Last week’s 41-0 loss at Wesleyan was a setback for Colby, but one that can be corrected with more attention to detail, head coach Jonathan Michaeles said.

“We go back to the basics, not that we left the basics. The focus on this week is attention to detail, the smallest of things. First steps, second steps. Those are the things that are going to lead to success. We didn’t execute last week,” Michaeles said.

Wesleyan broke the game open with 21 points in the fourth quarter. Five of the Cardinals’ seven scoring drives began on Colby’s side of the field. Colby converted just three of 15 third-down tries.

“We obviously didn’t play to our potential. We didn’t execute. We hung tough for a while on defense, we just could not get ourselves the next first down,” Michaeles said. “We missed on three third and fours in a row, and really put ourselves in a tough position. You can’t leave one side of the ball hanging out to try.”

This weekend, Colby hosts Amherst, which features one of the best ball-hawking defenses in the nation.

The Lord Jeffs are tied for fifth in Division III in turnover margin, at +7. Amherst has 12 interceptions in three games, including five last week against Middlebury.

“You look at their last game, they got thrown on 84 times, and they got five of them. Still, seven picks through two games is pretty significant,” Michaeles said.

The success of Amherst’s defensive backs starts with the players up front, Michaeles said.

“They’ve got very good defensive personnel. They’re going to disrupt things with the movement of their front seven, but their secondary players are very good,” Michaeles said.

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Husson’s 34-3 win over Castleton last Saturday was the Eagles most lopsided win since Nov. 7, 2009. That day, Husson beat Becker, 74-22, in the season finale.

More importantly for the Eagles, the win was a good start to Eastern Collegiate Football Conference play. Quarterback Joe Seccareccia of Bangor made his Husson debut last week, completing 12 of 16 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

The Eagles play at Anna Maria (1-3, 0-1) on Saturday. A win gives Husson (2-2, 1-0) a winning record for the first time since early in the 2009 season.

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Bowdoin running back Zach Donnarumma was named New England Small College Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week after running for 136 yards on 29 carries in the Polar Bears 13-10 win over Tufts. His touchdown in the final minute before the half gave Bowdoin a 10-3 lead.

Donnarumma is sixth in the NESCAC in rushing, with 244 yards. Bowdoin linebacker Joey Cleary is tied for the conference lead in tackles, with 33.

Bowdoin (1-2) hosts Hamilton (0-3) at noon on Saturday.

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com