudson captured the illustrious NESCAC Player of the Week honor.
In addition to Hudson and Schmidt, Christian Donahoe ’20 had a breakout game at tight end in the season opener, hauling in three passes for 102 receiving yards including several clutch plays late in the fourth quarter. Gray threw more touchdowns (four) against the Jumbos than he did in eight starts in 2016 (three), and looks to continue his strong connection with Schmidt, Donahoe, and other Hamilton wideouts against the Mammoths. Marcus Gutierrez ’18 led the Continentals’ ground game, picking up 38 yards on nine carries against a stout Tufts defense. Cole Burchill ’19 had the lone individual sack for Hamilton, one of his 13 total tackles in Saturday’s loss. Justin Leigh ’20 was vital in pass coverage against the Jumbos, making three important pass break-ups down the stretch.
Schmidt and Hudson hope to build off strong week-one performances in this weekend’s match-up with Amherst at Steuben Field and lead the Continentals to their first victory of the 2017 season. Amherst dominated Bates 41–17 to open up the season, where quarterback Ollie Eberth dished out four touchdown passes. Hudson will be vital pressuring Eberth, while Schmidt will need to replicate his offensive fire power to keep up with a potent Amherst offense.
