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Thursday, Nov 7, 2024

Football team scores scores of points

Author: Benji Thurber

The Middlebury football team kicked off its home schedule on Sept. 29 with a 41-0 win over Colby. The Panthers stymied the Mules with dominating performances from both the offense and the defense, as they moved to 2-0 on the season.

The Mules, who fell to 0-2, threatened to score early in the game, but were unable to convert. After Michael Talarico recovered a Panther fumble on a punt return at the Middlebury 47-yard line with 13:35 remaining in the first quarter, Colby quarterback Billy Ryan led a drive down to the Middlebury 11. Then, however, the Panther defense made a stand. After a false start penalty on third-and-six, David Ellis '09 and Eric Kamback '10 sacked Ryan for an 11-yard loss. Rather than attempting a field goal, the Mules elected to go for it on the next play, and Panther defensive back Nathan Shreve '08 batted away a pass in the end zone to end the drive.

The Panthers scored the first points of the game on the ensuing possession. On fourth down at the Middlebury 34, the Panthers faked a punt, and Steven Hardin '10 used some great blocking downfield to run for a 66-yard touchdown. Jack Britton '08 successfully converted the extra point, putting Middlebury up 7-0.

On the subsequent kickoff, Andrew Poulin '11 forced a fumble, which Mike Quinn '09 recovered at the Colby 20-yard line. On the second play of the resultant drive, Panther first-year quarterback Donald McKillop connected with receiver Andrew Matson '09 for a 20 yard touchdown pass.

On Colby's next possession, Panther linebacker Nathan Clancy '08 recovered a fumble by Ryan at the Colby nine-yard line. Gary Cooper '11 had a one-yard touchdown rush on fourth-and-goal, and the Panthers ended the first quarter with a 21-0 lead.

A Shreve interception with 12:58 left in the second quarter led to a 31-yard scoring pass from McKillop to Matson, and an insurmountable 27-0 halftime lead.

Much of the Panthers' offensive success on Saturday stemmed from the passing game, but according to head coach Bob Ritter, the running game has been equally important this season.

"During the Wesleyan game, we had a two touchdown lead and needed to keep our defense off the field, so we ran the ball more to control the clock in the second half," said Ritter. "The game against Colby allowed us the chance to go over the top due to great field position and the way they were playing us to stop the run."

This was best exemplified by the Panthers' fifth scoring drive. With 14:34 remaining in the third quarter, McKillop again found Matson for a touchdown pass, this time after faking a handoff to confuse the defense and create separation in the secondary.

Matson, who finished the game with three receptions for 86 yards and three touchdowns, credits much of Middlebury's success passing the ball to its new no-huddle offense.

"It keeps the defense on their heels, and it keeps us in good rhythm," said Matson. "It also helps that our receivers have a year's experience now and we have a quarterback who throws a great ball."

McKillop looked very confident and was accurate in his second career start, completing 11 of 14 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown during the third quarter to finish up the Panther scoring.

The combination of rushers for the Panther running game were equally effective, totaling 226 yards on 5.1 yards per carry. According to Ritter, the success of the running game can be directly linked to strong play by the offensive line.

"The offensive line play has been vital in both games, and their work ethic has been an inspiration," said Ritter.

Not to be forgotten amidst Saturday's offensive explosion, the Panther defense had another impressive performance, recording its fourth shutout in the last two seasons.

Linebacker Erik Woodring '08 paced the defense with 15 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss, and also added a sack. Fellow linebacker Clancy forced a fumble and recovered two as well.

Defensive lineman Ellis led the team with 1.5 sacks. Shreve led a strong performance by the secondary with an interception and a key pass breakup that prevented a score.

The Colby Mules did manage to run for 140 yards and pass for 126, but were hurt by six turnovers, three of which the Panthers ended up converting into scores.

The Panthers will be on the road next week to play Amherst, and will return home to face Williams on Oct. 13.


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