Football Fumbles in Opener

Author: Ryan Reece

The football team ran into a roadblock on Saturday in Middletown, Connecticut. The Wesleyan College Cardinals turned up the intensity during the second half in order to send the Panthers home with a 26-7 loss. Despite holding a narrow lead at the half way mark, the Panthers could not hold on for long against the impressive offensive/defensive presence of the opposing Cardinals.

On its first possession, Middlebury looked "game ready" during an impressive 14-play, 80-yard march to the end zone. Tom Cleaver '04 hauled in four catches on the drive and, ultimately found pay dirt on a 14-yard toss from Mike Keenan '05. This was the beginning of what would turn out to be a career day for Cleaver. The senior from Severna Park, Md. finished with eight receptions, a personal best, and 137 of the 163 total passing yards.

This inspiring first drive proved to be the end of the Panther offensive attack as this initial scoring strike seemed to awake an intimidating Cardinal defensive juggernaut. For the remainder of the afternoon, the boys from Wesleyan came together to form a staunch and stingy defense that shut down every Panther scoring opportunity.

The Cardinals would fumble the following kickoff and give Middlebury amazing field position. However, the Panthers were not able to capitalize because the first play from scrimmage resulted in a fumble of their own. The rest of the first quarter and much of the second gave Middlebury an intense back-and-forth battle until Wesleyan delivered a game breaker with an explosive 69-yard touchdown strike with 1:25 left to play in the half. The ensuing point after would miss and result in a 7-6 Panther advantage at the half.

The second half was dominated by the Wesleyan squad as the Cardinals mustered up three unanswered touchdowns, the last of which gave the Panthers the final 10 minutes to rustle up some sort of comeback. The Panthers had opportunities but found themselves unable to reach Cardinals territory.

The Panthers did not walk away empty handed. With a game under their belts, the Panthers gained experience and an idea of what they need to do in order to improve. Last Saturday brought some outstanding individual efforts as well. Junior quarterback Mike Keenan turned in a 50 percent completion rate (16 of 32) to accompany his 163 yards through the air while Senior Matt Wolf led the ground attack with 43 yards on 14 carries. The bright spots on defense included a Craig Pittman '04 interception and return for 24 yards, Ernie Miller '05's 11 tackles, which led the defense, and Tim Collard '04 and Phil Reiff '05 each broke through for a sack.

The Panthers will be playing at home against Colby on Youngman Field on September 27. The Panthers and the Mules tied for fifth in the NESCAC last year with 4-4 records respectively. Both teams will be looking for an edge in the NESCAC title race. It promises to be a tough, explosive and well fought battle for gridiron dominance.