Football finishes with strong win over Tufts

Last Saturday, the Panthers finished the 2010 football season in style, beating the Tufts Jumbos (1-7) to improve to 4-4, salvaging a .500 season and sending the 17 seniors off with a win.
“It’s not everyday that you get to go out with some of your best friends, strap on a helmet and battle for a common goal,” said Andrew Plumley ’11 in a pre-game e-mail. “And knowing that this Saturday is the last time in your entire life that you get to do that is hard to describe. If we can go out this Saturday at home, play well and get a big win on our home turf for the last game of our careers –– that is really all that we could ask for.”
In the Panthers’ best performance of the season, they did exactly that, totaling 532 yards of offense in a dominant 42-20 win. After trailing 7-0 early in the first quarter and 14-7 after the end of the first period, the Panthers took a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Senior quarterback and co-captain Donnie McKillop ’11 was surgeon-like in his dissection of the Jumbos defense, completing 29 of 41 passes for six touchdowns and 339 yards. The six touchdowns, three of which went to junior wide receiver Matt Rayner ’12, gave McKillop the all-time Middlebury record for touchdowns in a game –– the one Panthers passing record he did not hold going into the game. McKillop finished the season with 319.5 yards passing per game, 19 touchdown passes, 10 interceptions and a 61 percent completion rate. He was honored with the NESCAC offensive player of the week award for the second time this season.
It is hard to imagine, over a career filled with accolades and record-setting performances, that McKillop could have played his best game in his last start as a Panther. But anyone who attended Saturday’s game can attest to just how unstoppable number 16 was. It was not so much because he completed an unreal 70.7 percent of his passes or that he hardly made a mistake all game. Instead, MicKillop was at his best when he needed to be, connecting on six different occasions to three different receivers for touchdowns.
Nearly every play he made was highlight-worthy, but his 50-yard bomb to Rayner was nothing short of breath-taking. The touchdown pass came on the first play from scrimmage at midfield after the Panther defense created a crucial turnover. The senior from Poway, Ca. threw a beautiful touch pass that came down over the shoulder of his receiver, Rayner, who streaked into the end zone.
McKillop’s brilliance was mirrored in nearly every aspect of the game by his senior teammates. Running backs Gary Cooper ’11 and Plumley rushed for a combined 183 yards from scrimmage. For Cooper, who has struggled with multiple injuries since his freshman year, it was a career day, as he ran the ball 23 times for 123 yards. Tight end David Reed ’11, meanwhile, caught seven passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line, led by a senior-laden group, was equally impressive, opening up holes for the Panther running game and not allowing a sack.
On defense, senior co-captain Connor Green ’11 led the way, with 12 total tackles, three passes broken up and an interception that sealed the win for the Panthers with just less than three minutes remaining in the game. Linebacker Andrew Poulin ’11 also added eight tackles, finishing his season with a team-high 77 tackles.
“It was great to see the seniors play some of their best football in the final game,” said Bob Ritter. “That was even more enjoyable than the win, and the win was very enjoyable.”
The Panthers won the game with big plays on offense and defense, and also showed that there is a lot of up-and-coming talent in this football program. The receiving core led the way –– wide receivers Nick Resor ’12, Rayner and Zach Driscoll ’13 all had big games. Driscoll, just a sophomore, hauled in a touchdown pass to tie a team-high six touchdown receptions on the season. Defensively, Dan Kenerson ’13 gave a glimpse of the future with two interceptions, one of which was made on a spectacular diving play that set up a Panthers score.
At the end of the day, however, this was a win was for the seniors –– a group who started their careers as NESCAC champions and finished with a fantastic win.