The Resurgence of Amherst Football?

The Amherst football team is having its best season in over seven years, currently on a three-game winning streak. The team garnered wins against Tufts — whom it last beat on Oct. 22, 2022 — and Middlebury — whom it last beat on Oct. 9, 2021. I sat down with starting quarterback Marek Hill ’28, wide receiver Carter Jung ’26, and linebackers Carson Skotak ’27 and Ty Kazanowsky ’27 to understand what’s behind their successful start to the season. This interview has been edited for clarity and length and the stats are accurate as of Oct. 2. 

Supik: [Jung], last year you had 328 receiving yards and two touchdowns. This year, you have the fourth-most receiving yards at 249 and are tied for the most touchdowns in the NESCAC with four. Walk me through the explosive start to the season.

Jung: First off, last year we were a young team, our O-line was young, and [Hill], obviously, was a freshman. And it was tough not having an offseason to spend together [with Hill] going into last year. 
Just working out some of those growing pains, whether it was developing a connection between me and [Hill], or our O-line playing really, really well right now. We've returned so many guys and built such strong connections, whether that be during last season or during the offseason and the summer this year. 
We’ve also had this goal to put our offense on the map. We knew that individually we had a ton of skill, and even though the results of those games last year didn't show, I think it's finally come to fruition this year.

Supik: As a senior, what legacy do you hope to leave on the football field this year and across your four years? 

Jung: It's kind of crazy that I’m a senior now. It's gone by so fast, but thinking about the legacy that I want to leave on this team and the program — the first thing I think about is when I came in as a freshman and how inclusive and supportive the senior class was. I want the underclassmen to feel incredibly taken care of. 
I want to be someone that younger guys can go up to and ask questions. I also want to be a leader on and off the field. I'm not a captain, but I think there are other ways that people can lead — by effort, showing 110% effort on every single play. I think about a senior last year, Owen Gaydos ’25, who was the epitome of just 110% effort. He would do film study almost every single day and would really buy in. In leaving a legacy, I just want to be a guy that the younger classmen can feel like they can go to, whether that's football-related or not. 

Supik: [Hill]. You have the second-most pass attempts in the NESCAC, the second-most completions, the third-most passing yards, and nine total touchdowns. How did the games you started late last season build up your confidence this year? 
And what's behind the offensive success? 

Hill: I think it’s just returning everybody. You look at my receiving core of Keith Delaney ’26, [Jung], Sam Gerber ’26, Christian Moore ’27 — all of them who have played meaningful football for this team. 
I have to give credit where it’s due for my O-line; I have zero sacks. Part of that is them doing their job up front, but part of that is due to Coach Grove, instilling in me a mentality of just getting the ball out and staying on schedule, and letting our guys win in space and win their one-on-one matchups. A lot of those completions may be from a highlight of scrimmage, but when you have guys who can make one play and turn it into a 20-yard gain, I think that's where we succeed pretty well. 


Supik: Yeah, I was going to say that Amherst is the only team in the NESCAC that has not let up a sack on its quarterback. Do you want to expand on why that is? 
 

Hill: It's gotta go to the O-line. Coach Ballard does a great job. Preparing their stunts, their twists, we go over their blitzes beforehand, and coach Grove this year, especially, has installed on our run plays a way to get the ball out to the edge, and on all of our pass plays, any sort of hot route, whether that be the running back, the tight end, or a receiver on a quick out or a quick hitch. It’s just coming together pretty well right now. 

Skotak: Regarding the stat about the O-line from a defensive perspective. Like, if we get a sack, it completely alters a drive. You go from first and 10 to second and 15, or second and seven to third and long; a sack ultimately kills the drive. The chances of getting a first down after letting up a sack are slim to none. So the fact that our O-line has not let up a sack, I think that's pivotal for our offensive success. And on the flip side, our defensive success comes from giving us a break. So being able to get consecutive first downs, sustain drives — that all rely on the five guys up front and not letting up a sack. You've got to give them kudos. 

Supik: Also, [Hill], you are the first quarterback since Ollie Eberth ’20 in 2019 to throw at least two touchdown passes in three consecutive games. You’ve been the consistently best quarterback for Amherst in the 2020s. 
What are your reactions to that? And how do you plan to keep that consistency for the year? 

Hill: This would go to my dad. It's kind of an expectation; we wrote my goals out for this year. It was 25 touchdowns, about two per game at least. Some games have got to be three, but it's just getting the ball out on time. 
I think my guys win their one-on-ones, and I did a much better job preparing so far this season and watching film, understanding any sort of little tendency that I have to get a leg up on a defense and making them pay. 

Supik: [Skotak]. You lead the NESCAC in total tackles with 33, and you lead the team in total tackles for loss with four. What's the reason for your successful start to the season? 


Skotak: First and foremost, we played Bates, who ran the ball pretty much every play. This year on defense — we simplified it. We've let players play, fighters fight. You just have to go out there and make a play when the opportunity presents itself. Teams have loved to run the ball to the boundary, and I think it's clear that other teams are going to have to switch out the game plan, especially with players like [Kazanowsky] right next to me out on the field. 

Supik: You also lead the NESCAC in fumbles recovered with two. How are you in the right place at the right time? 

Skotak: Just running into the ball, man. 
I mean, the core tenets of our defense, we say it multiple times every day: pursue, tackle, takeaway. Just running to the ball and having the desire to get to the ball — that's how you get tackles and end up in the right place at the right time. 

