MEDFORD - Junior kicker Willie Holmquist of the Tufts University Football team had quite the return to action on Saturday after missing last season with an injury. Holmquist won the Jumbos' game at Hamilton with an overtime field goal and today was selected as NESCAC's Special Teams Player of the Week.

Holmquist punted and shared the kicking duties for the Jumbos as a freshman in 2013. He was not on last season's roster due to a nagging quad injury. Healthy again, he made a huge contribution to Saturday's 24-21 season-opening win at Hamilton by scoring 10 points.

After the host Continentals had stormed back from a 21-0 halftime deficit to tie the score at 21-21 in the fourth quarter, Holmquist booted a 28-yard field goal on Tufts' first possession in overtime for the victory. The game-winning kick was the first by a Tufts player since Adam Auerbach delivered a 25-22 win over Bowdoin with a 35-yard field goal on October 10, 2009 (six years ago). Holmquist's kick also gave the Jumbos their first win on the road since October of the 2009 season (a 15-7 victory at Bates on Oct. 3).

Holmquist had already made a mark on the game prior to the game-winner. He kicked three field goals overall, including 43-yarder that gave Tufts 10-0 lead at 8:37 of the second quarter. The 43-yard make was the longest by a Tufts kicker since the 2009 season when Auerbach connected from 44 yards. Holmquist also kicked a 28-yarder with 46 seconds to go until halftime at Hamilton for a 21-0 Tufts lead. He also added an extra point.

His punting was equally valuable to the victory. Holmquist had five attempts for a 40.2-yard average with a long of 47. All five of his punts were fair catches by Hamilton.

Holmquist and Auerbach are connected in one other way as the 2015 Jumbo is the first Tufts kicker to earn NESCAC's Special Teams Player of the Week honor since the 2009 player was picked after hitting the winner at Bowdoin.

#