AMHERST – There have been former National Football League players and All-Americans all over the history of the Amherst-Williams rivalry.

Saturday afternoon, a first-year member of the Mammoths put his name squarely in that prestigious company.

Christian Moore returned an interception 76 yards, leading to a first-quarter touchdown. In the second quarter he had a 47-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Then, with time running down in the fourth quarter, he intercepted a pass by Williams quarterback Owen McHugh to secure a 21-14 victory in the 138th edition of “The Biggest Little Game in America.”

The win ended a three-game losing streak by coach E.J. Mills’ Mammoths, which finished the season 4-5.

“It means everything,” said Moore, the freshman defensive back from Renton, Wash. “It means everything to me. It means everything to Coach Mills. It means everything to Coach Buss [defensive coordinator Luke Bussard], the DBs. It means everything to everybody on this team.

“I feel just feel so blessed to be part of this program.”

Moore was recruited as a wide receiver, but had not caught a pass. Necessity is the mother of invention.

“I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve been playing receiver my entire life,” Moore said after the game. “I came and was recruited as a wide receiver and switched two weeks ago.”

The interception foiled a Williams drive. The Ephs, now 2-6, drove from their 20-yard line to the Amherst 8, converting on third down three times and once on fourth. But on third and 1 from the Amherst 8-yard line, McHugh found an open Jon Oris in the right flat with a lot of turf in front of him.

Oris couldn’t bring in the catch and Moore plucked it out of the air. Seventy-six yards later, McHugh pushed Moore out at the Williams 20. Quarterback Mike Piazza, the reigning NESCAC offensive player of the week, struck pay dirt with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Michael Quartermain. The PAT by Matthew Kelly made it 7-0.

The Mammoths went for the knockout on the next series. McHugh seemed to hook up with receiver Holden Gering for a five-yard gain. The play was ruled a catch and a fumble. Moore was right there, scooping up the loose ball and scampering down the sidelines for a 46-yard touchdown.

“My guy [linebacker] Luke Harmon came down and makes a great, great tackle, and the ball pops loose,” Moore said. “On that one, my eyes were even wider. I see the quarterback. He had already tracked me down on the first one, so I knew I had to get him the second time.”

The kick put Amherst up 14-0, but in “The Biggest Little Game in America,” writing off the team in purple and gold early is always a mistake.

Williams covered 73 yards in 17 plays with Sam Jaffe catching a four-yard touchdown pass from McHugh.

At halftime, Amherst had run only 14 offensive plays to 43 for Williams, but still held the lead.

“It was unique,” Piazza said of the first half. “We knew they were going to try to run the ball on us. They honestly did a decent job, but it was obviously just kind of a crazy half.”

Williams got a third-quarter break when Amherst long snapper Charlie Parkinson sent the ball over the head of punter Michael Mitchell. Mitchell fell on the ball at the Williams 3-yard line.

Four plays later, it was McHugh to Paul Harshbarger for a two-yard touchdown pass. That tied the score at 14.

The Mammoths took the lead for keeps on a nine-play 92-yard drive. The big play of the drive was a 43-yard catch-and-run from Piazza to Carter Jung. Five plays later, that duo combined on a 5-yard TD.

Piazza finished his Amherst career by going 13 for 18 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball 14 times for 73 yards.

Perhaps the most telling stat is that while he was flushed out of the pocket 10 different times, Williams only recorded two sacks. That was a far different total than the eight Williams had against Wesleyan last week.

Williams could not push another score over the goal line. And when the aforementioned Moore intercepted a McHugh pass in the end zone on a fourth down play from the Amherst 27-yard line with 2:46 left in the game, the home team was able to run the clock out.

"You've got to score points," Williams coach Mark Raymond said. "A couple of big turnovers there really put us behind. We just didn't score enough points. I thought our defense played great, but 14 points isn't enough."

It was the second consecutive season Williams and Amherst came into the game with sub-.500 records. Williams fell to 2-6.

The Amherst players went off to their postgame tailgates with the good feeling of a season-ending victory.

“That was just a great football game,” Mills said. “We were fortunate to win. I have a lot of respect for those guys [Williams]. But we’ll enjoy this for an entire year. That’s what you do.”