Supik: [Kazanowsky], your one and a half sacks this season are a team high and your highest sack total for a season thus far. What's been behind the sack success this year, and are you aiming for any particular goal? 


Kazanowsky: No, no particular goal in mind. I'm just trying to get after the quarterback, but within our defense, we kind of scheme it so that the guys on the other side of the line can get stunts off and flush the quarterback out to me. And I've honestly just been at the right place at the right time. 
They keep my job simple, so I just gotta win my matchup. 

Supik: Is there a particular person you think is an unsung hero on defense this year? 

Kazanowsky: That's a good question. I mean, you could really give it to our entire D-line, but the one person who stands out is really Kemit Fisher ’26. He's just a different beast up there. 
I've never seen a nose guard make so many plays. And like you said, the teams are coming out with loads of boundary runs. As long as I'm standing on the outside, I know that [Fisher's] going to be chasing from the front side and going to be making a tackle, causing havoc. 
And then another guy up there is Wyatt Morgan ’28. He plays right alongside me, so working together with him and working our stunts together — it's been great.

Skotak: Might as well throw Jackson Duncan ’27 in there, too.

Kazanowsky: Oh yeah, he's something special, honestly. Best spin move in the league, easily. He's the one who's giving me all my sacks, so thank you to him. 
And that whole D-line room, none of them get enough credit because it's hard to show up on the stats sheet there, but they're keeping the middle linebackers clean so they can go make plays, and causing disruption up front all day long.


Supik: Now, some overall questions for any of you to answer. Firstly, what are the team's goals this year? And this could be as a team, but you could also answer it individually. 


Hill: Win a championship. The worst feeling in the world is losing, like all of us can attest that walking off that field at Wesleyan last year, seeing them and their buzz cuts and their cigars, hearing your family say good job when you know you could have done more — It’s one of the most gut-wrenching feelings in the world. So I feel like that was our whole message throughout the off-season: just do what you can every day to get yourself better, put yourself in a position to win. 

Kazanowsky: Week by week, it's to win the game, but eventually it's for that end goal to walk off that field after facing Williams with that championship ring. Watching our seniors cry last year after the Williams game, after we lost 21-0, that was the worst feeling in my life, and I will never let that happen again. So hopefully we're playing them for a championship and win it. 


Skotak: Winning every game, every week, every practice. With that beginning game against Bates, we started 0-1 for the year — that's really eight consecutive losses. And there was a lot of time in between that seventh and the eighth loss with spring ball, summer lifts, and the preseason. In a way, the Bates loss woke us up a bit. 
And it gave us that fire to say, “We're winning today, we're gonna win tomorrow, we're gonna win Saturday, and we're gonna do that eight weeks in a row.”

Supik: This year, it seems to be very different with the parity of competition within the NESCAC. What do you think the cause of that is, if anything? 

Kazanowsky: With a lot of other teams, they graduated a lot of seniors, and they have a lot of new guys coming in to step in. And I feel it's different for us because we've kept the same core. 
We graduated a lot of talented players, but at the end of the day, a lot of our team stayed and were able to get closer to each other and work together all offseason. It's hard to be a successful team when you're just learning to play with each other for the first time, and I feel like that's an advantage we have over a lot of other teams in the NESCAC this year. 


Hill: I think it's guys rising to the occasion this year. Everybody stepped up, and whoever it is for any given week — it's their job. 
And you're going to go out there and perform to the best of your ability.

Skotak: On the defensive side of the ball, I look around, and everybody who's starting has been together for three years. We're a real cohesive group, and I think it's showing out on the field. 


Supik: Williams ranks number one in average offensive points per game, and they’re third-best in defensive points allowed. They have nearly double the rushing yards of any other team in the NESCAC. They also have the second-best rush defense, but the second-worst pass defense. 
I know the game's far away, but how do you imagine dealing with some of the challenges that Williams poses for your respective positions? 

Hill: It's a very quarterback answer, but we’re focused on beating Middlebury. We want to make a statement out there, then get back home. But it does tick me off a little bit when, in week two, earning Co-Offensive Player of the Week and notice no. 15 from that school [Williams], holding that title alongside me. My goal at the end of the year is to be on top of the NESCAC in passing yards, touchdowns, whatever it is, and he's posing a real threat, and I'm not one to shy away from the challenge either. 

Skotak: After three weeks into the season, I feel really confident in the front seven and our box run defense. I don't think any team's going to come out and successfully run the ball on us just from how we've been playing. 
The way things are going right now, I tell them, bring it on. It's gonna be it's gonna be a dog fight, and I can't wait. 

Kazanowsky: Yeah, I agree. 
They're gonna tell us exactly what's coming. We know they're gonna run the ball. They're gonna try to punch us in the face. 
Within that front 7, within our defense, we're not going to be the ones who take a punch in the face and go crying about it. We’ll keep f****** punching. And we're gonna end up on top. We have guys with too much fight who are not going to accept that. 
It’s a one-on-one battle every single play about who's more physical, and I really do not think that there's a more physical team in this league than us right now. 

The football team is 3-1, tied for first place in the NESCAC. The Mammoths play only two more home games, against Colby on Oct. 18 and against Williams on Nov. 8 for the Homecoming match. With potentially the best football team Amherst has seen since 2018, I highly implore the campus to show out for these two home games.