Leo, Trinity roar to 31st straight win
One game into the 2006 season, it appears there's no stopping the Trinity Bantams and their star running back, senior Gennaro Leo.
Leo, the Globe's Division 1 Player of the Year in 2001 when he excelled for Everett High, ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns as Trinity extended the nation's longest winning streak to a league-record 31 games with a 27-10 victory over Colby yesterday in Hartford as the NESCAC season kicked off.
The White Mules, who didn't play Trinity last year, were seen as one of the Bantams' toughest foes this season. Colby finished 7-1 last year, losing only to Amherst.
Leo put Trinity ahead with a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but two other former Massachusetts high school standouts combined to pull Colby even, Rockland's Justin Smith tossing a 26-yard TD pass to Boxford's Andrew Carey.
Six minutes later, the Bantams took the lead for good, Ben Willig catching a 6-yard TD pass from former Lynn Classical star Eric McGrath.
In a memorable debut, McGrath, a sophomore, completed 10 of 19 passes for 155 yards and two scores, one a 74-yard bomb on the first play of the second half to Jeff Pratt, a sophomore from Swampscott.
The victory sets up a showdown for Trinity next weekend at Williams, which is where the Bantams last lost in 2002.
Middlebury 10, Wesleyan 7 -- In Middlebury, Vt., another NESCAC streak remained intact, the Cardinals losing their 11th straight after the Panthers' Steve Hauschka capped a pair of long drives with fourth-quarter field goals.
Tufts 17, Hamilton 0 -- Lincoln's Brendan Georges rushed for 138 yards and the Jumbos intercepted five passes and had four sacks in a shutout of the Continentals in Somerville.
Amherst 31, Bates 6 -- Mark Hannon scored three touchdowns in the first half, two on passes from Nick Kehoe and the other on a 64-yard punt return, as the host Lord Jeffs won their seventh straight season opener.
Williams 27, Bowdoin 0 -- Cory Catelli ran for a pair of touchdowns for the host Ephs, who amassed 450 yards in their rout of the Polar Bears.
Pace 7, Saint Anselm 2 -- Pat Turner extended his reception streak to 19 games with a pair for the host Hawks (0-4, 0-3), but the Setters (3-1, 2-1) made a 3-yard touchdown run by P.J. Colombo in the second quarter stand up.
C.W. Post 24, Stonehill 20 -- Nick Georgetti threw for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Jamie Kilcullen as the Pioneers (3-1, 3-0) edged the Skyhawks (0-4, 0-4) in Easton.
Bridgewater St. 28, Maine Maritime 21 -- Greg Borsari ran for three touchdowns to lead the Bears (2-1, 1-0), who held off a late surge by the Mariners (1-2, 0-1) in Castine, Maine.
Nichols 33, MIT 19 -- Chris Patterson ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Carven threw a pair of TD passes to Joshua Harris as the Bison (2-1, 1-0) trampled the Beavers (1-2, 0-1) in Cambridge.
Endicott 40, Salve Regina 7 -- Mike Baklik picked up his team-high fifth interception of the season and Pego Jean-Paul had two interceptions for the Gulls, who picked off five Seahawks passes en route to a rout in Beverly.
Coast Guard 35, Westfield St. 21 -- Quarterback Christian George and running back Josh Williams accounted for 443 yards in total offense and five touchdowns to power the visiting Bears (2-1) past the Owls (0-3).
Plymouth St. 27, UMass-Dartmouth 13 -- Jeff Mack and John DeMarco combined to rush for 161 yards and three touchdowns to lead the host Panthers (1-2, 1-0) past the Corsairs (1-2, 0-1).
Mass. Maritime 26, Worcester St. 24 -- Joe DeFrank threw four touchdown passes for the visiting Buccaneers (2-1, 1-0), who rolled to a 26-7 lead and sneaked off with a victory after withstanding a fourth-quarter rally by the Lancers (1-3, 0-1).
Fitchburg St. 30, Framingham St. 6 -- Tyler Kennedy ran for 109 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the host Falcons (1-1) past the Rams (0-2).
UConn outrushed the Hoosiers, 257-0, highlighted by Allen's TD run and Terry Caulley's 57-yarder in the first half.
Holy Cross 27, Marist 0 -- Brian McSharry passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as the visiting Crusaders (2-2) blanked the Red Foxes (1-3).
Delaware 24, URI 17 -- Quarterback Joe Flacco's 3-yard touchdown run with 6:51 to play gave the visiting Blue Hens (2-1, 1-0 Atlantic 10), who are ranked No. 18 in Division 1-AA, a victory over the Rams (1-2, 0-1).
Maine 62, Shaw 12 -- Arel Gordon rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown for the Black Bears (2-1), who took advantage of three first-half turnovers to cruise to victory over their Division 2 foe in their home opener.
Springfield 41, Alfred 34 -- Quarterback Chris Sharpe rushed for 235 yards and a school-record-tying five touchdowns to lead the host Pride (3-0) in their Empire 8 opener.
Albany 19, Central Conn. 14 -- Eric Neugebauer returned an interception 27 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown as the host Great Danes (3-1) edged the Blue Devils (3-1) in the teams' Northeast Conference opener.
Norwich 41, SUNY Maritime 14 -- Darnell Jackson and Kevin Ober each rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown for the visiting Cadets (2-2).
Mount Ida 33, Becker 21 -- Antwan Harris rushed for 243 yards and three touchdowns for the visiting Mustangs (2-2), who raced to a 27-0 halftime lead against the Hawks (0-4).
Western Conn. 21, Iona 20 -- James Williams threw two TD passes to Adamis Gonzalez, the second a 30-yarder with 6:30 left, to lift the visiting Colonials (3-0).
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. 
