Amherst College ran for 170 yards and four touchdowns in its 34-0 NESCAC win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Amherst's Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The game was the season opener for both teams. Hamilton ran for 6 yards and gained 168 yards of total offense. The Continentals were 2 of 14 on third-down conversions.

Hamilton defensive end Tyler Hudson '19 was a bright spot for the Continentals with a game-high 12 tackles, including a pair of sacks and four tackles for losses of 17 yards. Hudson's linemate Brent Lobien '17 came up with eight tackles and recovered a fumble. Linebackers Mickey Keating '18 and Cole Burchill '19 were credited with eight and seven stops, respectively. Lineman Nick Sobczyk '17 and Poppy Green '17 finished with seven tackles apiece.

Cole Freeman '18 was 16 of 33 passing for 154 yards with one interception for Hamilton. 2015 all-conference wideout Charles Ensley '17 caught seven passes for 69 yards, tight end Jordan Jenkins '17 had five catches for 47 yards and Alex Waugh '18 added four receptions for 30 yards. One of Ensley's catches went for 42 yards.

Jack Hickey led the Purple & White's offense with 67 yards rushing and three short touchdown runs. Alex Berluti threw for 182 yards and ran for 51 more. Devin Boehm caught seven passes for 113 yards, including a 5-yard TD pass from Berluti. Derek Ward and Jack Barrett came up with interceptions. Amherst, which won its 20th straight game, slowed themselves down with 14 penalties for 107 yards.

After forcing a three-and-out on Hamilton's first possession, Berluti completed an 18-yard pass on third and eight to Boehm, who was brought down at the Hamilton 28-yard line. A 17-yard pass to Boehm on the following play gave the Purple & White the ball at the Hamilton 11. Following a pair of short-yardage rushes, Hickey found the end zone from 3 yards out with 9:27 left in the first quarter and gave Amherst a 7-0 lead following the extra point from Charlie Wall.

With the Purple & White holding a 7-0 lead after one quarter, Amherst used a 15-yard punt return by Boehm to set up its second drive of the second quarter at its own 45-yard line. Facing a second and seven at the Hamilton 39, Hasani Figueroa broke off a 31-yard scamper down the left sideline before Colby Jones '19 finally pushed him out at the 8. Two plays later, Hickey picked up his second rushing touchdown -- this time from 2 yards out -- and gave the hosts a 13-0 lead following a miss on the ensuing PAT.

After exchanging punts on the next two possessions, Hamilton mounted an impressive 11-play drive that started from its own 23. The drive was highlighted by a 10-yard pass from Freeman to Waugh and a 12-yard pass from Freeman to Eli Saucier '18. Looking at third and 15 from the Amherst 31, Matt Rusk-Kosa picked off Freeman and returned it 80 yards for a potential score, but the play was negated by a pass interference penalty and gave the Continentals a first down at the 19-yard line. On the very next play, Ward intercepted Freeman in the end zone, and the Purple & White took a 13-point lead into the break.

Amherst put together a methodical 11-play, 75-yard drive to start the third quarter. Berluti rushed for 12 yards before he found Boehm for a 46-yard catch-and-run to the Hamilton 17. After a sack by Hudson put the ball back on the 24-yard line, Berluti again found Boehm for 15 yards and Hickey pounded out another 5 yards on the ground for first and goal at the 4-yard line. Hickey ran it in from there and the Purple & White built a 20-0 lead.

Amherst took advantage of a short field early in the fourth quarter as the Purple & White drove 24 yards in seven plays. On second and eight at the Hamilton 13-yard line, a bad snap resulted in a turnover as Lobien recovered the loose ball. Three plays later, Parker Chapman forced a fumble at the Hamilton 38 that was recovered by Bolaji Ekhator and gave Amherst the ball back with 12:58 remaining.

Berluti started the drive with an 18-yard pass to Figueroa and then rushed 26 yards to the 4. After a 1-yard loss, Berluti found Boehm for a 5-yard TD pass that gave the Purple & White a 27-0 advantage with 10:50 to play.

Amherst capped its scoring with an 8-play, 49-yard drive. Backup quarterback Nick Morales completed a 16-yard pass to James O'Regan and a 14-yard pass to A.J. Poplin. Two plays later, Raheem Jackson ran 3 yards to the end zone for the final margin.

Hamilton travels to Wesleyan for another NESCAC game on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m.