His own program is still learning how to win after halting a 31-game losing skid in Week 1 against Hamilton. His alma mater doesn’t lose, at least on its slick turf at Jessee/Miller Field.
And that’s what Jay Civetti and his 2-1 Tufts football program face Saturday afternoon in Hartford, in a NESCAC tilt against 3-0 Trinity.
“When I played at Trinity, we never liked to play at Tufts, and now that I am at Tufts, we like to go to play Trinity,” said Civetti, a Wellesley native and Belmont Hill grad who was an all-NESCAC center at Trinity, graduating in 2001.
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The following September, Williams defeated the host Bantams, 31-10.
Trinity has not lost on Broad Street since — an unblemished run covering a staggering 52 games.
“I think that it has become part of their day-to-day ritual, it’s built into their culture, their home mentality,” said Civetti, who is not alone in his belief, among his brethren in the conference, that the Bantams “look different” on their home turf.
“There is definitely a mind-set that comes with confidence.”
Jeff Devanney, 58-9 overall in eight-plus seasons on the Trinity sideline, will not disagree with that point.
“I think that the players really [embrace the streak], and the last four to five years, recruits that come here want to be part of that,” he said.
“You come to Trinity, you’ll be in a place where you expect to win every game, or it’s not considered a successful season.”
Over the years, there have been a lot of lucky bounces, Devanney acknowledges, and “six games we should have lost,” he said.
In the 2008 matchup against Tufts, for instance, Lynn’s Eric McGrath connected on the game-tying TD pass with 25 seconds remaining and Trinity pulled out a 28-27 thriller in overtime, one chapter of what was an 8-0 campaign.
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Trinity has won six straight in the Tufts series, including last year’s 43-7 conquest in Medford.
“We hung with them, but at the end of the day, they turned it on,” Civetti said.
Competing is one thing. Matching Trinity’s physicality and speed, is another. “We cannot be intimidated,” emphasized Civetti.
Tufts senior running back Zack Trause, pacing the NESCAC in all-purpose yardage (148.7 per game), said being “the most physical team on the field” Saturday has been a talking point all week.
“They win a lot, and they know it, it’s good to play them. This season, with a couple of wins, we are more confident than ever,” he said.
Senior QB Jack Doll is orchestrating an up-tempo attack (28.7 points per game). Sophomores Ben Berey (NESCAC-leading 26 catches), Chance Brady and Mike Rando, along with Trause, are elusive in the open field.
“You don’t find too many quarterbacks at the Division 3 level completing [72.3] percent of his passes,” said Devanney, taking note of Doll’s accuracy. “They have four to five guys that were high school running backs, and they can run after the catch. It’s not really a run game, it’s bubble screens, and slip screens. You have to be able to tackle in the open field.”
Doll is operating behind a Landon Davis-anchored front that is much improved.
A Becton High (N.J.) grad majoring in civil engineering, Trause spent the summer interning at Jay Calnan & Associates, a construction management firm in Quincy. In the evening, he and a number of teammates, including Doll, played 7-on-7 against players from MIT, WPI, Curry, and Endicott. Those reps are paying off.
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“You want to make the first man miss, get out in the open field,” said the 5-foot-9, 195-pound back. “That’s a big key for us, getting downhill.”
Easier said than done against Trinity, which leads the conference in rushing defense (76.7 yards per game), total defense (204.3 yards per game), and is second in scoring D (4.7 points per game). Tom Szymanski, an outside linebacker from Dracut, is part of a 21-member senior class that has provided tremendous leadership, according to Devanney. With Chudi Iregbulem churning out 100.7 yards per game, the Bantams also pace the NESCAC in rushing.
“If you can run the ball, and stop the run, you have a chance to win every game,” said Devanney.
Thus far, the Bantams are following a familiar script.
“They have an incredibly strong, powerful program,” said Civetti. “As an alum, I am proud of what they have done.”
But on Saturday, he’d like nothing better than to have his Jumbos deliver a jolt, and halt Trinity’s run at 52.
Craig Larson can be reached at clarson@globe.com.