Football turns over win to Colby

The Panthers dropped to 1-1 on Saturday, losing to NESCAC rival Colby 38-27. It was a frustrating day for the Panthers, who, despite forcing four turnovers, also committed four turnovers themselves in what was a very sloppy game. The defense has continued to be something of a dichotomy for the Panthers. Though they continue to make impact plays, they also allowed five plays of twenty-five yards or more.

The Panthers were able to move the ball for a large part of the game, but constantly beat themselves with costly turnovers and crippling penalties. Both offenses were held scoreless in the first quarter, although the Panthers threatened to take the lead late in the opening period. Facing a third and six from the Colby 27-yard line, Panthers quarterback and co-captain Donnie McKillop ’11 threw an interception that was picked off by sophomore defensive back Derrick Beasley. It was the first of two interceptions in the game and McKillop’s third interception of the season, but head coach Bob Ritter remains extremely confident in his quarterback.

“He’s an excellent quarterback,” said Ritter. “Probably his greatest asset is his decision making. He’s playing very well.” The box score supports Ritter’s inclination. McKillop finished the game 32 of 52 for 312 yards and two touchdowns along with his two interceptions.

“When your quarterback throws the ball nearly 100 times in two games, a couple of balls are going to be thrown off-target,” said Ritter.

The solution? The Panthers will need to find a better mix of their passing and running games this weekend against Amherst.

“When we had a lead last week against Wesleyan, we ran the ball and ran it pretty effectively,” said Ritter. “When we got down this week and had to come back in a hurry we had to put the ball in the air more. It’s more dictated by the flow of the game.”

The Panthers looked to establish the run early in the game, but immediately had trouble doing so. On the second offensive possession of the game, running back Andrew Plumley ’11 gained eight yards on first down, but after gaining just a yard on second and two, he was stuffed for a one-yard loss on third down and the Panthers were forced to punt. That series foreshadowed the struggles of the Middlebury offense the rest of the game –– the Panthers were able to move the ball, but could not pick up key first downs in the first half when they needed them. On the next drive, McKillop was picked off and the Panthers were held scoreless in the first half for the first time since they lost 20-10 to Amherst almost a year ago.

Meanwhile, the Colby offense capitalized on a crucial pass interference call that negated defensive back Jared Onouye’s ’14 interception in the end zone by punching the ball in from four yards out on the next play to take a 7-0 lead. After the Panthers failed to convert on fourth and seven from the Wesleyan 36-yard line, the Mules then took the ball down the field on an eight play, 69-yard drive that finished with a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Kmetz to tight end Spencer Merwin, increasing their lead to 14-0. Merwin proved to be a nightmare for the Panthers defense, catching four passes for 84-yards and a touchdown.

The Panthers, however, would get the ball back twice more before the end of the half, but McKillop’s second interception ended one drive and then the Panthers failed to convert a fourth and 10 from the Colby 39-yard line with 11 seconds left in the half.

“In the first half, there were some mistakes we don’t usually make with some turnovers,” said Ritter. “Offensively we weren’t sharp in the first half. Defensively we played pretty well given the field position so we were fortunate only to be down 14-0.”

The second half was a different story entirely for the Panthers offense. After an interception by co-captain Conor Green ’11 gave the Panthers the ball in great field position, the offense took over and Plumley carried the ball for a 17-yard gain and then followed with 3-yard touchdown run. After a successful extra point by Anthony Kuchan ’11, Middlebury had halved the Colby lead to 14-7.

The defense put the Panthers’ offense back in position to tie the game shortly after, when they sacked Kmetz, forcing a fumble, and recovered the ball on the 50-yard line. Instead, the offense went three and out and were forced to punt.

After a fantastic punt from Kuchan, Colby started the ensuing drive from its own two-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Kmetz connected for a 30-yard pass to Merwin, bringing the ball out from the Mules goal-line. For the Panthers, the biggest blow in the game was about to come. On fourth and 10 from the Colby 47-yard line, instead of punting the ball away, the Mules punter Connor Sullivan pulled the ball down and just managed to run for a first down.

“They faked the punt and we had a chance to make a play and we couldn’t make a tackle,” said Ritter. “We had a chance to tackle him for a loss and have great field position. Instead they end up picking up the first down by inches and going on to score. That was the pivotal momentum changer.”

The Mules capped the 10-play, 98-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Kmetz to wide receiver Patrick Burns, extending the Mules lead back to 14 points. After another Middlebury possession failed to yield points, Colby took the opening drive of the fourth quarter 85 yards on eight plays and Kmetz once again found Burns for a touchdown, this one for 35 yards, pushing the Colby lead to 28-7. Burns, Kmetz’s favorite target, had six receptions for 93 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers’ Zach Driscoll ’13 led all receivers with eight catches for 99 yards.

Trailing by 21 points, the Panthers offense finally came to life, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter, but another turnover and ten more Colby points meant that the game was never closer than two scores.

After McKillop connected with his running back Gary Cooper for a 24-yard touchdown, which closed the score to 28-14 with 9:52 remaining in the game, the Middlebury defense forced a quick punt from the Mules offense. On the first play from scrimmage, however, Plumley fumbled and the Mules defense recovered the ball at Middlebury’s 22 yard-line. Four plays later the Mules extended their lead to 31-14 on a 36-yard field goal from placekicker David Bendit.

With just over five minutes left in the game, McKillop found the end zone, scrambling for a six-yard score. After the Panthers failed to recover an onside kick, however, Mules quarterback Nick Kmetz responded by rushing for a 22-yard score, putting the game out of reach at 38-21. With 3:19 left to play, the Panthers closed the score to 38-27 after a four-yard touchdown pass from McKillop to Matt Rayner ’12. The Panthers attempted another onside kick after the touchdown, which the Mules recovered before running out the clock .

Despite the number of points allowed, Ritter was encouraged by what he saw from his defense. “Our defense played a lot of plays,” said Ritter. “We have to do a better job of sustaining some drives [on offense], getting first downs, and keeping the defense off the field. I think the turnovers are a big deal. We have to convert those into points. Our defense got worn down because they spent so much time on the field.”

The Panthers host a formidable Amherst army this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. –– the Jeffs are 2-0 on the season and have outscored their opponents 82-7.