Three-point victory lifts football to 3-0

Author: Benji Thurber

The Middlebury football team jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Saturday, Oct. 6 against Amherst and hung on to defeat the Lord Jeffs 19-16. The visiting Panthers, who improved to 3-0 on the season, did not score after the second quarter, but used another dominant performance by their defense to earn a tough victory on the road.

The Jeffs, who fell to 2-1, were able to keep the game close with a strong defensive effort of their own and staged a late comeback that came up just short.

On the Panthers' opening possession, quarterback Donald McKillop '11 mixed a pair of eight yard completions with rushes by running back David Randolph '08 to lead Middlebury down into Amherst territory. On third-and-six, Randolph capped the nine-play, 60-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown run.

On the next Middlebury drive, McKillop, who completed 15 of 34 passes for 168 yards on the day, drove the Panthers 67 yards down the field for a 24-yard Jack Britton '08 field goal and a 10-0 lead with 3:33 remaining in the first quarter.

With their offense struggling early, the Jeffs used two key plays from their special teams and defense to put some points on the scoreboard. Keith Erzinger pinned the Panthers on their own two-yard line with a 48-yard punt, and Guy Matisis tackled Randolph in the end zone for a safety. After another excellent special teams return on the kickoff, Lucas Loeffler was able to find some rhythm and led the Jeffs on a 10-play scoring drive, culminating in a nine-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Bullock, which brought Amherst within one point, 10-9.

The Panthers responded with a scoring drive of their own, as Randolph, who finished the day with 18 carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns, found the end zone on a 10-yard rush. The Panthers tacked on two more points from a safety, and stretched their lead back to 10, 19-9, going into halftime.

Both defenses came out strong in the second half, and neither team was able to score during a third quarter field position battle that featured seven punts. The Jeffs began their first drive of the second half at midfield, and quickly drove down to the Middlebury five-yard line. Their best scoring opportunity of the quarter ended, however, when Mike Quinn '09 forced a fumble and Nathan Shreve '08 recovered the ball for the Panthers.

According to Shreve, the moment was a microcosm of the way the defense responded during the second half.

"The first half was exhausting for everyone," said Shreve. "The second half was about mental fortitude, and despite the evident fatigue, we came up with some big plays."

The fourth quarter offered much of the same - great defense from both sides and six more punts. Finally, with 2:40 remaining in the game, the Jeffs were able to string together some offense. Loeffler, who finished the day with 182 passing yards and two touchdowns, converted two fourth downs and led a 13-play scoring drive, capped by another touchdown pass to Bullock, that brought Amherst within three points, 19-16. The Panthers recovered the onside kick, however, and McKillop was able to kneel down three times to run out the remaining 1:37 left on the clock.

Bullock led all Amherst receivers with eight catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Timothy Dillon '09 led the Panthers with five receptions for 75 yards. The Jeffs' Enzinger finished with four punts inside the 20-yard line, and the Panthers' punter, Anthony Kuchan '11, was nearly as effective with three.

Guy Matisis led the Jeffs defense with 13 tackles, including three for a loss. Chris Mottau added eight tackles and also broke up four passes. Linebacker Erik Woodring '08 paced the Panthers defense with 15 tackles and also had an interception. Nathan Clancy '08 added eight tackles, two for a loss.

The undefeated Panthers will host Williams, who is 1-2 this season, on Saturday, Oct. 13.