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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Football Stumbles Against Stalwart Lord Jeffs

The Middlebury football team ran into a brick wall in Amherst, Mass. on Saturday, Oct. 10. While both teams entered the match previously undefeated, only the Lord Jeffs maintained their sterling record after wearing down the Panthers over the course of four quarters. Amherst eventually capped the 24-7 win with a 30-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that was a direct product of Panthers’ fatigue on defense.


The game was competitive throughout, and Middlebury nearly struck first on a long bomb down the seam from quarterback Matt Milano ’16 that bounced off the hands of his receiver. Middlebury was forced to punt, and Amherst responded with a 10-play, 2:53 drive that resulted in a field goal and the first points of the game.


The Panthers responded emphatically. The second Middlebury drive of the game began with a 13-yard catch and run by rookie running back Diego Meritus ’19. Three plays later, Milano hit tight end Trevor Miletich ’16 for a 35-yard gain down the middle of the field. After a pair of short-yardage runs, Milano connected with his favorite target, wideout Matt Minno ’16 — who missed last week’s game with an injury — for a 22-yard score. Minno fended off two defenders like they were flies, and hauled down the Milano pass to give Middlebury a 6-3 lead.


“[Having Minno back] was a big impact for us,” Head Coach Bob Ritter said. “For Matt Milano, I think he has good chemistry with Matt [Minno]. He feels confident throwing the ball up to him.”


The next six drives all resulted in punts, as both defenses showed their mettle and toughness. On their first drive of the second quarter, Amherst charged deep into Middlebury territory. On 4th and 1 from the Middlebury ten-yard line, Amherst ran a dive, expecting to easily pick up the first. However, LB John Jackson ’18, making a big impact for the second straight week, came flying off the edge to pancake the ball carrier and earn it back for the Middlebury offense. At the time it felt like the spark the Panthers needed to get the offense rolling.


“That was a huge play and got our bench excited,” Ritter said. “Jackson’s a dynamic player. The defense calls for him to come hard off the edge, hard and flat, just for that reason, trying to stop the inside run and he did a great job.”


Unfortunately for Middlebury, it was not to be. The following drive ended quickly after Milano was forced to scramble on third and four and had to slide down short of the first down marker.


With 4:27 left in the half, Amherst took the ball and marched down the field, eventually scoring on a three-yard rushing touchdown from the powerful senior Kenny Adinkra. With that, the Lord Jeffs took a 10-7 lead going into halftime and never looked back.


Amherst opened the second half with the ball, but gave it back to Middlebury in short order when Gil Araujo ’16 forced a fumble along the sideline that was picked up by teammate Carsen Winn ’17. The Middlebury offense threatened early and often in the third quarter, carrying a pair of drives into that no man’s land portion of the Amherst side of the field. Too long for a field goal but too short for a punt, the Panthers elected to go for it on a fourth and ten and then on a fourth and four, but were unsuccessful on both occasions.


Another great defensive play in the third quarter felt like the spark that would ignite the Panthers. From the Middlebury 27 with just under five minutes to go in the third quarter, Charlie Gordon ’19 punted the ball away on fourth down. The coverage team sprinted down to pressure the return man and was rewarded when the Amherst returner muffed the punt and the ball was recovered by Jimmy Martinez ’19 at the Amherst 34.


Here Middlebury had a chance to take advantage of a short field and possibly take the lead, but the Amherst defense continued its aggressive style and dragged down Milano for a nine-yard sack on first down, dooming that drive.


“It certainly felt like, ‘Let’s take advantage of this right now,’” Ritter said. “Then they catch us with an A gap blitz that we don’t really have an answer for. That’s one of those where if we get the screen off but if they get the sack it’s a big play [for them].”


Through three quarters the Middlebury defense played inspired football, holding the LJs to just ten points and really only one sustained drive all day. But, the air seemed to go out of the Panthers — on both sides of the ball — in the fourth quarter.


It began with a muffed punt that gave Amherst the ball at the Middlebury three-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Araujo and Dan Pierce ’16 made stops on first and second downs, and the coverage on third down was good enough to force an incomplete pass. Smelling blood, Amherst went for the touchdown on fourth down, and QB Reece Foy found receiver Jackson McGonagle in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.


The Panthers’ offense could do nothing on the subsequent drive. A three-and-out resulted in a punt, and the gassed defense was forced back on the field. The Lord Jeffs moved the ball down the field with ease, and eventually first year running back Jack Hickey took the handoff, got wide to the left sideline and then niftily cut back towards the center of the field on a relatively easy 30-yard touchdown run, putting the nail in the coffin for the Panthers.


With Middlebury in desperation mode and Amherst able to expect the pass, the next two Middlebury drives resulted in interceptions, snuffing out any remaining hope of a come back.


This loss changes Middlebury’s record to 2-1, forcing them to relinquish some control in the fight for the NESCAC crown.


The issue all day for the Panthers was the Amherst pressure on Milano, as the gunslinger was sacked five times and brought down a few more.


“We got caught with some sacks that we don’t normally have,” Ritter said. “Some of it was our play calling and them catching us at the right time. Blitzing the A gaps on a screen, they got it on a boot … sometimes you hit those things and they’re big plays and sometimes they’re a second earlier and it turns into a big loss.”


On both sides of the ball, Amherst’s physicality proved more than Middlebury could handle.


Milano finished the game 26-46 (56.5 percent) for 249 yards and a touchdown, and if not for the late interceptions his stat line would have looked like a typical Milano game. Minno was his usual self even as he nurses that injury, racking up 76 yards on five catches and a touchdown. Conrado Banky ’19 was not far behind with five catches and 70 yards of his own.


Defensively, Araujo led the defense with 11 tackles and forced the fumble that was secured by Winn.


Amherst controlled the game and the clock, holding on to the ball for 34 minutes and 50 seconds. This failure to win the possession time battle has now begun to characterize this Panther team; Middlebury is last in the NESCAC in rushing yards per game and time of possession. The Panthers’ 38 percent success rate on third down is fourth in the league, but not even close to Amherst’s 54 percent success rate, and that was what helped the Lord Jeffs’ sustain longer drives and beat up the Middlebury defense.


“I told the team,” Ritter said, “one of the things we have to do a better job of is converting third downs, and then getting off the field on third downs [defensively].”


The Panthers return to action this weekend with their Homecoming tilt against the visiting Williams College Ephs (2-1) on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 1:30 p.m. on Alumni Field.


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