The tough start to the Colby football team’s season continued the past two weeks with losses to Wesleyan University and Amherst College, 28-21 and 31-7, respectively. The Mules fall to 0-4 on the season.

More positively, the Mules put forth their finest offensive performance of the year last Saturday against the Cardinals, racking up nearly 200 yards on the ground, but fell just short when a late Wesleyan touchdown broke the deadlock.

First-year Luke Duncklee turned in another fine game, rushing for 63 yards on six carries, including a 56-yard touchdown that tied the game at 21. Overall he was optimistic about the day, crediting the defense with a solid performance. “[The defense] had several critical stops and a late takeaway that gave us an opportunity to win the game.”

“We waited around a little too long and ran out of time when we finally gained some momentum,” he added.

Colby found themselves down 14-0 early in the second quarter but responded with a 68-yard drive that culminated in a 51-yard touchdown pass from tri-captain Nick Kmetz ’12 to tight end Spenser Merwin ’12. After giving up another touchdown to open the second half, Colby rallied with a 45-yard run from Kmetz followed by Duncklee’s score, which evened the score with just over nine minutes left in the game.

Wesleyan’s ensuing drive consumed 7:23 and was capped by LaDarius Drew’s third touchdown of the day. This left Kmetz and the Mules a mere 1:36 to respond. Colby’s final drive came up short on fourth and 23. Kmetz had 184 passing yards on the day, with Merwin leading on the receiving end with five catches for 74 yards. Ian Borthwick ’12 gained 74 yards on the ground.

This week, Colby ran into a tough opponent in undefeated Amherst, who came in leading the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in total scoring.

The Mules’ defensive performance in the opening half was stellar, allowing only a field goal to the Lord Jeffs’ offense, but an interception and punt return for Amherst allowed them to stretch the halftime score to 17-0.

After giving up another touchdown, Colby scored its only points of the day on a 25-yard touchdown pass from receiver Connor Walsh ’12 to Nick Joseph ’14. The score capped off a five- play, 70-yard drive for the Mules.

The Mules achieved several individual milestones on the day. Kmetz threw for 141 yards, putting him over 4,000 career passing yards. Walsh reached 1,000 career receiving yards and 2,000 all-purpose yards after an impressive all-around performance. Junior Derrick Beasley had 10 tackles on the day, bringing him to 107 career tackles.